In the latest development in the legislative journey of the Goods Package, the Internal Market Committee (IMCO) has voted to move forward with the legislation. This vote gives the Rapporteurs (MEPs responsible for a legislative proposal) a mandate to begin talks with the Council of the EU. This discussion is what will result in the final version of a new EU legislative act.

As we’ve previously blogged about, the compliance and enforcement aspect of the Goods Package has the potential to change the landscape in the EU. Although this vote is a significant step forward, the final text will depend on the result of the discussion between the EU Parliament and Council of the EU. The Council has not yet reached an agreement on its position on the compliance and enforcement proposal – suggesting that there may be on-going discussion about some of the more controversial aspects of the proposal.

The EU Parliament’s press release identifies some specific areas of focus that seem to result from IMCO’s internal discussions:

  • Cooperation between market surveillance authorities to detect fault products
  • Market surveillance of products sold online
  • A reference person required for non-EU companies (and that person having substantive responsibility to remedy non-compliance, as well as being a contact point)
  • Improving mutual recognition

The Council’s position on the proposals may differ from those in Parliament, and so it remains to be seen what compromise will be found, if any, on these legislative proposals and what final form they may take.

We will continue to update on the passage of this legislation and the potential implications for those manufacturing and selling products in the EU.

You can read more about this development on the European Parliament website here:

Our previous updates on the Goods Package can be found here:

 

 

Posted by Carol Holley

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