Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products

Summary:

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 laying down rules and procedures for compliance with and enforcement of Union harmonisation legislation on products.

Further information:

This Regulation was proposed after analysis produced by the European Commission showed that an increased number of products sold in the internal market did not meet requirements for safety or consumer information required by EU legislation, thus distorting competition and putting consumers at risk. The draft law was first announced in the 2015 Single Market Strategy and was included in the Commission's 2017 Work Programme.

The Regulation seeks to enable better cooperation among national market surveillance authorities. It aims to clarify the procedures for the mutual assistance mechanism, and require non-EU manufacturers to designate a natural or legal person responsible for compliance information. It covers market surveillance of non-food products ('industrial products') whose placement on the internal market is subject to Union harmonising acts.

The Commission adopted this proposal in December 2017 as part of a legislative package aimed at reinforcing consumer trust in the single market. The European Parliament's plenary session endorsed the negotiating position and the launch of trilogue negotiations on 12 September 2018. Member State ambassadors approved a mandate for negotiations on behalf of the Council of the European Union on 23 November. An informal agreement on a compromise text was reached on 7 February 2019, which was endorsed provisionally by ambassadors on behalf of the Council on 15 February.

Official

EUR-Lex: COM(2017)795: Proposal for a Regulation laying down rules and procedures for compliance with and enforcement of Union harmonisation legislation on products https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2017:795:FIN

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure file on a Regulation on compliance with and enforcement of Union harmonisation legislation on products http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil-mobile/fiche-procedure/2017/0353(COD)

European Parliament: Legislative Train: Compliance and Enforcement Regulation http://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-deeper-and-fairer-internal-market-with-a-strengthened-industrial-base-products/file-compliance-and-enforcement-regulation

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 15/02/2019: EU steps up efforts to keep unsafe products off the internal market https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2019/02/15/eu-steps-up-efforts-to-keep-unsafe-products-off-the-internal-market/

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Commentary and Analysis

EPRS: Briefing, March 2018: Strengthening the market surveillance of products [Initial Appraisal of a European Commission Impact Assessment] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/615652/EPRS_BRI(2018)615652_EN.pdf

EurActiv, 13/07/2018: EU should enforce market surveillance to protect single market https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/opinion/eu-should-enforce-market-surveillance-to-protect-single-market/

EPRS: Briefing, December 2018: Strengthening market surveillance of harmonised industrial products [EU Legislation in Progress] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2018)614696

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