While buying on the internet is increasingly popular in the EU, only 6 percent of Europeans currently shop at Web traders based in another member country, the commission said. "This is lost potential," the EU executive warned.

Consumer spending in the 27-member union currently accounts for 58 percent of the bloc's gross domestic product.

Under the new proposal, existing rules for buying and selling online would be simplified and harmonized across the EU to make online shopping safer and easier for consumers.

Rules on how to return products would be clarified, the notion of delivery for purchases reinforced and the rights and costs of returning goods standardized, the commission said.

The plan also considers a system where consumers could choose freely among remedies if items turn out to be faulty.

Online consumers getting a rough deal

"At the moment, consumers are not getting a fair deal online, and complex rules are holding back the next generation of bright ideas," Meglena Kuneva, the new EU chief for consumer protection, said in a statement.

The commission cited hundreds of complaints about online shopping at web traders that do business in other EU countries.

Most people complained about non-delivery or late delivery of online-ordered goods. Other problems were related to returning goods, refusals to cancel orders and getting refunds.

Kuneva called for a fundamental overhaul of EU consumer rules for online shopping, arguing that existing legislation has become outdated and fails to meet the demands of the digital world.

Current rules in the bloc's member states differ widely, but the EU can not afford to have "27 mini-online markets, denying consumers choice, opportunity and competitive prices," she said.

Making the Internet a trusted market place

"We need to inject a new sense of consumer confidence into the e-shopping world so that it becomes a trusted market space," said Kuneva when presenting her first major initiative.

The Bulgarian commissioner took over the dossier from EU health chief Markos Kyprianou after Bulgaria and Romania joined the bloc on Jan. 1.

Kuneva said that the current "patchwork of different national rules" was also hampering European businesses.

While 57 percent of European retailers were selling their goods over the internet, only three-in-ten shipped their products to clients in other EU countries, according to the EU executive.

Kuneva will now discuss her plans with citizens, businesses, consumer organizations and politicians across the EU.