Sharing economy: a solution for guaranteed European economic growth

The European Commission started to intensify its actions towards championing enterprises that decided to offer goods and services within the scope of the more and more popular sharing economy. The spokespersons for the community stress that it is also very important to prepare appropriate regulations adapted to the presence of various business models within the model.

According to EC’s statement, innovating services of the sharing economy (or collaborative economy) are to have positive impact on the economic growth and job creation in the EU. What matters is of course regulating the services in a way that is well thought-over and responsible.

The EC decided to draft guidelines that are to allow the member states to regulate the new sector and synchronise the much diverted rules present in particular countries. The provisions are to touch on both the development of the sharing economy and protection of consumers’ interests, fair taxation and employment conditions.

Representatives of the sharing economy companies and the experts analysing the sector jointly highlight the fact that within collaborative economy there are several different economic models functioning simultaneously. That is why it is so important to set up appropriate legal framework taking into consideration the existing differences.

In the recently presented statement of the European Commission the concept of “collaborative economy” was widely discussed for a reason. In the document one finds a differentiation between the models based on sharing costs and those with the aim of accruing profit from sharing other resources.

However, one should also take a note of the more and more frequent opinion that joining various new e-commerce initiatives and the new form of rent with the concept of sharing economy is incorrect. The idea behind sharing economy is free access to apartments through couchsurfing, to knowledge through bookcrossing, and to social tool sources through tool-sharing which is growing in popularity among American farmers.

One should note that the most recognizable sharing economy brands paradoxically do not have much to do with sharing anything. Actions based on providing chargeable, shared car rides or rental of apartments do not fully meet the concept of sharing.

Surely, one should not underestimate the potential for social changes that the growing popularity of sharing economy brings. What is interesting, the pioneers of commercial use of sharing economy appear to be distancing themselves from the movement.

Sharing economy is a trend representative for the generation of twenty- and thirty-somethings. Nowadays we see groups of young people with high aspirations and difficulties in accessing financial assets needed to realise them. Sharing of good becomes an ideal solution, which directly allows to allocate the available assets more effectively.