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Public consultation on contract rules for online purchases of digital content and tangible goods

When developing policy and legislation, the European Commission consults widely with EU citizens and stakeholders through public consultations.

Related topics

Contract law

date:  12/06/2015 - 03/09/2015

Policy field(s)

Civil justice matters, internal market and consumer protection

Target group(s)

All citizens and organisations are welcome to contribute to this consultation.

Period of consultation

From 12.06.2015 to 03.09.2015

Objective of the consultation

Consumers and businesses are using the Internet more and more to buy products, access entertainment and manage their daily life. In 2014, 50% of EU consumers shopped online, rising from 30% in 2007.  During 2013, 38% of businesses in the EU-28 purchased goods and services online.

However, cross-border e-commerce within the EU is yet far from reaching its full potential. Only 18% of consumers who used the Internet for private purposes in 2014 purchased online from another EU country while 55% did so domestically. Only 12% of all EU retailers sell online to consumers in other EU countries, while more than one third (37%) do so domestically. There are a number of reasons why the Digital Single Market has not yet reached its full potential in the EU.

The EU’s Digital Single Market Strategy adopted by the Commission on 6 May 2015  establishes a holistic approach encompassing the most important barriers that currently hinder cross-border e-commerce. One the main problem identified as hindering business and consumers to fully benefit from the Digital Single Market are differing contract rules that apply in cross-border sales within the EU.

The purpose of this public consultation is to collect interested parties' views on the possible ways forward to remove contract law obstacles related to the online purchases of digital content and tangible goods. It does not aim at addressing copyrights related issues as this will be subject to a separate course of action.

How to submit your contribution

We welcome contributions from citizens, organisations and public authorities.

The online questionnaire is available in the following EU languages: BG, CS, DA, DE, EL, EN, ES, ET, FI, FR, HR, HU, IT, LT, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, SV. Contributions may be submitted in any official EU language.

In the interests of transparency, the Commission asks organisations who wish to submit comments in the context of public consultations to provide the Commission and the public at large with information about whom and what they represent by registering in the Transparency Register and subscribing to its Code of Conduct. If an organisation decides not to provide this information, it is the Commission's stated policy to list the contribution as part of the individual contributions. (Consultation Standards, see COM (2002) 704, and Communication on ETI Follow-up, see COM (2007) 127 of 21/03/2007).

If you are a registered organisation, please indicate your Register ID number when replying to the online questionnaire. Your contribution will then be considered as representative of the views of your organisation.

If your organisation is not registered, you have the opportunity to Register now. Then you can return to this page and submit your contribution as a registered organisation.

The Contributions received will be published on the Internet. It is important to read the specific privacy statement attached to this consultation for information on how your personal data and contribution will be used.

View the questionnaire

Responses to the questionnaire

Post adoption feedback

Reference documents and other, related consultations

Contact details

Responsible service :
JUST.A2 DG Justice and consumers

e-mail JUST-DIGITAL-CONTRACTS-INITIATIVE@ec.europa.eu

Postal address European Commission

Directorate-General for Justice and consumers

Unit A2 – Contract law

B-1049 Brussels

Belgium

Data Protection Disclaimer

Protection of personal data http://ec.europa.eu/geninfo/legal_notices_en.htm#personaldata

Incoming contributions will be published on the website of DG Justice. For further information on privacy rulings for this public consultation see the following Specific Privacy Statementpdf(15 kB) .

Contact

JUST-DIGITAL-CONTRACTS-INITIATIVE@ec.europa.eu

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