European Commission public consultation on territorial supply constraints

The European Commission is conducting a public consultation¹ seeking the views of stakeholders and citizens on planned action to address territorial supply constraints (“TSCs”). According to the Commission, TSCs are practices used by certain large manufacturers to restrict retailers or wholesalers from purchasing goods in one EU country and reselling them in another, practices that, in the Commission's view, may limit consumer choice and contribute to significant price differences for everyday consumer goods across the EU. This initiative is consistent with public positions taken in the past in Luxembourg and at Benelux level, where stronger EU measures against unjustified TSCs have been advocated in light of their potential adverse effects on prices, cross-border sourcing and competition in open economies.²

Background

The European Parliament briefing “Tackling Territorial Supply Constraints” (PE 772.649, April 2026)³ defines TSCs as supplier-imposed restrictions that hinder, or in some cases prevent, buyers from sourcing goods in one Member State for resale in another. A typical example is a retailer or wholesaler seeking to source a branded product from a lower-price neighbouring Member State that is refused supply or redirected to the supplier's national distributor.

The briefing distinguishes between direct TSCs (such as outright refusals to supply, redirection to national distributors, quantitative restrictions, delisting, or export bans) and indirect TSCs (such as price discrimination between Member States, territory-specific packaging or composition, omission of relevant languages, or rebates tied to territorial exclusivity), the latter being harder to identify. The most frequently reported TSCs are refusals to supply, product differentiation in packaging or labelling, and unjustified price differentiation between national markets, arising most notably in food and other fast-moving consumer goods and typically involving well-known international A-brands.

The briefing also sets out why existing tools may not fully capture these practices. EU competition law can address unjustified TSCs where they result from an agreement or concerted practice (Article 101 TFEU) or from unilateral conduct by a dominant supplier (Article 102 TFEU). The AB InBev (2019) and Mondelēz (2024) Commission decisions are recent examples. However, it is noted that TSCs imposed unilaterally by non-dominant suppliers fall outside the reach of EU competition law altogether. National rules on abuse of relative market power could in principle fill that gap, but the briefing stresses that coverage is uneven across Member States and that the scope, thresholds and enforcement of such rules vary considerably.

Policy context

Per the Commission's announcement, TSCs in retail and wholesale were identified as one of the “Terrible Ten” most harmful remaining barriers to the Single Market in the Single Market Strategy adopted in May 2025, and the Commission has committed to developing tools to address unjustified TSCs in cases falling outside the scope of competition law. The European Parliament briefing frames the same commitment as a response to an identified “enforcement gap”.

The consultation

According to the Commission's announcement:

• the consultation invites retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, public authorities, consumers, civil society organisations and academia to share their views and experiences via the Commission's “Have Your Say” portal;
• the contributions will feed into the ongoing impact assessment and inform the proposed policy options, complementing the input gathered through the earlier call for evidence of early 2026; and
• the consultation remains open until 29 September 2026.

What to watch

The European Parliament briefing identifies several design questions that any targeted EU instrument would need to resolve, and which stakeholders may wish to address in their responses: which practices to prohibit (with direct TSCs more readily captured than indirect ones, and the Geo-blocking Regulation cited as a possible model); the personal scope and any power-imbalance or economic-dependence threshold; the justification framework for legitimate commercial conduct; and the remedies and enforcement architecture. The briefing also cautions that the evidence on the prevalence and effects of TSCs remains limited, and that regulatory barriers such as labelling and packaging requirements (including under the Food Information to Consumers Regulation) may continue to hinder cross-border sourcing even where supplier-imposed restrictions are removed.

Affected businesses, in particular retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers of branded consumer goods, should consider whether to contribute to the consultation before it closes, and should monitor the forthcoming impact assessment and any resulting legislative proposal.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our EU & Competition law team.