The European Parliament today backed two reports on the collaborative economy and online platforms such as AirBnB, Uber, Facebook or Amazon marketplace. The S&D Group ensured that both reports reflected the potential of new innovations while also highlighting the need to ensure that labour standards are protected.

S&D Group coordinator on the internal market and author of the European Parliament’s resolution on the collaborative economy, Italian MEP Nicola Danti said:

“Today, the European Parliament paves the way towards a well-balanced, more comprehensive and ambitious EU strategy on the collaborative economy.

“We need to overcome the state of uncertainty and confusion in which all the participants in the collaborative economy are currently set and move forward towards a harmonised and dynamic environment at the EU level, which will be capable of avoiding the fragmentation of the single market.

“The development of the collaborative economy model in a fair and responsible manner guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection, fair working conditions and tax compliance, could create significant opportunities for European consumers, entrepreneurs and workers.”

S&D Group spokesperson for the report on online platforms and the digital single market, José Blanco López, said:

“Online platforms play a key role in innovation and growth in the digital single market as they have created new business opportunities, revolutionised access to information, increased consumer choice, enhanced citizens' participation in society and democracy and have connected buyers and sellers in a better and more efficient way. However, the vast majority of these platforms have originated in the US or Asia. We need to create the right framework to allow the next generation of platforms to grow in Europe.

“However, increasing innovation does not mean undercutting our social model or labour rights. If companies are making profit simply by exploiting workers or avoiding social legislation then this must be clamped down on.”