16.12.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 451/51

Rapporteur:

Daniela RONDINELLI

1.1

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the roadmap for completing the single market in delivery of products sold online, which has great potential for growth and jobs. Efficient, reliable delivery services constitute an essential pillar for promoting e-commerce and strengthening trust between sellers and purchasers.

1.2

In the EESC's view, completing the single market in delivery services and closing the significant gap between expectations, protection and actual availability requires: shared responsibilities, tracking and tracing, and interoperability; access to the widest possible choice throughout the EU including the island territories; certainty of rights and responsibilities of those involved — particularly SMEs and consumers — especially as regards complaints and returns; simple and comparable data collection; and a strong social and educational dimension.

1.3

The EESC reiterates (1) that this objective ought to be based not just on voluntary agreements and codes, desirable though these are, but also on a minimum European regulatory framework, which can respond efficiently and in a flexible way to the unresolved shortcomings in the market which discourage consumers and SMEs to buy e-commerce, and can resolve the problems relating to:

1.4

The EESC calls for the roadmap to give clear timescales and a set timetable for implementation, both of legislation and of self-regulation, to optimise levels of confidence amongst all the relevant stakeholders and, in particular, the European public, whilst fully respecting and protecting their reciprocal rights.

1.5

The EESC calls for the roadmap to provide for two additional measures: one on accessibility of the service at an affordable cost and another on the social dimension of the market.

1.6

The EESC recommends to the Commission, the EP and the Council that:

1.7

The EESC calls on the EC to present — with the support of EUROFOUND — a biennial report on employment and working conditions in the sector, on the conditions for consumers and operators along the entire chain, and their prospects for development, to be submitted to the EESC, the Parliament (EP), the Council and the social partners.

2.1

In Europe, e-commerce is a potential driver of economic growth and rising employment estimated at over 10 % between 2013 and 2016 (5). 45 % of EU citizens have made online purchases in the last 12 months and have confirmed that the majority of problems arose from deliveries or delays in delivery (6).

2.2

The EC has identified (7) the ‘main obstacles to the Digital Single Market and […] an action plan to remove them’, but ‘10 % of people [...] do not buy online (8) because they are concerned about the cost of delivery services, in particular cross-border delivery, and about service quality’.

2.3

In its opinion on the Green Paper (9), the EESC asked for a directive to be drawn up to define a joint regime for online sellers, tracking and tracing of deliveries, the obligation to offer a choice of delivery options, a European network of national problem solving centres, the obligation to provide fair working conditions, and transparency regarding conditions and prices.

2.4

Following the debate on the Green Paper, the communication on the roadmap for completing the single market in parcel delivery for online sales was published in December 2013 (10).

2.5

According to recent worldwide surveys (11), the most difficult issues affecting the development of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce are:

2.6

The EC states that there is still a lack of ‘relevant market data on domestic and cross-border parcel flows from all postal service providers active on the B2C and B2B parcel markets, including intermediaries, consolidators and alternative operators’ (12).

2.7

Various studies confirm that ‘the potential for anticompetitive behaviour appears higher is [sic] some segments of the postal sector than in others so that particular regulatory vigilance may be more appropriate in, for example, [...] business to consumer (B2C) markets compared to business to business services (B2B); cross-border services compared [to] domestic postal services’ (13).

2.8

The EESC is pleased that a significant proportion of the problems raised in its opinion on the Green Paper have been taken up. The Council (14) and the EP (15), too, have called upon the Commission to identify the current barriers to cross-border parcel delivery services and to adopt appropriate measures to address them, and the European Parliament has also called (16) for accessible, affordable, efficient, and high-quality delivery services and for platforms for cooperation and information exchange between delivery operators with rapid, low-cost dispute and complaint handling.

3.1

The EESC considers important to restore SMEs' and online consumers' trust with interoperable networks and systems for rapid, low-cost management systems within an appropriate framework of regulation and self-regulation accepted by all operators in the chain to have a free and open internal market, avoiding any unnecessary overregulation. Therefore it calls for the roadmap to be implemented within a clear timescale according to a set timetable of 18-months foreseen.

3.2

The EESC considers that the EU should complete the single market in parcel delivery in such a way as to ensure speed, quality, reliability and affordability for consumers, workers and all operators, including SMEs in the e-commerce, transport and logistics sectors, thus putting right the current deficiencies and anomalies in the single market.

3.3

However, the EESC expected that the Communication would also make specific reference to the situation of geographically challenged regions such as islands, outermost regions and mountains, since the Committee understands that these regions pose specific challenges difficult to overcome, particularly due to economic feasibilities: a truly complete single market for parcel delivery can be achieved only if these regions are given due consideration and action is taken accordingly.

3.4

The EESC considers that, in essence, the framework of the actions proposed is based exclusively on voluntary self-regulation, on the rules governing national postal services, on the action of the European Regulators Group of Postal Services and on principles of proper implementation of existing European law without setting out a unified framework for all operators and without stipulating precise deadlines within the specified 18 months.

3.5

The EESC notes that the roadmap does not yet make provision, alongside self-regulation processes, for the need for a directive — already requested by the EESC (17) — that could fully, consistently and completely meet the requirements of completing the single market in cross-border parcel delivery for all operators in the sector.

3.6

The EESC considers that the EU must provide a European solution in the form of promoting self-regulation and regulation to address unresolved problems in the market and to protect consumers and SMEs (B2B) relating to:

3.7

Although the proposals refer to compatibility with the 2014-2020 EU financial framework, the EESC considers that the roadmap cannot omit explicit guidance on relevant EU financial instruments for:

3.8

The EESC recommends that the EC proceed with mandating the CEN to draw up European technical and regulatory standards with the full involvement of all interested parties, particularly SMEs and consumers. It also considers that indicators for a European security and quality mark for delivery services should be drawn up so as to ensure quality and reliability, sustainability and social and security guarantees.

4.1

The EESC sees the need to provide for two further actions in relation to guaranteeing accessibility and to the social dimension of the market.

4.1.1.1

The EESC requests that the award of the quality mark should include a requirement to guarantee affordable market access and availability in all of the EU. The EESC is disappointed to see that the peripheral areas and islands have not been given specific consideration and therefore expects the new regulation to cover the target of geographic vulnerability in the e-commerce market because a substantial percentage of European citizens lives in these areas.

4.1.1.2

The EESC considers that all operators should be given full access to information bodies and resources used in supplying parcel delivery services to protect the interests of users and/or to promote effective competition.

4.1.1.3

The EESC asks that the Commission review the 1998 Notice on the application of competition rules to the sector in the light of regulatory and market developments that affect cross-border services and standard costs, towards more liberal and cost-oriented policies (18), in accordance with the provisions of Protocol No 26 appended to the Treaty of Lisbon, particularly with regard to universal access to and affordability of services of general economic interest.

4.1.2.1

The EESC calls for a sound and consistent social dimension that is capable, in combination with the innovation efforts made by the industry, of providing high quality skilled jobs, not least by ensuring access to suitable opportunities for basic and further training.

4.1.2.2

The EESC reiterates the need for fair and decent pay and working conditions so as to eliminate insecure and undeclared work, particularly in outsourced ‘last mile’ tasks. It stresses the terms of Regulation (EU) 1071/2009 on access to the profession, of Decision 2009/992/EU and of Regulation (EU) no 1213/2010, which establish a definition of ‘employment relationship’ that enables action to be taken against bogus self-employment, as recalled in a recent EESC opinion (19).

4.1.2.3

The Committee recommends the establishment of an enlarged sectoral European social dialogue involving the representative social partners of the sectors involved in the entire chain of online sales and parcel delivery (commercial, postal, transport and logistics) to deal with issues relating to employment and working conditions, the prospects for development, innovation, and optimisation of human resources.

4.1.2.4

The EC should draw up, with the support of EUROFOUND, a biennial report on employment and working conditions in the sector and the prospects for development, to be submitted to the EESC, the EP, the Council and the social partners.

4.2.1

The EESC considers that voluntary codes of conduct and the sharing of best practices are complementary avenues that can be pursued at EU level only if they are drawn up and accepted by all the parties involved in the e-retailing market and within the context of an EU regulatory framework governing all the issues raised by the cross-border delivery of online products so as to protect consumers, small operators and SMEs on an equal footing and without placing unsustainable burdens on them.

4.3.1

The drafting of joint definitions of basic service concepts by delivery operators and online retailers without consumer and SME representatives risks overlooking important points for consumer choice and limiting the range of possible options.

4.3.2

The EESC asks that, jointly with all interested parties, a shared open interactive architecture following the example of the e-freight project (20) be established.

4.3.3

The Committee asks the Commission to make sure that the proper management of the web platforms is monitored on the basis of objective, predefined consumer-friendly criteria as part of the regulatory framework requested by the EESC.

4.4.1

The lack of a detailed, comparable statistical framework on the chain of transactions and interested parties from the online order to the cross-border delivery of products should be addressed by means of the acquisition by customs, postal and tax authorities and by the commercial sector of relevant, homogeneous and comparable data on cross-border flows of parcels amongst all service providers in the market place, on universal service provision, on returns and the makeup of complaints.

4.4.2

The collection of data should take place in accordance with the ‘one size fits all’ principle without bureaucratic burdens and duplication. The EC should examine the appropriateness and costs of fixed-fee, low cost insurance for transnational deliveries connected with the award of a European quality mark.

4.5.1

It is appropriate that delivery operators and online retailers develop on a voluntary basis solutions to link information systems and open interfaces with an efficient, affordable system of deliveries and returns for the ‘last mile’.

4.5.2

However, the EESC considers that such developments should take place on the basis of predefined interoperability criteria within a common regulatory framework.

4.6.1

The EESC supports the initiative of mandating the CEN with standardisation and of giving guidance to the Member States on the full and uniform implementation of Directive 2011/83/EU to encourage greater use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms under the scope of the ADR directive 2013/11/EU.

4.6.2

The EESC considers it insufficient that resolving the issue of complaints should be based solely on the idea that ‘Delivery operators, e-retailers and consumer associations should jointly ensure better co-operation with regard to complaint handling and consumer protection systems.’ The Committee considers such cooperation to be a good thing provided that it takes place within a common regulatory framework.