THE PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ON THE INVESTIGATION IN THE SECTOR OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE CONFIRMED THE RAPID GROWTH OF THE ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN THE EU AND IDENTIFIED A SERIES OF BUSINESS PRACTICES THAT COULD RESTRICT COMPETITION AND LIMIT THE CONSUMERS’ CHOICE POSSIBILITIES.

The Competition Commissioner, Mrs. Margrethe Vestager, stated that it has become very important for consumers and that it has a significant impact on the activities and strategies of commercial companies.
Also, electronic commerce is an important vector of the transparency and competition in terms of prices, broadening the range of services addressed to the consumers and the possibilities that they find the best deals. But the preliminary report also identified certain commercial practices that might limit this competition in the online environment. This report should provide them with commercial companies, the opportunity to review the current distribution contracts and to amend them, if necessary, in such a way that they conform to the EU rules on competition.
The preliminary report is currently open to public inspection for a period of two months. The interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the findings of the sectorial investigation, to transmit additional information and to highlight any other problems. The Commission plans to publish the final report in the first quarter of the year 2017.