The Council today (27 May) adopted a negotiating mandate to enable the Commission to participate in plurilateral negotiations on electronic commerce.

In January 2019, in the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the European Union and 48 other members of the WTO decided to start negotiations to put in place global rules on electronic commerce.

"The digitalization of our economy has fundamentally changed the way businesses and consumers do trade. It was high time for international rules to reflect this transformation. The EU is committed to working with its WTO partners to put in place an ambitious and pragmatic framework that will guarantee a safe and predictable environment for online trade," said Romania Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship Minister Ştefan-Radu Oprea.

In order for the Commission to engage in negotiations with its WTO partners on behalf of the EU, its existing mandate for the Doha Development Agenda had to be supplemented to include the EU position on trade-related aspects of e-commerce.

The aim of the negotiations is to put in place international rules encouraging global e-commerce, facilitating the operations of businesses, in particular SMEs, strengthening consumers' trust in the online environment and creating new opportunities to promote inclusive and sustainable growth and development.

On 26 April, the EU tabled initial negotiating proposals in the WTO. These were discussed along with proposals from other participating WTO members during a round of formal discussions on 13-15 May 2019, in Geneva.

Council decision on the plurilateral negotiations on e-commerce

Text of the negotiating directives on e-commerce

EU proposal on e-commerce

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