Annexes to COM(2010)355 - Retail market monitoring report “Towards more efficient and fairer retail services in the internal market for 2020” SEC(2010)807 - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2010)355 - Retail market monitoring report “Towards more efficient and fairer retail services in the internal market for 2020” ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2010)355  |
| date | July 5, 2010 |
The second problem is linked to the informal economy which, although difficult to gauge, has a negative impact on working conditions in the retail sector, in particular in small and micro-enterprises, where effective enforcement of legislation and collective agreements is more difficult. While it is legitimate to want to reduce red tape for small firms of this kind, it is also vital to ensure that they do not cut corners on working conditions, in particular as far as health and safety are concerned.
Thirdly, given the diversity of working conditions in the retail sector, it is often difficult for consumers to know about the social responsibility of particular retailers and thus to make an informed choice about where to shop.
Finally, whilst the retail sector’s ability to absorb low-skilled workers is often emphasised as a positive characteristic, the associated down-side is that it may be more difficult for this sector to quickly adopt new technologies. The lack of ICT skills undermines the sector’s productivity. The high proportion of SMEs in this sector renders it difficult for it to invest sufficiently in continuous vocational training.
Improving working conditions, combating the informal economy and maintaining employment levels and competitiveness by better matching the needs of retailers and the skills of workers are therefore major challenges.
MORE EFFICIENT AND FAIRER RETAIL SERVICES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS IN THE INTERNAL MARKET
An internal market in retail services which is more efficient and fairer for future generations must also fully account for its environmental impacts. It must be a gateway to the offer of a wide range of more environmentally-friendly and/or fair trade products, allowing "fair" firms, including those based in non-EU countries, to gain access to the internal market. It must also be based on lower energy consumption and on efficient logistics and waste collection and recycling systems. Competition within the sector must not only be gauged on economic factors but also on social, ethical and environmental ones.
The retail se tor has a significant environmental impact, as a result of both its day to day operations and the consumer travel that it generates. The retail sector requires a great deal of energy for shop lighting, refrigeration, heating/air conditioning, etc. It also generates and recovers significant amounts of waste (advertising flyers, packaging, food waste, electrical and electronic products). Insufficiencies and differences in collection and recycling systems are a problem. The sector also contributes considerably to the volume of commercial traffic. Most deliveries are still made by road, even though other forms of transport, such as inland waterways and rail, are starting to be used. Moreover, inefficient transport and delivery of goods in urban areas has a negative impact on congestion, pollution and quality of life. The delivery of goods in urban areas is a major constraint on the sustainable development of the retail sector. In line with the principle of subsidiarity and the respective competences of the European Union, the Member States as well as regional and local authorities, the Commission will examine how to design an integrated policy, encompassing the planning of urban mobility infrastructures, including the use of smart transport systems (ITS) and vehicles with innovative technology adapted to the needs and constraints of cities.
Furthermore, until recently, the environmental impact of retail, such as the societal costs generated by the CO2 emissions associated with logistics, were not entirely incorporated into the sector’s costs. Certain retailers are now trying, at times thanks to incentive measures, to meet some of the afore-mentioned goals by reducing the external impact of their activities. The lack of common rules and a European-level method of analysing the lifecycle of products so as to measure their environmental impact remains a problem. On this last point, insufficient coordination at European level of national initiatives could lead to the risk of further fragmentation of the internal market[22].
CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS
This report has identified, on the basis of a thorough analysis performed by the Commission in consultation with all the stakeholders in this area, a certain number of problems having – or likely to have – a direct impact on the performance of the retail sector, from an economic, social or environmental point of view, the resolution of which could help the sector to navigate the transition towards a more efficient and fairer internal market in retail services.
1) The following problems were identified as affecting – or having the potential to affect – the performance of retailers in terms of accessibility (lack of cohesion between the location of shops compared to existing home locations and means of transport) for all EU citizens to a varied range of competitive retail services respecting the requirements of sustainable development:
– a lack of efficiency and diversity across commercial planning rules together with malfunctioning of the commercial property market have an adverse impact on where retailers choose to establish shops and accessibility for consumers;
– insufficient development of electronic commerce in the internal market, as a result of a series of obstacles (cross-border postal services, means of payment, poorly functioning systems of redress, etc.);
– underdevelopment of commercial communications and independent information services (for example, internet price comparison sites, including cross-border ones, or comparative tests of products and services) probably resulting from persisting differences across national consumer protection and unfair competition rules and from difficulties in comparing across quality control systems for goods and services and their respective environmental or social criteria.
2) The following problems have been identified as hampering, or likely to hamper, the optimum growth of operators, in particular their ability to invest and innovate with regard to the quality of products and services offered:
– a lack of rules governing unfair commercial practices and contractual relations between the various parties in the supply chain and/or poor application of the rules where they do exist;
– a lack of transparency of quality control systems and associated difficulties in their crossborder use.
3) The following problems have been identified as affecting working conditions, labour productivity, employment levels and competiveness in the retail sector:
– differences in working conditions caused by differences in labour law and collective agreements applicable to retail services;
– the negative impact of the informal economy on working conditions;
– a lack of consumer information on the social responsibility of retail service companies;
– a mismatch between the skills needs of companies and those of staff in the retail sector.
4) The following problems have been identified as having the potential to impede the transition to a more sustainable retail sector:
– high energy consumption, considerable levels of waste production, significant contribution to commercial traffic flows and congestion in urban areas;
– insufficient consideration of environmental costs in the retail supply chain (logistics, energy efficiency of shops, marketing and communications, etc.), in particular where sufficient incentives are not made available;
– lack of a common life-cycle methodology for evaluating the environmental impact of products and services sold.
Measures to respond appropriately to these problems and European policies which could be launched as a consequence will be presented in the Commission Communication on relaunching the internal market, planned for the autumn of 2010. Given the horizontal nature of the retail sector, any resulting measures will take the fullest account possible – in their design, in the consultative/negotiation processes that will be used for their adoption and in their subsequent application – of all the various objectives of the Treaties, while fully respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.
The Commission calls on all interested parties to submit their responses to this report by 10 September 2010, to the following address:
Internal Market and Services DG
European Commission
200, rue de la Loi
1049 Brussels
or by email to MARKT-RETAIL@ec.europa.eu
[1] COM(2007) 724 “A single market for 21st century Europe”.
[2] The retail service sector has 3 700 000 SMEs, compared to 2 300 000 in industry, or 63% more. Eurostat, SBS, 2005 and 2007. The “Small Business Act” for Europe (COM (2008)394 final) is a key element of European SME policy.
[3] It represents around half of total retail sales. Euromonitor International 2007.
[4] Explanations of the analyses in this report can be found in the Commission working document on retail services in the internal market, July 2010.
[5] Communication from the Commission “EUROPE 2020 - A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”.
[6] Eurostat News release 77/2009, 28 May 2009, Living Conditions in the EU.
[7] IPSOS consumer satisfaction survey, on behalf of the European Commission, 2008.
[8] Euromonitor International 2007.
[9] For more information on the differences in food prices within the EU, see the Communication on “A better functioning food supply chain in Europe” (COM(2009)591 final).
[10] IMS health, November 2009.
[11] Eurostat Statistics in focus 50/2009.
[12] See COM(2009) 591 final, quoted above.
[13] UFC “Que Choisir” [Which?], 3 April 2008, and report of the UK Competition Commission, 30 April 2008.
[14] Directive 2006/123/EC of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market.
[15] European Commission (DG Regio) Working Paper on Territories with Specific Geographical Features (02/2009).
[16] Directive 2000/13/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member states relating to labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs. See also the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers (COM(2008) 0040 final).
[17] Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 on unfair commercial practices.
[18] Green Paper on Commercial Communications in the Internal Market (COM(1996) 192 final).
[19] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Food prices in Europe (COM(2008) 0821 final).
[20] Pursuant to the proposal made in the Communication on “A better functioning food supply chain in Europe” (COM(2009) 591 final).
[21] Eurostat, Labour Force Survey 2007.
[22] The retail forum created by the European Commission in 2009 aims to reduce the ecological footprint and disseminate good environment practices in the retail supply chain.