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Prevention of technical barriers to trade
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Free movement in non-harmonised sectors
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Regulatory policy
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Regulated sectors
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Liability for defective products
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Fighting late payments
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Monitoring EC law application
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International aspects
New Legislative Framework
New Legislative Framework for marketing of products
The New Legislative Framework, the modernisation of the New Approach for marketing of products, was adopted in Council on 23 June 2008 and finally published in the Official Journal on 13 August 2008. This broad package of measures which has the objective of removing the remaining obstacles to free circulation of products represents a major boost for trade in goods between EU Member States.
It will bring particular benefits for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), who will no longer be discouraged from doing business outside their domestic markets. Existing market surveillance systems for industrial products will be strengthened and aligned with import controls. These measures will reinforce the role and credibility of CE marking.
In addition, trade in goods which do not fall under EU-legislation will be improved. From now on a Member States that intends to refuse market access will have the duty to talk to the enterprise and to give detailed objective reasons for any possible refusal, making life for companies easier.
The package of measures will have an impact on a large number of industrial sectors, representing a market volume of around € 1 500 billion a year. The legal texts published on OJEU are:
- Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 laying down procedures relating to the application of certain national technical rules to products lawfully marketed in another Member State and repealing Decision No 3052/95/EC.
- Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93
- Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on a common framework for the marketing of products, and repealing Council Decision 93/465/EEC
The objective of the package is to facilitate the functioning of the internal market for goods and to strengthen and modernise the conditions for placing a wide range of industrial products on the EU market. The package builds upon existing systems to introduce clear Community policies which will strengthen the application and enforcement of internal market legislation. It:
- Introduces better rules on market surveillance to protect both consumers and professionals from unsafe products, including imports from third countries. This particularly applies to procedures for products which can be a hazard for, health or the environment for instance, which in such a case will be withdrawn from the market;
- Enhances the confidence in and quality of conformity assessments of products through reinforced and clearer rules on the requirements for notification of conformity assessment bodies (testing, certification and inspection laboratories) including the increased use of accreditation; a reinforced system to ensure that these bodies provide the high quality services that manufacturers, consumers and public authorities need;
- Enhances the credibility and clarifies the meaning of CE marking. In addition the CE marking will be protected as a community collective trade mark, which will give authorities and competitors additional means to take legal action against manufacturers who abuse it;
- Establishes a common legal framework for industrial products in the form of a toolbox of measures for use in future legislation. This includes provisions to support market surveillance and application of CE marking, amongst other things and it sets out simple common definitions (of terms which are sometimes used differently) and procedures which will allow future sectoral legislation to become more consistent and easier to implement. The provisions are split for legal reasons, but must be considered in parallel, as they are fully complementary and together form the basis of consistent legal framework for the marketing of products. The provisions of the Decision will be fed into existing Directives as and when they are revised - in effect, it is a basis for future regulation.
The package also strengthens the internal market of a wide range of other products, which are not subject to EU harmonisation, such as various types of foodstuffs (for example bread and pasta), furniture, bicycles, ladders and precious metals, etc. Together they represent more than 15% of intra EU trade in goods. The new mutual recognition Regulation covers such products.
What next?
The Regulation on marketing of products will be applicable as from 1 January 2010.
Implementing actions for accreditation policy and market surveillance will be prepared so as to be ready for the 1 January 2010 date.
The provisions of the Decision can be used immediately but to be operational they need to be fed into existing Directives when they are revised.