The future of e-commerce within the EU is to be the subject of major scrutiny over the next two months. The European Commission has indicated disappointment with the level of penetration of e-commerce, complaining for example that retail electronic commerce remains limited to less than 2% of European total retail trade. The European Commission wishes to study in detail the various reasons for the limited take-off of electronic commerce and the indications appear to be that uneven implementation of the E-commerce Directive. Topics on which views are sought include the following:
- The level of development, both national and cross-border, of information society services.
- Issues concerning the application of Article 3(4) by the Member States (administrative cooperation).
- Contractual restrictions on cross-border online sales.
- Cross-border online commercial communications, in particular by the regulated professions.
- The development of online press services.
- The interpretation of the provisions concerning the liability of intermediary information society service providers.
- The development of online pharmacy services
- The resolution of online disputes.
The consultation is open until 15 October 2010. Various reference documents and an online questionnaire can be accessed here.
