Deal reached on mutual recognition of goods

Ivan Štefanec MEP, European Parliament Rapporteur, secured an agreement last night with the Council on mutual recognition of goods that will ensure the free movement of products in the EU.

The deal was reached to end the situation where one product lawfully marketed in one Member States is prohibited in another. “We need the mutual recognition of goods to ensure the free movement of products in the EU. The Single Market for goods, one of the greatest achievements of the EU, needs to be completed,” stated Ivan Štefanec MEP.

The new rules will cover the products that are not those which fall under harmonised EU laws, such as many consumer products (furniture, childcare products, textile etc.), therefore helping EU consumers fully benefit from the EU Single Market.

The proposed regulation will also strengthen the problem-solving procedure by making use of the SOLVIT mechanism, which has been one of the priorities for the Rapporteur.

Štefanec proposed, and achieved, boosting cross-border cooperation between the representatives of the competent authorities and the Product Contact Points of the Member States.

Companies, and particularly SMEs, will gain from the new rules by securing enhanced legal certainty. “The procedures for businesses and national authorities will be simplified and everybody will win with the free movement of goods in the EU Single Market," the Rapporteur added.

 In December 2017, the Commission published a Communication on ‘The Goods Package’ together with two new legislative proposals: 1) Proposal for a Regulation on the Mutual Recognition of Goods, and 2) Proposal for a Regulation on Compliance and Enforcement.