On May 6th 2015 the European Commission has launched an antitrust competition inquiry into the e-commerce sector in the European Union. The inquiry, as announced in March by Margrethe Vestager by Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner for competition, will allow the Commission to identify possible competition concerns affecting European e-commerce markets. It complements actions launched within the framework of the Digital Single Market Strategy.

In pursuit of Europe's single digital economy, the European Commission will proceed with an investigation into restrictions, such as geoblocking, that prevent consumers in the European Union from buying goods in other EU countries.

"European citizens face too many barriers to accessing goods and services online across borders. Some of these barriers are put in place by companies themselves," said Vestager.

The chief statistic motivating the inquiry is that while 50 percent of Europeans have shopped online, only 15 percent of goods or services have made online purchases from a provider in another country.

The commission will publish a preliminary report in mid-2016.

European Commission - Press releases
Antitrust: Commission launches e-commerce sector inquiry
Digital Single Market Strategy: European Commission agrees areas for action