The European Parliament has endorsed the reforms to geo-blocking that were agreed last year between the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament. Negotiators had agreed to put an end to unjustified geo-blocking, meaning that consumers should be allowed to purchase more products and services online from websites in other European countries. The rules will apply to three specific situations where there is no justification and no objective criteria for a different treatment of customers from different EU member states: the sale of goods without physical delivery; the sale of electronically supplied services, such as data storage and website management; and services provided in a specific physical location, such as tickets for events or amusement parks. In practice, this means that European consumers will be able to choose from which website they want to buy such products and services, without being blocked or re-routed automatically based on their nationality or the country where they're permanently or temporarily located, using payment methods that apply in any country. However, the sellers have no obligation to deliver the products all round the European Union. The European Council has yet to formally approve the reforms. The new regulations will apply nine months after their publication in the Official Journal, so that unjustified geo-blocking should no longer exist by the end of this year.

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