THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee [OJ C 264, 20.7.2016, p. 57.],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure [ Position of the European Parliament of 26 March 2019 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 15 April 2019.],

Whereas:

(1) In order to remain competitive on global markets, the Union needs to improve the functioning of the internal market and successfully meet the multiple challenges posed today by an increasingly technology-driven economy. The Digital Single Market Strategy lays down a comprehensive framework facilitating the integration of the digital dimension into the internal market. The first pillar of the Digital Single Market Strategy tackles fragmentation in intra-EU trade by looking at all major obstacles to the development of cross-border e-commerce, which constitutes the most significant part of cross-border business-to-consumer sales of goods.