The Electronic Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) and cross border trade in the European Union

Abstract

Electronic commerce is an industrial revolution that many industry and academic observers believe will transform the conduct the way business is conducted and the structure of the marketplace. At the heart of the changes are a number of economic forces that will shape the manner in which goods and services are defined. They will also affect how firms use new technologies for strategic advantage, how firms organise themselves to compete in a changing marketplace, how the new electronic markets develop, and how the economy as a whole is impacted.