Single Market in goods: what is good for one EU country should be good for 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, still needs to be completed“, said Ivan Štefanec MEP today after the adoption of the draft Report in the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee.

“A product that is lawfully on the market in one Member State should not be prohibited in another Member State“, said Štefanec, author of the Proposal for a Regulation on the Mutual Recognition of Goods. The law in question will put an end to these restrictions and help EU consumers fully benefit from the EU Single Market. The products concerned are not those which fall under harmonised EU laws, such as many consumer products (furniture, childcare products, textile etc).

Štefanec proposed boosting cross-border cooperation by setting up a Coordination Group composed of the representatives of the competent authorities and the Product Contact Points of the Member States.

He also stressed the benefits of the new law for the producers who will benefit from better 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 Report also favours that SOLVIT be used as an alternative to court proceedings to solve problems with market access for goods from different Member States.

Members of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee also approved the mandate to enter into interinstitutional negotiations.