Q: You are the face behind the recently adopted SMTD  report. Could you please elaborate, what is the purpose of this report and how you see the trends in notifications and participation in the SMTD procedure by Member States?

A: The purpose of the SMTD report is to analyse the results of the application of the SMTD Directive in 2016-2020. The current report shows a good level of participation by the Member States with 243 detailed opinions and 475 comments issued over the reference period. Italy, Spain, Poland and Austria are the most active Member States. Marked differences in the number of notifications have been noticed, with some carrying out on average more than 50 notifications per year and others notifying less than 10 per year

Q: For the majority, the Single Market Transparency Directive may seem quite technical. Where do you see the place of this Directive in the context of the functioning of the Single Market?

A: The SMTD Directive is one of the cornerstones of the internal market and has been a key tool for the prevention of technical barriers in the internal market. Member States can participate on an equal footing with the Commission in the notification procedure provided for in the SMTD Directive. Stakeholders have access to both national technical regulations under preparation and the final texts of the notified measures, translated in 23 official languages of the EU, as well as to the Commission reactions. Therefore, economic operators can anticipate the creation of obstacles to trade and avoid unnecessary and costly administrative burdens affecting their business. The Directive’s importance is proven by stakeholders’ growing interest in the notification procedure and the number of contributions by them via the TRIS website in the reference period. The notification procedure has also confirmed its usefulness in providing the possibility to identify areas where further harmonisation at EU level is necessary, such as harmonisation of packaging labelling for disposal of waste.

Q: This Report monitors the actitivities of the Commission in implementation of the SMTD. It makes the Commission accountable to the European parliament, as this Report shall be also presented to the MEPs. Where do you see the cooperation with other EU institutions in this area?

A: The SMTD Directive provides for a specific temporary standstill period in order to prevent the introduction of national measures from compromising the adoption of binding acts by the European Parliament and the Council or by the Commission in the same field. The Commission vigilates and can take action to these purposes with a decision to postpone such measures notified by Member States up to 18 months. Currently the unit E3 in coordination with the unit D4 is preparing the informative meetings with the counterparts in the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Parliament.