Airbnb an 'opportunity' for Barcelona, says consumer protection MEP

The sharing economy should be seen as an opportunity but one that needs European regulation, said MEP Nicola Danti in a press conference in Barcelona on Monday. The MEP’s statements come amid a controversial dispute between Barcelona’s city government and Airbnb, the online platform for renting tourist apartments. The vice president of the EU’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee chose the Catalan capital as the place to explain a European Parliament resolution on the collaborative economy. “Cities have to play an important role and it’s crucial that online platforms also take on responsibilities,” he said. 

According to Danti, what is needed is common regulation that distinguishes between “peers” and “professionals” and assures sustainable growth of large and small platforms in Europe. Asked about the online service providers Uber and Airbnb, Danti defended them as “creative” and “positive” for the sharing economy, but argued that they need regulation to assure fair competition. “Uber is a transport service, this is clear, and not just a digital service, so they have to respond to the same fiscal and consumer regulations as local services in the sector,” he said, adding: “If I paid a tourist tax in the hotel this morning, Airbnb should do the same.” 

Talking to CNA, the Italian MEP explained that it was important to see the sharing economy, including online platforms that offer alternative services to the traditional economy as an opportunity, but that a legal framework for all European countries was needed. “Europe has the problem of great fragmentation in 28 states, each with its own regulations and thousands of local regulations,” Danti said. 

The MEP above all highlighted the need for a separation between professional and nonprofessional services or so-called “peer” services. “Compare an owner who offers dinner once a week in her home to someone who offers dinner for payment in his house every day of the week.”