The European Commission has proposed new rules for ecommerce, after admitting that online shopping is “not functioning as smoothly as it could” in the EU. The plan will address what has been called the “unjustified” geo-blocking of buyers trying to buy items from other EU nations. The vice president for the European Commission's Digital Single Market Initiative has said that it wants to enable citizens within the EU to “fully enjoy the opportunities of buying and selling products and services online”. The EU wants to ensure that users in different countries do not face different prices for items online. It also wants to address high cross-border delivery charges. If the proposed laws are passed, then the countries most likely to be affected are Portugal and Ireland, where the highest rates of cross-border ecommerce are seen.Â
