European e-commerce firms are failing to tap into a potentially huge market because consumer protection legislation has not been harmonised across the region, according to a new EU study.

The report on retailer and consumer attitudes to cross-border commerce found that, despite 40 per cent of consumers being more or equally confident about shopping online from another EU country, three-quarters of retailers are not offering such sales.

"Our goal is that consumers should be able to benefit from buying the best quality at the cheapest price no matter where in the internal market these goods or services might be on sale," said European consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva.

"And it should be easy for the retailers to sell their products or services wherever the demand is within the internal market."

Kuneva believes that the potential for further internal market integration in this field is "considerable".

"So it is clearly a priority to ensure that legal and practical barriers do not prevent consumers and businesses from trading cross-border, while ensuring a consistently high level of consumer protection," she said.