EU simplification plans should keep GDPR and on-product labelling strong

The EU Commission announced today proposals to simplify rules for “small” mid-caps [1] and reform the Single Market. While simplification can benefit companies and consumers alike, BEUC highlights the necessity to improve the enforcement of the EU’s key data protection law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), instead of reopening it and the need to keep some key information about products’ use, maintenance and sustainability on and with the products, not online.

The simplification proposal foresees that the SMEs derogation to keep data protection documentation could be extended to small mid-caps and organisations below 750 employees, which would hamper companies’ compliance with their GDPR obligations and the authorities’ enforcement work.

The Single Market proposal foresees that some important information to move from products’ packaging to online, to the detriment of consumers.

Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, commented:

“Making rules simpler can make Europe act faster and benefit both companies and consumers. However, simplification must in no way equal watering down standards. Opening the GDPR could not only put consumer’s rights at risk but also create legal uncertainty for companies, raising their costs if they would need to adapt to new rules.

“Safety information will thankfully still come delivered with the product. However, it is regrettable that printed user manuals, which contain valuable information about assembly, maintenance or energy performance, risk moving online. Many consumers need to have access to printed instructions to use their washing machines, fridges or computers up to their potential and without safety risks.  

“Every week, new tests by our member organisations confirm that unsafe and illegal products keep entering the EU via online shops. That’s why we firmly believe that online marketplaces must be held accountable for the safety and compliance of products they sell. BEUC regrets that this is absent from the Single Market plans published today. This would not only benefit the health and safety of consumers but also reward those companies who do comply with EU rules.”

Background

This is the EU Commission’s fourth simplification ‘omnibus’, i.e. a package of proposals targeting several areas. It aims to:

• Define small mid-caps officially.

• Extend exceptions applicable to SMEs to small mid-caps

• Remove obligations to provide product compliance documentation in paper format

More information

• BEUC letter to EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, ‘The simplification agenda must deliver for consumers’, 5 May 2025.

• BEUC letter to EU Executive Vice-President Virkkunen and Commissioner McGrath, ‘The GDPR should be better enforced, not reopened’, 24 April 2025

• BEUC’s response to the Single Market Strategy consultation, 30 January 2025.

• BEUC’s press release on the Competitiveness Compass, 29 January 2025.

[1]  “i.e. companies with fewer than 750 employees and either up to €150 million in turnover or up to €129 million in total assets”, according to the European Commission.