Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 3/5/2004

**GAIN Report Number:** E24046

E24045

**European Union**

**Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards**

**Consultation on Improvement of Mutual Recognition**

**2004**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Stan Cohen

U.S. Mission to the European Union, Brussels

**Prepared by:**

Gerda Vandercammen

**Report Highlights:**

The European Commission has launched an Internet consultation on how to
improve the practical application of the principle of mutual
recognition, which underpins the EU Internal Market. Interested parties
are invited to respond to a questionnaire by April 30, 2004. Mutual
recognition should allow products legally sold in one Member State to be
sold in all the others without having to comply with different rules in
each Member State, thus avoiding a costly technical and bureaucratic
burden for businesses. Earlier last year, the Commission had published a
document clarifying the mutual recognition principle.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Brussels USEU \[BE2\]

\[E2\]

Mutual recognition applies to goods for which there is no EU Directive
or Regulation establishing a single set of harmonized EU rules
applicable in all Member States, covering for example technical
specifications, compositional and packaging requirements. The European
Commission recognizes that many national administrations and economic
operators seem to be unfamiliar with the mutual recognitions principle
or find it difficult to apply.

Interested parties are invited to respond by 30 April 2004 to a
questionnaire available through the Commission's dedicated consultation
site "Your Voice in Europe" at:
[***http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/consultations***](http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/consultations).

Mutual recognition is a corner stone of the Internal Market. It means
that the Member State of destination should allow the sale of all
products legally marketed or manufactured in another Member State unless
national and more restrictive rules are necessary to guarantee an
equivalent level of protection, mainly for the consumer or the
environment.

The principle is that there are no specific procedural rules and no
extra paperwork. That is its strength, but at the same time its
weakness. When problems occur, there is little or no transparency, there
is no commonly agreed approach to evaluating whether levels of
protection are equivalent and there is no clear procedure for a company
to challenge decisions refusing to allow their goods in to national
markets. As a result, many companies decide to abandon certain markets
or are forced to modify their products to comply with local
requirements, which in the end puts prices up. Such responses risk
becoming more widespread after enlargement.

The Commission is therefore examining how it can make mutual recognition
work better for products. As a first step, the European Commission
published in October 2003 a Communication clarifying the \"mutual
recognition\" principle, available from
***http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2003/c_265/c_26520031104en00020016.pdf.***

This communication aims to improve the application of mutual recognition
by providing a summary of how it should work and the rights that it
gives to economic operators. The communication is a practical guide to
enable Member States and economic operators to benefit from the free
movement of products in the many sectors where there are no
\"harmonized\" rules ensuring the free movement of goods within the EU.
The document makes clear that Member States must allow the placing on
their markets of any product lawfully manufactured and/or marketed in
another Member State, unless a Member State has technical or scientific
proof that the product constitutes a risk for human health, safety or
the environment. The communication also clarifies the burden of proof
and summarizes when and how the free movement of goods can be
restricted.

The Commission is also considering to draft a proposal to legally
reinforce the practical application of mutual recognition.

A proposal by the Commission in this respect could, for example,
include:

\- specific rules to give mutual recognition more structure, thus
enhancing transparency and encouraging national authorities to act in a
more 'European' spirit

\- mandatory notification to the Commission in cases where mutual
recognition is refused

\- setting up appeal mechanisms for companies whose goods have been
refused.

For background documents and additional information on mutual
recognition, see:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/goods/mutrec.htm

**Visit our website:** our website
**[www.useu.be/agri/usda.html]{.underline}** provides a broad range of
useful information on EU import r ules and food laws and allows easy
access to USEU reports, trade information and other practical
information. More information on harmonization of EU food law can be
found at <http://www.useu.be/agri/harmonization.html>

E-mail: AgUSEUBrussels@usda.gov

**Related reports from USEU Brussels:**

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  **Report Number**                                            **Title**                            **Date Released**

  E23195                                                       FAIRS                                10/23/2003

  These reports can be accessed through our website                                                 
  [www.useu.be/agri](http://www.useu.be/agri) or through the                                        
  FAS website                                                                                       
  <http://www.fas.usda.gov/scriptsw/attacherep/default.asp>.                                        
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