Work of the market surveillance authorities

24.6.2021

Question for written answer  E-003300/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Marion Walsmann (PPE)

As of 16 July 2021, the new EU Market Surveillance Regulation will apply in EU Member States. It introduces innovations to improve market surveillance in online trade. Goods from third countries sold via online marketplaces enter the Union market and reach consumers through fulfilment service providers or direct dispatch and do not always meet Union safety standards.

• 1.How has the monitoring activity of the competent authorities developed over the last five years in terms of the number of economic operators checked, in how many cases have fulfilment service providers been subject to controls over the last five years, and what were the three most common reasons for non-compliance detected?
• 2.On average, how many small consignments of goods from China are delivered to EU consumers every month, how many consignments can be checked and how many are found to be non-compliant and/or confiscated? How many orders placed on such platforms are handled by fulfilment centres established in the EU?
• 3.In its ‘action plan for better implementation and enforcement of single market rules’[1], the Commission pledges to explore and promote, in cooperation with Member States, the use of digital tools to allow for more targeted controls at the external borders and within the EU, including through labelling and traceability systems. In light of these announcements, have any such measures already been introduced?

• [1] COM(2020)0094