On 27 March, Independent Retail Europe and EuroCommerce had sent a joint letter to Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič asking him to ease the regulatory burden for the retail sector by postponing new regulations and Commission consultations until after the crisis. Given the momentous challenge that the pandemic poses for the sector, members would otherwise be unable to provide timely feedback on new draft proposals. In his reply on 20 April 2020, the Commissioner has now responded and confirmed that “a solution that will limit consultations to the initiatives will have to be implemented this year, and at the same time give stakeholders more time to respond in these exceptional circumstances” is currently under review. He further stressed that the “European Commission [would] exercise its enforcement role responsibly, with due regard to the particular circumstances caused by the coronavirus outbreak.” However, the Commissioner also pointed out that the Commission cannot unilaterally extend implementing deadlines of legislation, this requires the approval of the Parliament and the Member States.
COVID-19 update 13 – 17-20/04/2020