EU proposes strengthening of internal market rules
Malta's positionThe Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications is lobbying to ensure that proposals for harmonisation in the free movement of goods sector within the EU effectively prevent unsafe goods from being placed on the internal market in...
Malta's position
The Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications is lobbying to ensure that proposals for harmonisation in the free movement of goods sector within the EU effectively prevent unsafe goods from being placed on the internal market in the first place, rather than on removing them from the market.
The ministry is being represented by the Malta Standards Authority (MSA) which is pushing for a balance between unburdening industry and placing more responsibility on the authorities of member states. It believes that conformity tests (certifying product safety before these are introduced on the market) should remain one of the pillars of the internal market, member states must be responsible for effective surveillance of their markets through closer collaboration between their competent authorities.
"We believe that we would be fighting a lost battle if we were to try to remove products from the market when, through better co-ordination at EU level, you might have found out that they were unsafe.
"We believe it will be much harder to remove them completely from the market and to ensure that they do not simply turn up elsewhere. This is why we believe that the emphasis should still be on pre-market surveillance rather then traditional 'policing'," MSA Acting CEO Anthony Camilleri said.
"So far, the signals that we are receiving from the Presidency, the Commission and several member states on this point are positive. In order to guarantee a more proactive market surveillance approach, Malta is proposing the inclusion of an article specifically requiring the exchange of market surveillance programmes between the member states."
He was speaking during a seminar last week organised by Forum Malta fl-Ewropa and the MSA to debate the widespread effect these proposals would have on manufacturers, importers and ultimately consumers.
Over the past months, the Commission conducted a public consultation on the proposed changes, aimed at improving Europe's competitiveness by making it easier to market products across the EU, while maintaining a high level of safety and quality. These consultations identified a number of outstanding weaknesses in the internal market for goods, which continue to have a negative effect on both businesses and consumers.
The proposals, aimed to address both the "harmonised" and "non-harmonised" product sectors, cover procedures on the application of national technical rules on products lawfully marketed in another member state, a regulation on accreditation and market surveillance, and a common legal framework for industrial products.
As for the "harmonised" sectors (toys, electrical equipment, pressure equipment, construction products and medical devices to name but a few) the new procedures would align some 25 pieces of legislation and affect three-quarters of all non-food goods traded in the EU. Products entering the EU from third countries, that is those being imported into a EU member state for the first time, will have to comply with the new rules, to ensure a level playing-field for EU products. These would all require some sort of certificate of conformity.
However, once a product has been accepted in one member state, then it should be able to be traded throughout the EU without further barriers.
The proposals also try to avoid duplication of resources by extending the present RAPEX information system to all the harmonised sectors, creating a framework for the exchange of information between member states.
"In Malta, we are well organised and there is considerable information sharing between entities like the MSA, the Market Surveillance Department, the Consumer and Competition Division and the Customs Department. In other countries, though, this is not always the case," Ing. Camilleri said.
"Experience shows us that timely information is very important as it is sometimes possible to flag shipments of particularly high-risk origin early in the day. Therefore the Maltese proposal is to strengthen this exchange of information among all 27 member states, so it would be as if there were one compact market surveillance agency for the whole of Europe!"
Ing. Camilleri said that without this approach, he feared that much of the cost-burden for surveillance would shift from the manufacturing industry to the government, even though the producer will continue to be responsible for product safety.
For uniform and transparent market surveillance within the EU, tests will have to be carried out by accredited laboratories. In this context, Malta would be at a disadvantage because it does not have the volume of work to justify - or to sustain - certain laboratories required for safety tests.
It is believed that the greatest impact of this so called "Verheugen" package will be on non-harmonised sectors, that is on products that are still covered by variegated "national" regulations, such as those which do not carry the well-established CE mark.
There is still a considerable amount of national legislation that constitutes a barrier to trade. For example, particular types of PVC sheathed wiring is banned from use in homes in Scandinavia because it used to pose safety risks at low temperatures.
"This means that if someone has an innovative product that overcomes the problems of the past, he would still not be able to market it there," MSA official Joseph Micallef said.
"Now it would be up to the government to prove why the new product cannot be traded. The burden of proof will no longer lie with the manufacturer. This will be very important for our SMEs who would not have had the resources to fight for their products the way things were.
"Therefore Malta is fully supporting the proposal to designate a Product Contact Point in each member state to facilitate the penetration of non-harmonised products into the internal market."
The proposals
Mutual recognition: Products lawfully marketed in one state can be freely traded in all other EU member states.
Market surveillance and accreditation: A new regulation would ensure cooperation between internal authorities (and customs authorities for third-country imports). It would lay down rules for accreditation of conformity assessment bodies by a single, national accreditation body, as well as a framework for market surveillance.
Common legal framework: Industrial products would be covered by common legislation.
Motor vehicles: Procedures would be laid down for registration of vehicles originating in other member states.
The Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications is lobbying to ensure that proposals for harmonisation in the free movement of goods sector within the EU effectively prevent unsafe goods from being placed on the internal market in the first place, rather than on removing them from the market.
The ministry is being represented by the Malta Standards Authority (MSA) which is pushing for a balance between unburdening industry and placing more responsibility on the authorities of member states. It believes that conformity tests (certifying product safety before these are introduced on the market) should remain one of the pillars of the internal market, member states must be responsible for effective surveillance of their markets through closer collaboration between their competent authorities.
"We believe that we would be fighting a lost battle if we were to try to remove products from the market when, through better co-ordination at EU level, you might have found out that they were unsafe.
"We believe it will be much harder to remove them completely from the market and to ensure that they do not simply turn up elsewhere. This is why we believe that the emphasis should still be on pre-market surveillance rather then traditional 'policing'," MSA Acting CEO Anthony Camilleri said.
"So far, the signals that we are receiving from the Presidency, the Commission and several member states on this point are positive. In order to guarantee a more proactive market surveillance approach, Malta is proposing the inclusion of an article specifically requiring the exchange of market surveillance programmes between the member states."
He was speaking during a seminar last week organised by Forum Malta fl-Ewropa and the MSA to debate the widespread effect these proposals would have on manufacturers, importers and ultimately consumers.
Over the past months, the Commission conducted a public consultation on the proposed changes, aimed at improving Europe's competitiveness by making it easier to market products across the EU, while maintaining a high level of safety and quality. These consultations identified a number of outstanding weaknesses in the internal market for goods, which continue to have a negative effect on both businesses and consumers.
The proposals, aimed to address both the "harmonised" and "non-harmonised" product sectors, cover procedures on the application of national technical rules on products lawfully marketed in another member state, a regulation on accreditation and market surveillance, and a common legal framework for industrial products.
As for the "harmonised" sectors (toys, electrical equipment, pressure equipment, construction products and medical devices to name but a few) the new procedures would align some 25 pieces of legislation and affect three-quarters of all non-food goods traded in the EU. Products entering the EU from third countries, that is those being imported into a EU member state for the first time, will have to comply with the new rules, to ensure a level playing-field for EU products. These would all require some sort of certificate of conformity.
However, once a product has been accepted in one member state, then it should be able to be traded throughout the EU without further barriers.
The proposals also try to avoid duplication of resources by extending the present RAPEX information system to all the harmonised sectors, creating a framework for the exchange of information between member states.
"In Malta, we are well organised and there is considerable information sharing between entities like the MSA, the Market Surveillance Department, the Consumer and Competition Division and the Customs Department. In other countries, though, this is not always the case," Ing. Camilleri said.
"Experience shows us that timely information is very important as it is sometimes possible to flag shipments of particularly high-risk origin early in the day. Therefore the Maltese proposal is to strengthen this exchange of information among all 27 member states, so it would be as if there were one compact market surveillance agency for the whole of Europe!"
Ing. Camilleri said that without this approach, he feared that much of the cost-burden for surveillance would shift from the manufacturing industry to the government, even though the producer will continue to be responsible for product safety.
For uniform and transparent market surveillance within the EU, tests will have to be carried out by accredited laboratories. In this context, Malta would be at a disadvantage because it does not have the volume of work to justify - or to sustain - certain laboratories required for safety tests.
It is believed that the greatest impact of this so called "Verheugen" package will be on non-harmonised sectors, that is on products that are still covered by variegated "national" regulations, such as those which do not carry the well-established CE mark.
There is still a considerable amount of national legislation that constitutes a barrier to trade. For example, particular types of PVC sheathed wiring is banned from use in homes in Scandinavia because it used to pose safety risks at low temperatures.
"This means that if someone has an innovative product that overcomes the problems of the past, he would still not be able to market it there," MSA official Joseph Micallef said.
"Now it would be up to the government to prove why the new product cannot be traded. The burden of proof will no longer lie with the manufacturer. This will be very important for our SMEs who would not have had the resources to fight for their products the way things were.
"Therefore Malta is fully supporting the proposal to designate a Product Contact Point in each member state to facilitate the penetration of non-harmonised products into the internal market."
The proposals
Mutual recognition: Products lawfully marketed in one state can be freely traded in all other EU member states.
Market surveillance and accreditation: A new regulation would ensure cooperation between internal authorities (and customs authorities for third-country imports). It would lay down rules for accreditation of conformity assessment bodies by a single, national accreditation body, as well as a framework for market surveillance.
Common legal framework: Industrial products would be covered by common legislation.
Motor vehicles: Procedures would be laid down for registration of vehicles originating in other member states.