The Council's General Approach on Geoblocking—unfinished business handed to the European Parliament

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes some of the improvements endorsed by the Competitiveness Council today to the Geoblocking Regulation, but we regret the rush to reach an agreement while further clarification is still needed.

“More legal clarity is essential, in particular regarding the law applicable to sales covered by this Regulation”, said John Higgins, Director General of DIGITALEUROPE.

“Companies, in particular SMEs, will not be motivated to trade cross-border if they are not provided with a clear legal framework. Especially if that means looking into 28 different countries’ sector specific regulations. Businesses, just like consumers, need trust when engaging online. Rules must ensure that traders selling online cross-border do so under the same conditions as for a domestic sale”, he added.

DIGITALEUROPE looks forward to working with the European Parliament and building on the progress made by the Council to bring greater clarity to the Regulation. We also call on the Parliament to ensure that the future rules will not prevent a smooth consumer experience online, especially when consumers want to access specific websites from abroad. “We certainly do not want to see another cookie-type rule”, said Mr Higgins.