Ahead of the Alden Biesen summit where EU leaders will gather to discuss the EU’s competitiveness, EuroCommerce, representing Europe’s retail and wholesale sector, urges the European Commission to place the Single Market, effective enforcement and regulatory simplification at the heart of its competitiveness agenda.
EuroCommerce Director General, Christel Delberghe, commented: “Adeeper, better‑enforced Single Market is the EU’s greatest competitive asset, but fragmentation, the weight of regulatory obligations and inconsistent enforcement threaten to weaken it. A renewed focus on services and making the Single Market work for retail and wholesale will strengthen the EU’s competitiveness, and the jobs and innovation it generates.”
Retail and wholesale is an economic engine for Europe, drives inclusion and innovation. Yet, the strength of the sector remains in the shadows despite its presence across the EU – in every village and region – and its importance as a ready-market for innovation, provider of local jobs and reliant partner in times of crisis.
EuroCommerce hopes that the leaders’ discussions will place the Single Market for services at its heart, building on the direction of the 2026 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report. A strong Single Market strengthens the contribution of retail and wholesale and supports EU’s competitiveness. It needs:
- both national and EU legislators to exercise restraint and avoid new and unnecessary rules.
- challenges to national rules that break Single Market freedoms
- rules that are enforceable from the start to stop unfair competition from non-EU platforms that gain advantages through non-compliance.
- legislation to stop large manufacturers deliberately fragmenting the Single Market using territorial supply constraints, which deny retailers and consumers its benefits, while they benefit themselves.
- a harmonised approach to ensure the circular economy takes off, creating a functioning market for secondary raw materials and a single market for waste
- rapid conclusion of trade agreements to ensure diversification of trade and maintain strong global value chains.
- tackling of the long list of Single Market barriers identified by retailers and wholesalers in Europe.
“Companies have struggled to implement the volume of legislation that has confronted them. We need to see a European Commission truly dedicated to proportionate, easy to implement legislation, so companies can use the EU’s best asset, the Single Market”, concluded Delberghe, referring to the guiding principles proposed by EuroCommerce in its Better Regulation Checklist.
