German retailers urge Berlin to shield EU firms from unfair competition

German retail leaders person written to Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling for stronger authorities enactment to support the competitiveness of German and European retailers.

In a missive up of an informal gathering of the European Council, the German Retail Federation (HDE) said unfair contention from traders and online platforms based extracurricular the EU threatens section companies.

The entreaty highlights concerns implicit regulatory burdens and marketplace distortions that HDE says enactment EU firms astatine a disadvantage.

In its 6 February 2026 letter, HDE urged the German authorities to guarantee just contention and to trim what it described arsenic excessive regularisation that hampers the retail sector.

The commercialized assemblage said that platforms and retailers from 3rd countries often flight compliance with EU rules connected merchandise information and user protection, allowing them to undercut home competitors.

HDE’s president emphasised the request for a level playing tract to enactment semipermanent competitiveness successful European markets.

The relation pointed specifically to accelerated maturation among overseas online marketplaces that participate the EU marketplace with little prices and less regulatory obligations. Similar concerns person been raised crossed Europe astir enforcement of EU rules successful integer and cross-border commerce.

Beyond overseas competition, HDE criticised a scope of caller European rules it says could further undermine concern conditions for EU retailers. These see measures that HDE believes volition summation bureaucratic resistance oregon complicate compliance.

The federation called connected Berlin to question delays oregon reforms to specified regulatory proposals astatine the forthcoming Council meeting.

Industry groups crossed Europe person antecedently warned that inconsistent enforcement of standards and analyzable regularisation tin disadvantage companies that run strictly wrong EU law.

Advocacy organisations person called for amended coordination connected enforcement and much effectual implementation of EU contention argumentation to support European firms.

The HDE missive comes amid wider statement successful the EU astir however to equilibrium unfastened markets with robust enforcement of contention and user extortion laws.

Regulators and manufacture associations person signalled the value of maintaining precocious standards portion addressing accelerated changes successful integer retail and e-commerce.

Recent regulatory actions successful Germany and the EU person aimed astatine ensuring just marketplace conditions, including contention reviews targeting online marketplaces.