On the 19th December, the European Commission has tabled two legislative proposals to make easier for companies, especially SMEs, to sell their products across Europe, and to strengthen controls by national authorities and customs officers to prevent unsafe products from being sold to European consumers.

Indeed, despite EU legislation, there are still unsafe and non-compliant products sold on the EU market that do not meet the requirements for safety or consumer information (32% of toys, 58% of electronics, 47% of construction products and 40% of personal protective equipment).

The two initiatives are designed to improve two aspects of the free flow of goods in the EU mutual recognition and control on products. The first intends to revamp and facilitate the use of mutual recognition in the Single market to make it faster, simpler and clearer in practice. The second proposal aims to strengthen compliance and enforcement of EU product rules by national authorities based on closer cooperation amongst market surveillance authorities in particular. The objective is to give authorities additional tools to ensure safety of products entering the EU market.

The “Goods package” is also completed by a report on the operation of the Single Market Transparency Directive (Directive 2015/1535) laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services from 2014 to 2015, as well as a Report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008, that highlights the role played by EA to harmonize and reinforce accreditation in Europe.

With these two new legislative proposals, product safety will be increased for consumers without generating unnecessary barriers, delays or extra costs for companies.

The draft Regulations will be sent to the European Parliament and Council for adoption. Once adopted, they will be directly applicable.

To get more information on the Report on the implementation of Regulation EC No 765/2008, click here

A FAQ and a video are also available on the European Commission website to illustrate the benefits of the Commission proposals for the Single Market.