E-commerce: Commission to take action ag • Table.Briefings

On 5 Feburary 2025, Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, and European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency and Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, give a press conference on a comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce, following the weekly meeting of the von der Leyen Commission in Brussels, Belgium. — Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Commissioners Maroš Šefčovič and Michael McGrath presented their measures to combat the risks posed by cheap imports from online retailers.

Chinese e-commerce platforms in particular use the EU’s duty-free limit of EUR 150 to bring their goods into the EU. However, many products do not meet European standards. The Commission wants to remedy this, but the customs reform it has proposed is only making slow progress in the Council.

Every day, twelve million parcels with goods worth less than EUR 150 reach Europe’s borders. According to the Commission, this is twice as many as in 2023 and three times as many as in 2022. Last year, a total of 4.6 billion shipments entered the EU duty-free. The enormous growth in imports brings with it a number of challenges.

E-commerce: Commission to take action against cheap imports

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