EU Sets Guidelines To Support Sharing Economy

The sharing economy, regardless of country, has ruffled a lot of regulatory feathers.

The question in the debate always comes down to one theme: to ban or not to ban. And recently, the European Union set out guidelines about its thoughts on how the sharing economy — AKA companies like Uber, Lyft and Airbnb — should be regulated.

The EU said governments should only ban the services as a last resort and should otherwise look for alternative compromises in order to foster more innovation in internet-based services across Europe.

The European Commission suggested that EU states should only make regulations that are in the best interest of the public, such as a safety issue. This new set of guidelines is only advisory and has no true regulatory powers. However, they were released in an attempt to enable a uniform set of standards across the greater EU.

“Absolute bans and quantitative restrictions should only be used as a measure of last resort,” the commission said in a statement.

What the commission will do is use this series of guidelines to help government legislation form a better framework so that national laws don’t violate any of the EU laws.

Airbnb released a statement on the guidelines, calling them “a valuable tool to ensure a clear, stable and consistent regulatory environment for sharing economy users across Europe.”

Uber also weighed in.

“The European Commission has made it clear that EU laws protect collaborative economy services against undue restrictions, and Member States should review regulations that undermine the development of such services,” Gareth Mead, an Uber spokesman, told Reuters.

Part of the reasoning for this decision is that the commission wants to ensure it is encouraging innovation, which includes fostering the evolving sharing economy. Commission VP Jyrki Katainen noted in the conversations that the sector could be a major market for Europe.

“Our role is to encourage a regulatory environment that allows new business models to develop, while protecting consumers and ensuring fair taxation and employment conditions,” he said.