The Issues

Founded in 1995 around the sale of a broken item, eBay has long been home to a large variety of offers, from brand new to second-hand, refurbished goods as well as repair parts. As the EU proceeds to revise and create new rules in order to meet the objectives of the EU Green Deal and rise to the challenge of curbing climate change, eBay shares its views so that millions of consumers and businesses can prolong the life of goods and empower the circular economy.

To ensure the health and safety of European consumers, while guaranteeing the functioning of the Internal Market, the EU is updating its rulebook on product safety and defective products. The main changes are intended to reflect the characteristics of new business models, specifically e-commerce. 

In 2022 the EU Commission proposed a significant revamp of the EU Value Added Tax (VAT) rules. The proposals include changes to e-invoicing and digital reporting as well as changes that marketplaces like eBay and its sellers have to follow when it comes to collecting, remitting, and reporting on VAT applied to services and products sold in the EU.

eBay welcomes the EU’s plan to revise and update key components of its waste management rules, such as the Waste Framework Directive, and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The EU should use this opportunity to deeply reform the EPR system so that all players involved, including marketplaces like eBay and small online sellers, may do their part in reaching the EU’s ambitious goals for waste reduction.