In March 2018 the members of the European Parliament adopted a proposal in order create a more transparent and competitive cross-border parcel delivery market. The proposal also aims at reducing the barriers consumers and e-retailers encounter when purchasing online in the EU.
On one hand, the lack of transparency in the cross-border delivery sector might encourage postal operators to charge unreasonably high prices that could prevent small firms from trading in other EU countries. On the other hand, it could also stop consumers from having access to a wider range of goods, affecting especially those who are living in remote areas.
According to the proposal, with the new regulations consumers and e-retailers will have the possibility to check a list of prices on a website set up for price comparison; while courier services will have to provide clear information to costumers on the delivery prices and national authorities will be able to monitor the market to assess unreasonably high tariffs.
The regulation still requires formal approval by the Council, then it will be officially published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
With the proposed new regulations the online shopping could become easier and it should lead to lower delivery costs for online consumers.
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