New unassessed Commission proposal on Unfair Trading Practices risks to undermine the single market and primacy of EU law

On 10 December, the European Commission published a proposal to step up and extend enforcement of the EU Directive on Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs). Although announced months ago, the proposal was not preceded by any impact assessment, in direct contradiction with the Commission’s own Better Regulation Agenda. This is all the more a worrisome development, as some aspects of this proposal risk to undermine the single market, creating avenues for national policies that challenge the primacy of EU law. To counter this risk, Independent Retail Europe calls on the co-legislators to ensure that this legislation solely focuses on better enforcement of the harmonised provisions and scope of the UTP Directive. This is imperative to ensure that the law cannot be weaponised to challenge the primacy of EU law and of the single market.