European Commission news and archive

European Commission proposes to ban products made under forced labour

The European Commission has revealed a proposal that could see products made with forced labour prohibited from entering the EU market. If approved, national authorities will be able to withdraw relevant products made for both domestic consumption and exports or imports following an investigation. EU members will have to implement the...

Sep 19, 2022

BusinessFeatured

European fashion organisations come together to form European Fashion Alliance

A total of 25 European fashion councils and organisations have come together to co-found a new alliance that is aiming to “empower a prosperous, sustainable and inclusive European fashion ecosystem”. The ‘European Fashion Alliance’, which was formed during a two-day summit in Frankfurt organised by Fashion Council Germany, is calling for the...

Jun 21, 2022

RetailFeatured

European Union updates legal framework of online sales

The legal framework of online sales in Europe has been updated and implemented from June in order to protect brand owners, wholesalers and resellers. Revenue from online sales is crucial to most fashion brands but many grey areas exist concerning laws and regulations. For most fashion brands, and especially luxury, online sales is curbed by...

Jun 14, 2022

Business

European Commission launches antitrust investigation into several fashion companies

The European Commission has announced it will be carrying out unannounced inspections of the premises of several unnamed companies in the fashion industry located in its Member States. Additionally, the commission also stated that it had sent out formal requests for information to further fashion firms. In a release, the organisation said that...

May 24, 2022

Business

Selfridges sale gets green light from European Commission

The sale of iconic department store chain Selfridges has been approved by the European Commission after it was concluded it “would raise no competition concerns”. Last year, the former owner of the iconic retailer, the billionaire Weston family, agreed to sell the business to Thailand’s Central Group and Austrian-based property company Signa...

Apr 14, 2022

Business

EU finds UK ‘failed to fulfill’ obligations to combat undervalued Chinese imports

The EU Court of Justice is set to enforce a hefty fine against the UK after it found negligence in the imposing of EU obligations to combat fraud and enter the correct amount of customs duties and VAT. Following an investigation by the court, it was ruled that the UK had “failed to fulfill” related EU laws, resulting in an import overflow of...

Mar 10, 2022

BusinessFeatured

EU publishes proposal for sustainable and responsible due diligence law

The European Commission has announced it will be pushing a due diligence law that will require companies to adopt sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour throughout their production chain. The proposal, which the commission voted in favour of last year, will oblige companies to identify, prevent and end any negative impact they may have...

Feb 24, 2022

BusinessFeatured

Pierre Cardin and Ahlers under investigation for possible EU competition breach

The European Commission has announced it has launched a formal antitrust investigation into Pierre Cardin and its licensee the Ahlers Group. The inquiry will assess whether the duo has breached EU competition rules by restricting cross-border and online sales of Pierre Cardin products, as well as the sale of products to specific customer groups....

Feb 1, 2022

Fashion

European Social Innovation Competition to award 150,000 EUR to sustainable fashion ideas

The 2020 edition of the European Social Innovation Competition, a prize established eight years ago by the European Commission, will be focusing on sustainable fashion innovations. Under the name Reimagine Fashion: Changing behaviours for sustainable fashion, this year’s competition is looking for projects aiming to change the ways clothes are...

Jan 20, 2020

Retail

Visa & Mastercard to cut fees on payments made with foreign credit cards in Europe

The European Commission has accepted an offer by Visa and Mastercard to significantly reduce the fee European retailers need to pay to the cardholder’s bank when a tourist or online shopper makes a payment using a credit card issued outside the bloc. Known as Inter-regional interchange fees or inter-regional MIFs, these fees will now be reduced...

Apr 30, 2019

Business

European Commission hits Google with 1.5 billion EUR fine

1.49 billion euros: that’s how much the European Commission has fined Google for breaching EU antitrust rules one more time. According to the Commission, Google forced its AdSense clients to sign contracts prohibiting them from accepting advertising from rival search engines. Commenting on the fine, commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of...

Mar 20, 2019

Business

European Commission investigates Nike’s tax status in the Netherlands

The European Commission has launched an in-depth investigation into Nike’s tax arrangements in the Netherlands, looking to examine whether the country’s tax administration body, Belastingdienst, has given the sportswear giant an unfair advantage over its competitors. Between 2006 and 2015, Dutch authorities issued five tax rulings, two of which...

Jan 11, 2019