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Coalition urges EU to strengthen marketplace accountability

Jul 9, 2026 European Union

The CEC and 87 other organisations are urging the European Commission to use the upcoming European Product Act to address the lack of accountability surrounding the billions of low-value parcels entering the EU each year

A coalition of 88 industry, retail, consumer and environmental associations has called on the European Commission to hold online marketplaces legally responsible for products sold by non-EU sellers.

In a joint letter addressed to Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, these organisations highlighted that around 5.9 billion low-value e-commerce parcels entered the European Union in 2025, with customs inspections revealing that many imports failed to comply with EU legislation on product safety, ecodesign, energy labelling, intellectual property rights, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

They argue that the current legislation leaves a significant enforcement gap. In many cases, there is no identifiable economic operator established within the European Union who can be held responsible for product compliance or for fulfilling obligations such as participating in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes. They add that the forthcoming revision of the Market Surveillance Regulation and the New Legislative Framework “presents a critical opportunity to address these shortcomings”.

While welcoming the enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the proposed reform of the Union Customs Code, the coalition argues that neither measure addresses the root of the problem. Once products have cleared customs and entered free circulation, according to the letter, authorities often have no EU-based economic operator against whom they can enforce product legislation.

In order to address this issue, the coalition is urging the European Commission to ensure that the forthcoming European Product Act stipulates that all products placed on the EU market, regardless of their country of origin or sales channel, must have an economic operator established within the EU or EEA that is legally responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable legislation.

The organisations also want online platforms that facilitate sales by non-EU sellers to verify, before listing products for sale to EU consumers, that a responsible economic operator has ensured compliance. If no such operator can be identified or traced, the platform itself should be recognised as the responsible economic operator, closing what the coalition describes as a major regulatory loophole in cross-border e-commerce.

They conclude: “To preserve the integrity of the Internal Market and ensure fair and effective enforcement, the EU must close the accountability gap in e-commerce and ensure that every product sold to European consumers has a clearly identifiable and responsible actor within EU jurisdiction who has ensured compliance before the product is placed on the market”.

Image Credits: dig.watch

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