The Single Market & European Retail Alliances: essential for lower prices and consumer choice

EuroCommerce, the European association of retailers and wholesalers, urges the Commission to act to protect the EU Single Market against the extra-territorial application of national law in the context of European retail alliances. This is in the context of the recent fine imposed on Eurelec, a European retail alliance based in Brussels, by the French authorities for continuing negotiations with suppliers beyond the deadline of 1 March set by French law.  

Christel Delberghe, EuroCommerce Director General, stated: “The Commission reinforced the idea that there should be One Europe, One Market at the Alden Biesen summit. This means taking action on national rules that undermine the Single Market and removing territorial supply constraints. We asked the European Commission in 2023 to urgently address the violation by France of EU rules on choice of law and free movement with the French authorities and now is the time to act.” 

During the Alden Biesen summit, the European Commission, together with the leaders of EU Member States set out the objective of achieving a ‘One Europe, One Market’ by end of 2027 on the basis of the recommendations of the Letta and Draghi reports. President von der Leyen called to ‘crack down on gold-plating and fragmentation’ through a ‘deep regulatory housecleaning’ at all levels, warning that ‘barriers inside Europe hurts us more than tariffs from outside’.  

In December 2023, EuroCommerce lodged a complaint against Loi n° 2023- 221 du 30 mars 2023 (also known as Egalim 3 or ‘Loi Descrozaille’) which infringes EU law by imposing French law and giving exclusive jurisdiction to French courts for all commercial negotiations that involve products sold on the French market. In its 2025 report on France, the European Commission warned that the extra-territorial application of the EGalim laws can ‘prevent retailers from using single market freedoms and consumers from benefiting from competitive prices and a larger choice of products.’ 

A recent Regulation approved by the European Parliament on cross-border enforcement of the Directive on unfair trading practices clarified that Member States cannot enforce their national law extraterritorially (and especially national sanctions).

Retailers and wholesalers use retail alliances to bring consumers more choice and competitive prices for everyday products. European retail alliances deal with large manufacturers to negotiate better terms for consumers for everyday packaged food and non-food products such as cosmetics, shampoo or detergents. They help overcome the territorial supply constraints (TSCs) imposed by global brands, so that consumers enjoy the benefits of the Single Market. They do not deal with farmers or SMEs.  

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