Parliament demands curbs and penalties for non-compliant online stores

TALLINN - The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the sale of illegal and dangerous goods on non-EU online platforms such as Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and Wish, stating that online stores that seriously and repeatedly violate EU regulations should be temporarily shut down in Europe.

It was recently discovered in France that the online store Shein was selling weapons and child-like sex dolls to Europeans. The scandal triggered a more thorough debate in Europe on how to control the activities of online stores and protect Europeans from illegal or non-compliant goods. The European Parliament has now adopted a resolution assessing the situation and proposing solutions.

According to the Parliament, the Shein case is a serious violation of EU law that directly endangers minors and consumers in general. Therefore, the Parliament urges the European Commission and member states to act decisively and use all tools at the EU's disposal to control these platforms, including the Digital Services Act and the General Product Safety Regulation.

The Parliament is extremely disappointed that the European Commission's investigations into non-EU platforms are progressing so slowly, potentially taking months or even years. In the Parliament's view, non-EU online platforms should be temporarily shut down in cases of repeated, serious, or systemic violations of European Union law, such as the Shein case in France. Currently, this is considered an emergency measure of last resort, but the Parliament believes this should change.

Shein and other non-EU online stores are increasingly sending goods to the European Union that do not comply with EU standards. The root of the problem is a business model focused on speed, maximum profit, and excessive consumption. To attract customers, these platforms offer artificially low prices that conceal alarming issues such as underpaid labor, counterfeit branded products, the sale of dangerous and non-compliant goods, and the accumulation of textile waste.

The Parliament believes that to manage the situation, it is necessary to significantly increase financial and operational support for customs and market surveillance authorities, including from the next multiannual financial framework. Furthermore, a harmonized and WTO-compliant handling fee should be promptly established for shipments arriving from outside the EU to help cover the increased costs of customs authorities.

The EU should also use more effective sanctions to hold these platforms accountable, implement the customs code reform faster than planned, and identify and close legal loopholes exploited by online platforms. All goods entering the European Union must comply with EU requirements.