EURELEC celebrates its 10th anniversary, serving a Single Market that benefits European consumers

On this occasion, and ahead of a panel discussion titled “One Europe, One Market: The Role of Retail Alliances in Strengthening the Single Market” Enrico Letta, former Italian Prime Minister and President of the Jacques Delors Institute, confirmed this finding by pointing to his 2024 report, which advocates the removal of the last remaining internal trade barriers and the final completion of the Single Market. Indeed, despite its achievements, the Single Market remains unfinished. Fragmentation persists across many sectors, preventing European citizens from fully benefiting from a genuinely integrated market and resulting in higher prices, reduced choice, and weaker competitiveness.

This observation was echoed during the roundtable discussion that followed, bringing together, alongside Eurelec's shareholders: Dirk Gotink, MEP, Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, and Christel Delberghe, Director General of EuroCommerce. While a call for action by EU co-legislators was voiced to tackle TSCs and complete the internal market for consumer goods, the speakers also warned against attempts by some to use the UTP Directive to render pooled European-level negotiations inoperable. This urgency aligns with the warning issued just days earlier by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who underlined in her State of the Union address on 16 September 2026 that tackling both TSCs and gold-plating is a matter of competitiveness for Europe[1]. The question of price accessibility for European consumers, compounded by territorial price discrimination, extended this debate further.

These challenges are central for the fast-moving consumer goods sector, which is why EURELEC was founded on a simple observation: faced with global suppliers organising their production at continental scale, it was becoming unrealistic for any single retailer to negotiate market by market. Since its creation, EURELEC has, year after year, increased its pooled purchasing volumes of FMCG products from major international brands, as its shareholders have deepened their cooperation. This fight against barriers to the Single Market is not new for EURELEC's shareholders: it was REWE that brought the case leading to the Court of Justice's landmark 1979 "Cassis de Dijon" ruling, which established the principle of mutual recognition.

Ten years after, EURELEC calls on European policymakers to complete the construction of a truly integrated Single Market, more than thirty years after it entered into force, by tackling the obstacles that continue to weaken it through two distinct yet increasingly converging phenomena.

·       On the one hand, TSCs practised by certain large international groups, often non-European, operating in the EU market. By organising their production and distribution on a strictly national basis, or by imposing different commercial counterparts depending on the market, these manufacturers prevent retailers from letting competition operate at European level. In doing so, they go against the spirit of the Single Market, to the detriment of consumers. The European Commission’s AB InBev investigation, which resulted in a fine of more than EUR 200 million provides a concrete illustration of how territorial supply constraints can fragment the Single Market. According to a study carried out for the European Commission, TSCs cost European consumers more than €14 billion every year, in the form of higher prices or products that are simply unavailable from one country to another.

·       On the other hand, the growing tendency of certain Member States to renationalise and gold-plate EU law, by making their national regulations more complex and by calling into question the internal market freedoms, in particular free provision of services and free establishment. By imposing their national law and the exclusive jurisdiction of their courts on any negotiation concerning products intended for their market, certain recent laws set a precedent that fragments the Single Market and undermines the confidence placed in it. This development calls into question the founding principles of European integration, paradoxically strengthening the position of the very global groups that these national laws sometimes claim to regulate. The growing debate around the creation of a European “28th regime” reflects a growing recognition that Europe can no longer afford to operate through this patchwork of national rules.

Furthermore, EURELEC calls on the European institutions to prevent any improper application at the national level of the revised UTP Directive, which would restrict cross-border negotiations. This concern echoes what Enrico Letta himself said on this anniversary: “There is a political inertia on the Single Market. We need to police the Single Market, to have more automatic enforcement. The Single Market needs a referee”.

Completing the Single Market is a matter that directly affects the daily lives and purchasing power of European citizens. Faced with these two fragmenting dynamics, EURELEC reaffirms the structuring role that European purchasing alliances play in restoring a balance of power with global suppliers and enabling consumers access to fairer prices across the continent. As Jérémie Vilain, CEO of EURELEC Trading, pointed out:  “Ten years after its creation, Eurelec remains a strong example of how cross-border cooperation can help deliver the benefits of the European Single Market to consumers. Yet the persistence of TSCs highlights that significant barriers to trade remain. As REWE Group, E.Leclerc and Ahold Delhaize celebrate a decade of cooperation through Eurelec, they reaffirm their commitment to make the vision of “One Europe, One Market” a reality for consumers across Europe with greater choice, availability and competitive prices”.

This ambition lies at the heart of the Joint Roadmap signed on 24 April 2026 by the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, which underscored that turning this ambition into reality requires “a sense of urgency, political ownership, and measurable outcomes.”

About EURELEC Trading SC (EURELEC): EURELEC is a European retail alliance based in Brussels and co-founded in 2016 by REWE Group (Germany) and E. LECLERC (France). In 2023, EURELEC welcomed Ahold Delhaize (Netherlands) as a third shareholder. EURELEC's purpose is to jointly negotiate European purchasing conditions with the largest international FMCG manufacturers present across several EU markets, on behalf of its shareholders for different countries (currently: Germany, France, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Belgium and The Netherlands). EURELEC negotiates the following categories: Grocery, Fresh & Frozen, Detergents, Cosmetics and Beverages. EURELEC's mission is to deliver supplemental value for all shareholders by realising cross-country synergies and leveraging the principles of the European internal market in favour of European consumers.

Contact information: info@eurelec-trading.eu