E-commerce directive adopted: internal market established for Information Society services
An internal market for Information Society services in Europe will shortly become a reality following the final adoption of the Electronic Commerce Directive by the European Parliament. The directive was identified as a top priority at the recent 'dotcom' summit in Lisbon, and its speedy adoption represents a high degree of cooperation between the Commission, Council and Parliament. Member States now have 18 months to adopt the directive, which will ensure that the internal market principles of free movement of services and freedom of establishment apply to electronic commerce and related services throughout the European Union. The move is intended to boost competitiveness in electronic commerce and related services, accelerating Europe's transition to the new knowledge-based society. Welcoming the final adoption of the directive on 4 May, Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein promised to ensure an equally efficient implementation in Member States. 'The speed with which Parliament has worked, thanks to the active co-operation of the rapporteur Ana Palacio, will I hope serve as a model for future decision-making concerning the Internal Market, where legislative change must keep pace with technological developments and innovation in order to be timely and effective,' he said. 'This landmark decision will foster the growth of electronic commerce in Europe and so allow citizens and business to reap huge potential benefits in terms of jobs, choice of goods and services and access to markets. In order for business and consumers alike to benefit fully from the Directive as soon as possible, I will pay particular attention to ensuring that Member States implement the Directive in national legislation correctly and on time.' The Directive covers all Information Society services, both business to business and business to consumer, and services provided free of charge to the recipient. It establishes specific harmonised rules - where strictly necessary - to ensure European businesses and citizens can receive Information Society services irrespective of frontiers. The areas covered include definition of where operators are established, transparency obligations for operators, transparency requirements for commercial communications, conclusion and validity of electronic contracts, liability of Internet intermediaries, on-line dispute settlement and the role of national authorities. In other areas the directive builds on existing EU instruments which provide for harmonisation or mutual recognition of national laws. The Directive applies only to service providers established within the EU, but care has been taken to avoid incompatibility and inconsistency with legal developments in other parts of the world so as to avoid obstacles to global electronic commerce. In some areas the directive provides solutions that may serve as a model at international level. Proposals laid out in the Directive clarify areas of uncertainty such as the place of establishment, defined as the place where an operator actually pursues an economic activity through a fixed establishment, irrespective of where web-sites or servers are situated or where the operator may have a mail box. Once adopted, Member States will be obliged to recognise the national laws in the country of origin as applicable to Information Society services. Furthermore, they will be required to remove any prohibitions or restrictions on the use of electronic contracts. The directive will ensure legal security by imposing certain information requirements for the conclusion of electronic contracts in particular in order to help consumers to avoid technical errors. These provisions will complement the recently adopted directive on electronic signatures