How best to react? On the one hand the collaborative economy presents ‘considerable potential for competitiveness and growth’ not forgetting jobs. On the other hand, this economy raises several critical questions surrounding responsibility over protecting users, how to apply fiscal rules, and of course the status of workers. The European Commission doesn’t want to set rules that are so restrictive that they squeeze the collaborative economy outside of the EU. So at this stage additional regulations are out of the question but the European executive intends, via its ‘European agenda for the collaborative economy’ that was published on 02 June, to clarify the manner in which to apply current European rules, notably as regards qualifying the notion of the ‘worker’.
According to estimates gross revenue in the EU from collaborative platforms and providers was estimated to be €28 billion in 2015 and this could rise to an estimated €572 billion. In its 02 June press release called ‘A European agenda for the collaborative economy’ the EC is trying to encourage the development of this economy and in order to do so is looking to “address concerns over the uncertainty about rights and obligations of those taking part in the collaborative economy.”
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