---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Brunelet Nils <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 12:21 AM Subject: CoR opinion on the Sharing Economy adopted To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Dear Mr Bawens, At its Plenary Session of 3-4 December 2015, the European Committee of the Regions adopted its opinion on the local and regional dimension of the sharing economy. The rapporteur for this opinion was Benedetta Brighenti (IT/PES), Deputy mayor of the municipality of Castelnuovo Rangone, province of Modena. The final, adopted opinion is available here in English <https://webapi.cor.europa.eu/documentsanonymous/COR-2015-02698-00-00-AC-TRA-EN.docx> and in Italian <https://webapi.cor.europa.eu/documentsanonymous/COR-2015-02698-00-00-AC-TRA-IT.docx>. Additional information on the opinion is available on the Opinion Factsheet <http://cor.europa.eu/en/activities/opinions/pages/opinion-factsheet.aspx?OpinionNumber=CDR%202698/2015> page on the CoR website, which also gives access to the opinion in other language versions as they become available. The CoR trusts that you will duly consider the recommendations presented in this opinion, including the following key messages: · The Committee of the Regions (CoR) first of all notes that the European Commission uses the term of "collaborative economy" rather than "sharing economy" and that it has made a first effort in its recent Communication on "Upgrading the Single Market" to define the concept. In the CoR's view, however, the proposed definition focuses on the commercial and consumer aspects of the sharing economy while leaving aside the non-commercial and commons-based approaches. The Committee therefore calls on the European Commission to further analyse and later define the different forms of the sharing economy. · On the topic of regulation, the CoR believes that EU sectoral regulation is necessary for the commercial aspects of the sharing economy to ensure legal certainty and fair competition for operators, especially with respect to taxation. Hard regulatory initiatives should keep a sectoral approach and take into account the scale of the sharing economy initiative as a criterion to draw regulatory lines. EU institutions and legislation should provide a sound framework, institutional and legal guidance and ongoing access to expertise and other assistance appropriate for implementation. · Furthermore, the Committee calls on all EU institutions dealing with the sharing or collaborative economy to adopt a holistic approach, addressing the sharing economy as an economic, political and social phenomenon and to coordinate their efforts, in view of the widespread changes that it could cause to current economic systems, through a sharing economy public policy agenda built collaboratively. · Lastly, the CoR considers in its opinion that many of the sectors touched by the sharing economy have a, sometimes disruptive, impact at the local and regional level and that it should therefore be possible for them to be governed or regulated as necessary by local and regional authorities (LRAs), in compliance with the principle of local autonomy, in order to allow LRAs to adapt sharing economy initiatives and ventures to local conditions. For further information regarding this opinion, please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind regards, [image: CoR-EN] *Nils Brunelet* Administrator Commission for Economic Policy (ECON) *[image: colour strip]* *Tel: +32 (0)* 282 25 65 Web: www.cor.europa.eu Les informations contenues dans ce message et/ou ses annexes sont réservées à l'attention et à l'utilisation de leur destinataire et peuvent être confidentielles. Si vous n'êtes pas destinataire de ce message, vous êtes informé que vous l'avez reçu par erreur et que toute utilisation en est interdite. Dans ce cas, vous êtes prié de le détruire et d'en informer l'émetteur. The information in this message and/or attachments is intended solely for the attention and use of the intended recipient and may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that you have received it in error and that any use of it is prohibited. In such a case, please delete this message and kindly notify the sender accordingly. -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/
