EU to clamp down on unsafe goods sold on-line
Michael McGrath
.
Europeans buy more than 12.6 million small items a-day on-line, a total of 4.6 billion a-year with 90 per cent of them coming from
China
, Mr McGrath told the Institute of Directors (IOD) on Thursday.
Many of these goods break the EU's product safety or consumer protection rules, a practice the bloc intends to halt, the commissioner said.
'I will be visiting China later this year to take on that issue,' he added.
READ MORE
Speaking afterwards, Mr McGrath, whose brief includes consumer protection, explained that there was no question of the EU banning the purchase of legal products.
However, he pointed out the commission has told websites to take down ads for goods breaching its rules following on-line product safety sweeps.
The EU also has other options open to it, including revisiting customs rules and duties applied to goods bought digitally, the commissioner noted.
Along with threats to consumers, flouting EU consumer and safety rules gives the businesses involved an unfair advantage over compliant companies, including those based in the union, Mr McGrath argued.
The commissioner, who was speaking with IOD chief executive, Caroline Spillane, hopes new legislation for a harmonised company law system will pass next year.
The system will allow businesses to opt-in to an EU-wide regime with uniform rules rather than having to negotiate different laws across each of the 27 member states.
According to Mr McGrath, it will sit alongside each country's own company law codes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
a minute ago
- Irish Times
Would-be homebuyers urged not to hold off in expectation of lower mortgage rates
Borrowers and would-be homebuyers should be wary of making financial decisions 'based on the hope that European Central Bank (ECB) rates will drop further or indefinitely'. That's according to Trevor Grant , chairman and co-founder of Irish Mortgage Advisors. Mr Grant was speaking after the Central Bank published its latest monthly data on interest rates in Wednesday, showing Ireland remained one of the more expensive jurisdictions in the euro zone for mortgages . The regulator's latest monthly data indicated that the weighted average interest rate on new mortgages here fell marginally to 3.6 per cent in June. READ MORE This was down one basis point from 3.61 in May and 51 basis points lower in annual terms. The equivalent euro zone average was 3.29 per cent, the Central Bank said, making Ireland the seventh most expensive jurisdiction in the bloc. The latest figures come after last month's decision by the ECB to pause a recent run of interest rate cuts. Analysts now anticipate that there might be just one more cut this year, in December. 'This significant shift in ECB policy could not only mark the end of its rate cutting cycle, it could also herald that ECB rate hikes might be on the cards in late 2026, particularly if inflation starts to edge upwards in the EU again,' Mr Grant said. 'So mortgage borrowers and would-be house buyers should be mindful that the pace of further mortgage rate cuts is likely to slow or even come to an end,' he said. 'Borrowers should therefore avoid making large financial decisions based on the hope that ECB rates will drop further or indefinitely.' He said there were many reasons why Ireland remains one of the more expensive euro zone countries for mortgages. 'For example, Irish lenders are required to hold more capital than many of their European peers,' he said. 'Also, when a borrower defaults on a mortgage, Irish lenders have stated that they often find it more difficult than other European lenders to take control of and sell off the assets that were pledged as collateral to secure the mortgage,' he said. 'Notwithstanding all this, there is still room for improvement and slowly competition is bringing rates down.' Rachel McGovern , deputy chief executive at industry group Brokers Ireland , said while more competition is entering the mortgage market the benefit may become more evident later in the year. The Central Bank figures also show that Irish consumers had €166 billion in savings with Irish banks as of last month. Of that, over 85 per cent – or over €142 billion – is held in overnight deposit accounts which are attracting a meagre 0.13 per cent in interest on average. Retail banks here have been criticised for failing to increase their deposit rates in line with ECB levels while reporting big annual profits. The figures also show that an increasing number of new mortgage holders are opting for fixed rates, which now constitute 85 per cent of all new mortgage contracts. 'Mortgage borrowers are seeking security,' Ms McGovern said. 'With property prices continuing to increase, they are taking on ever higher levels of debt.'
Irish Times
31 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Electric vehicles account for one in five new cars licensed in July
Electric vehicles accounted for 20 per cent of the rising number of cars licensed in July, the Central Statistics Office said. July is an important month in the motor industry calendar as 252-registered cars come on to the market for the first time. The number of new private cars licensed in July 2025 was 8 per cent higher compared to 2024, according to the CSO, at 19,923. Of that, almost 4,000 were electric vehicles, a rise of 64 per cent year on year. EVs accounted for almost 20 per cent of the new cars licensed during the month, with plug-in hybrid vehicles at 15 per cent. Petrol cars remain the most popular, at 5,030, but that figure is 13 per cent year lower than at the same time last year, while diesel also showed a decline to 3,242, or a 22 per cent fall-off. READ MORE The combined share of petrol and diesel cars has fallen to 44 per cent compared to 56 per cent in 2024 over the seven months. Electric vehicles have continued to grow in popularity despite concerns over charging infrastructure. The share of EVs among new private cars licensed between January and July 2025 was 17 per cent, up from 14 per cent in 2024. Plug in hybrids have also become increasingly popular rising from 9 per cent over the same period in 2024 to 15 per cent, and up 56 per cent in the month. 'In the first seven months of 2025, there was a rise of 34 per cent in new private electric cars licensed when compared with the same period in 2024,' said Damien Lenihan, a statistician in the transport section of the CSO. 'There were 26,454 new petrol cars licensed compared with 30,911 in the same period of 2024, a fall of 14 per cent. Comparing the first seven months of 2025 with 2024, the number of new diesel cars licensed decreased by 23 per cent.' Toyota was the most popular make of new private vehicle last month, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai, Škoda and Kia. The Volkswagen ID4 topped the list of popular cars, with Hyundai's lower cost Inster in second place. The number of used imported cars licensed also rose, increasing by 17 per cent compared to July 2024, to 6,640.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Gallagher quit Nutribrand after firm decided to change chairman, says presidential hopeful Sheridan
Former presidential candidate Seán Gallagher resigned from his role at Nutribrand after it decided to replace him as chairman, the company's chief executive, Gareth Sheridan , has said. Mr Sheridan, who announced his own bid for the presidency over the weekend, said the company was 'surprised' when Mr Gallagher raised the issue of a basketball corporate box in his January 2022 resignation letter. The 35-year-old pharma businessman from Terenure in Dublin intends to run as an independent candidate, seeking a nomination from local authorities to get on the ballot paper. Mr Sheridan cofounded US-based Nutribrand in 2012, which utilises technology to prevent the abuse of patch medications such as fentanyl. READ MORE Mr Gallagher, another Irish businessman who came second in the presidential race of 2011, became chairman of Nutribrand in 2018. However, according to Mr Sheridan, Mr Gallagher resigned from the role in January 2022 when communications broke down over a change in corporate structure. A spokesman for Mr Sheridan said Mr Gallagher's resignation came shortly after the company decided his role should be filled by 'someone with US capital markets experience'. It was decided that Serguei Melnik, a cofounder of Nutribrand, would be appointed chairman and that Mr Gallagher would 'voluntarily vacate' the role and remain as director on the same remuneration package. 'Communication broke down at this point,' the spokesman said, and Mr Gallagher submitted a resignation in January 2022. The spokesman said the company was 'surprised' when Mr Gallagher referenced a corporate box in his resignation letter. In 2020 the company paid $180,000 for a corporate box from basketball team Orlando Magic at the Amway Arena Stadium in Florida, for a renewable one-year period. The company described it as a 'good fit' because 'it is the NBA's most prominent team in the fight against the misuse of opioids'. Nutribrand retains this corporate box and has extended its contract, the spokesman said. Also declared as presidential contenders are former MEP Mairead McGuinness, selected as Fine Gael's candidate, and Independent TD for Galway West Catherine Connolly, who has support from Oireachtas members. No other parties have announced candidates as yet.
