As part of a group of competition authorities that represent six mid-sized EU economies (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Portugal), the Belgian Competition Authority co-authored a letter (Letter) addressed to Kerstin Jorna and Anthony Whelan, both Director-General of the European Commission (Commission) with responsibility for respectively the internal market and competition policy, that urges the Commission to tackle Territorial Supply Constraints (TSCs) by taking legislative action (see, attached letter dated 15 July 2026 and published on 13 August 2026).

TSCs may have different meanings for different stakeholders, but the Commission has described them as non-regulatory barriers imposed by some suppliers of consumer goods that fragment the Single Market by making it very difficult or impossible for buyers, including retailers, to source products in one Member State and resell them in another. The Letter cites direct measures (such as obligations to sell only in a given Member State) and indirect measures (notably packaging requirements that make products unsuitable for sale across every Member State).

Referring to a 2020 Commission study, the Letter notes that TSCs are most prevalent in smaller markets (such as Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg) neighbouring larger, lower-price markets, and that eliminating TSCs was estimated to reduce retailer purchase prices by an average of 8.8% and consumer prices by an average of 7.6%, for total estimated consumer savings of EUR 14.1 billion.

In a public consultation which it runs until 29 September 2026, the Commission suggested four possible policy options:

1. Asking relevant industry associations to self-regulate and craft codes of conduct.
2. Creating guidance for national competition authorities.
3. Adopting legislation based on the concept of economic dependence or relative market power.
4. Adopting legislation that specifically identifies and defines prohibited practices.

The six competition authorities expressed their “strong support” for the fourth option, which is the legislative path that defines prohibited practices. According to these authorities, none of the other options is adequate and that applies also to the competition rules which are capable of catching a series of practices but not unilateral conduct of non-dominant firms. The competition authorities advocate for rules that expand on the principles underlying “geo-blocking” Regulation EU 2018/302 which addresses unjustified online sales discrimination based on customers’ nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market. However, unlike the geo-blocking Regulation, the new rules would also apply to business-to-business relationships.