Green Paper – An integrated parcel delivery market for the growth of e-commerce in the EU

E-commerce is widely acknowledged as a key contributor to economic growth and increasing employment levels across the European Union. The Commission's Communication on e-commerce and online services identifies the delivery of goods purchased online as one of the top five priorities to boost e-commerce by 2015 and its importance has been reiterated by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. Delivery is indeed critical as it has a substantial impact on facilitating e-commerce trade and is a key element for building trust between sellers and buyers.

The way goods are purchased and delivered in Europe is undergoing a rapid and fundamental change. As EU consumers increasingly look for and resort to online purchases, notably across borders, there is a growing need for a delivery system that meets their expectations and works smoothly to facilitate their daily lives, thereby generating greater confidence in, and increased use of, e-commerce.

The performance and affordability of the delivery system is also a key driver of the sustainability of the business models of many SMEs and in particular of their ability to serve their customers. As SMEs are the driving forces of innovation and growth in Europe, improving the overall delivery system for goods ordered online in Europe can be expected to yield very significant results in terms of growth and jobs.

This Green Paper examines how the e-commerce and delivery markets in Europe are evolving, explores what is required for the creation of a Single Market for delivery, analyses the key challenges for the different actors, and highlights the opportunities for improving the delivery process to the benefits of citizens and businesses, in particular SMEs.

On the basis of the information gathered through the consultation, the Commission will identify more precisely the issues to address and draw conclusions, in Spring 2013, as to the set of actions to take for completing the single market for parcels.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)698: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:698:FIN

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