The CE marking is familiar to millions of people across Europe. But what exactly is it and how does it benefit businesses and consumers?

We've all seen the arch-shaped 'C' and 'E' that adorn many products sold in the EU's single market, as well as the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. But what does this 'CE' marking mean? Well, it means that the product in question conforms to all the relevant safety, health, environmental and other requirements outlined in harmonised EU legislation (see box).

All products in certain categories - those for which EU-wide requirements exist and provide for CE marking - must carry the CE label to be sold in the EU. These include computers, phones, toys and electrical products. Of course, there are product groups that are not required to carry the CE marking, such as automobiles.

The CE marking is good for consumers, enterprises and national authorities. For consumers, it indicates, in a clear and easily identifiable fashion, that the product is safe and healthy. For European industry, the mark provides EU enterprises with access to the entire single market without having to acquire 27 individual approvals from national authorities, thereby reducing the cost and burden of conformity while maintaining high standards. For national authorities, it facilitates controls to be handled by each agency at a time when the range of goods available on the EU market is growing exponentially, without compromising standards.

The main role of the CE marking is to verify that a product conforms to safety and other requirements laid down in the relevant legislation. It is by no means a certification of origin and certainly does not mean that a product has been made in the EU; it only means that it may be sold in the Union's single market.

Conformity in action

The CE process begins with EU and national legislators who agree that, for a particular product or group of products, common European legislation is required. Together, the European Commission, Parliament and Council use the so-called New Approach (see box) to agree on appropriate legislative texts.

In most instances, manufacturers are provided with conformity guidelines with which they perform the necessary controls and they attest that they have conformed to them by affixing the CE label - which needs to be clearly and unambiguously displayed on the product and its packaging. For some products, conformity checks are carried out by an accredited designated external organisation, usually known as a 'notified conformity assessment body'.

Further along the supply chain, wholesalers and retailers also bear some responsibility: they must verify that all the goods they distribute which require a CE marking are actually carrying one and that the necessary controls have been carried out.

Sanctions for non-conformity

As noted above, the CE marking does not necessarily indicate that products have been approved by some kind of authorised body. So, could this compromise public safety or health?

Although the affixing of the CE marking is often left to the manufacturers without immediate oversight, the legal and economic repercussions of non-conformity abuses is so great that it will deter the vast majority of legitimate businesses from doing so. Not only does contravention carry the prospect of stiff legal sanction - especially as authorities and consumers have clear standards against which to measure infringements - but also the loss of reputation could be extremely costly to an enterprise caught abusing the system.

In addition, the CE marking is essentially a minimum requirement and national authorities are free to adopt additional controls to ensure that products carrying the CE label do truly conform to its requirements.

Reinforcing the label

In recent years, the EU has been working to enhance the effectiveness and credibility of the CE label. For example, the so-called 'New Legislative Framework' proposed by the European Commission and adopted in 2008 aims, among other things, to improve the efficiency and credibility of the CE marking system by establishing an accreditation system for European conformity assessment.

The EU has also taken some concrete legislative steps aimed at strengthening the CE label. These include two pieces of legislation passed in 2008: one (Regulation 765/2008) setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance and the other (Decision 768/2008/EC) clarifying the rules and conditions governing the affixing of the CE marking.

The new Industry and Entrepreneurship Commissioner and Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani will seek, during his term in office, to boost the visibility of and public trust in the CE marking. "I plan to conduct a project to restore consumer confidence in products by way of information campaigns on the CE mark. However, this confidence is also dependent on the reliability of the system on which the CE mark is based," he told the European Parliament before assuming his post. "For this reason, I consider that all new policies concerned with market surveillance and the monitoring of products from third countries should be treated as priorities to improve the operation of the internal market."