COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE THE OPERATION OF DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/1535 FROM 2014 TO 2015
Date: 2017-12-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, access to information, approximation of laws, exchange of information, information society, mutual recognition principle, single market, technical regulations, trade restriction

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 19.12.2017  
SWD(2017) 465 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the document 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE 
COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 

THE OPERATION OF DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/1535 FROM 2014 TO 2015 

{COM(2017) 788 final} 

EN 

  EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS – ANNEXES 

Annex 1 –  Brief description of the notification procedure ................................................................ 2 

Annex 2 –  Application of the procedure between 2014-2015: notifications of technical regulations 
submitted by the Member States ...................................................................................... 4 

2.1  Volume of notifications during the 2014-2015 period .............................................................. 6 

2.2  Breakdown by country .............................................................................................................. 7 

2.3  Breakdown by sector ............................................................................................................... 10 

2.4  Commission reactions: comments and detailed opinions in 2014 and 2015 (articles 5(2) and 

6(2) of the directive) ................................................................................................................ 12 

2.5  Commission reactions: blockages in 2014 and 2015 (articles 9(3) and 9(4) of the directive) 13 

2.6  Member States reactions .......................................................................................................... 14 

2.7  Urgency Procedure (Article 9(7) of the Directive) .................................................................. 16 

2.8  Follow-up to Commission reactions ........................................................................................ 18 

Annex 3 –  Application of the procedure in 2011-2013: participation of efta countries signatory to 

the EEA Agreement, of Switzerland and of Turkey ...................................................... 19 

Annex 4 – Internet consultations 2011-2013 .................................................................................... 21 

1 

 
ANNEX 1 – BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE 

This annex gives a general overview of the notification procedure for products and indicates 
the specific procedural characteristics that apply to Information Society services. For a more 
detailed  description  of  the  procedure,  please  refer  to  the  information  brochure  Guide  to  the 
procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations 
and  of  rules  on  Information  Society  services,  available  on  the  following  website: 
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris. 

Legal bases 

Introduced  in  1984  by  Directive  83/189/EEC1,  the  notification  procedure  in  the  field  of 
technical  regulations  has  gradually  been  extended  to  all  industrial,  agricultural  and  fishery 
products. In 1998, Directive 83/189/EEC was repealed and codified by Directive 98/34/EC2, 
which  in  turn  was  amended  by  Directive  98/48/EC3  in  order  to  extend  the  notification 
procedure to Information Society services, with the adaptations needed to take account of the 
demands of the sector. In 2015, Directive 98/48/EC was repealed and replaced by Directive 
(EU)  2015/15354  with  the  aim  of  codifying  it  after  the  adoption  of  Regulation  (EU) 
No 1025/20125. 

Obligation to notify and  standstill period 

Article  5(1)  of  Directive  (EU)  2015/1535  (hereinafter  "the  Single  Market  Transparency 
Directive")  stipulates  that  the  Member  States  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  any  draft 
technical regulation prior to its adoption. The simple transposition of a European Union act 
does  not  require  prior  notification,  unless  the  national  authorities  adopt  national  provisions 
that  go  beyond  mere  compliance  with  European  Union  acts  and  that  contain  technical 
regulations within the meaning of the Directive (Article 7 of the Single Market Transparency 
Directive). 

Starting from the date of notification of the draft, a three-month standstill period – during 
which the notifying Member State cannot adopt the technical regulation in question – enables 
the  Commission  and  the  other  Member  States  to  examine  the  notified  text  and  to  respond 
appropriately.  The  only  derogation  to  this  rule  is  linked  to  the  nature  of  the  measure  in 
question:  for  technical  specifications  linked  to  fiscal  or  financial  measures,  there  is  no 

1 
2 
3 
4  

5  

Directive of 28 March 1983, OJ L 109/8 of 26.4.1983 
OJ L 204/37 of 21.7.1998, p. 37-48. 
OJ L 217/18 of 5.8.1998, p. 18-26. 
Directive  (EU)  2015/1535  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  9  September  2015  laying  down  a 
procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society 
services, OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1. 
Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European 
standardisation,  amending  Council  Directives  89/686/EEC  and  93/15/EEC  and  Directives  94/9/EC,  94/25/EC, 
95/16/EC,  97/23/EC,  98/34/EC,  2004/22/EC,  2007/23/EC,  2009/23/EC  and  2009/105/EC  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council Text with EEA relevance, OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12–33. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
standstill period.  This also applies to technical regulations that have to be adopted urgently 
(see below). 

Possible reactions and consequences 

Where it emerges that the notified drafts are liable to create barriers to the free movement of 
goods or to the  free  provision of Information Society  services and freedom of estblishment 
(Articles  34-36,  49  and  56  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union),  the 
Commission  and  the  other  Member  States  may  submit  a  detailed  opinion  to  the  Member 
State that has notified the draft (Article 6(2) of the Single Market Transparency Directive). 
The detailed  opinion  has the effect of  extending the standstill period by an additional three 
months. The Commission and the Member States can also make comments about a notified 
draft  that  appears  to  comply  with  European  Union  law  but  that  requires  clarification  in  its 
interpretation (Article 5(2)). The Commission can also block a draft for a period of 12 months 
if European Union harmonisation work is due to be undertaken or is already underway in the 
same field (Article 6(3) to (5)). 

In  the  event  of  a  detailed  opinion  being  issued,  the  Member  State  concerned  informs  the 
Commission of the action that it intends to take in response to the detailed opinion, and the 
Commission  comments  on  that  reaction  (Article 6(2)).  With  regard  to  the  comments,  the 
Directive  does  not  lay  down  any  legal  obligation  for  the  Member  State  receiving  the 
comments to indicate what follow-up action it intends to take. 

Urgency procedure 

Article 6(7)  of  the  Single  Market  Transparency  Directive  describes  an  urgency  procedure, 
which is designed to allow the immediate adoption of a national draft, subject to a closed list 
of  certain  conditions  that  must  be  clearly  indicated  at  the  time  of  notification  (notably 
"serious  and  unforeseeable  circumstances  relating  to  the  protection  of  public  health  or 
safety, the protection of animals or the preservation of plants, and for rules on [Information 
Society]  services,  also  for  public  policy"  and  "urgent  reasons  occasioned  by  serious 
circumstances  relating  to  the  protection  of  the  security  and  the  integrity  of  the  financial 
system, in particular the protection of depositors, investors and insured persons"). The aim 
of  the  urgency  procedure  is  to  enable  a  notifying  Member  State  faced  with  serious  or 
unforeseeable  circumstances  to  adopt  immediately  the  draft  technical  regulation  or  rule  on 
Information  Society  services,  without  having  to  wait  for  the  expiry  of  the  three-month 
standstill period. The Commission decides on the justification for the urgency procedure as 
soon  as  possible.  If  the  request  to  apply  the  urgency  procedure  is  accepted  by  the 
Commission,  the  three-month  stanstill  period  does  not  apply  and  the  notified  text  can  be 
adopted.  Nevertheless,  any  examination  of  the  substance  of  the  text  can  subsequently  be 
carried  out,  including  as  part  of  potential  infringement  proceedings  for  breach  of  European 
Union law. 

Communication of final texts 

At  the  end  of  the  notification  procedure,  the  Member  States  are  bound  to  inform  the 
Commission of final texts as soon as those texts have been adopted and to indicate cases in 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
which  the  notified  draft  has  been  abandoned,  in  order  to  allow  the  procedure  to  be  closed 
(Article 5(3) of the Single Market Transparency Directive). 

‘Technical regulations’ committee 

The Standing Committee laid down in Article 2 of the Single Market Transparency Directive 
consists of representatives appointed by the Member States and is chaired by a representative 
of the Commission. The Committee meets regularly and constitutes a forum for discussing all 
issues connected with the application of the Single Market Transparency Directive. 

Application of the notification procedure to Information Society services 

The  notification  procedure  also  applies  to  Information  Society  services,  with  the  following 
adaptations:  a)  in  the  event  of  a  detailed  opinion  being  issued,  the  total  standstill  period  is 
four  months  from  the  date  of  the  communication,  instead  of  the  six  months  stipulated  for 
products;  b)  the  Commission  can  only  block  the  draft  for  a  maximum  of  12  months  if  the 
subject  of  the  draft  is  already  covered  by  an  EU  Council  proposal  and  if  the  notified  text 
contains provisions that do not comply with the proposal drafted by the Commission; c) the 
urgency procedure can be invoked not only under the circumstances stipulated for products 
('serious and unforeseeable circumstances') but also 'for urgent reasons ... relating to public 
safety'.  

The simplified procedure 

EFTA  countries  that  are  contracting  parties  to  the  Agreement  on  the  European  Economic 
Area  (‘EEA’),  namely  Norway,  Iceland  and  Liechtenstein,  apply  the  notification  procedure 
with the necessary adaptations6: they notify their drafts via the EFTA Surveillance Authority 
and can comment on the drafts notified by the 28 Member States. On the other hand the entire 
European Union can comment on drafts notified by the three countries signatory to the EEA 
Agreement. 

Switzerland  (which  is  part  of  EFTA,  but  which  does  apply  the  EEA  Agreement)  also 
participates in the system.  

Turkey, which transposed the Single Market Transparency Directive in 2002, participates in 
the  procedure  in  the  same  manner  as  the  EFTA  countries.  The  decision  to  have  Turkey 
participate in the notification system was taken in 1997 as part of the implementation of the 
final phase of the Customs Union between Turkey and the European Community. 

ANNEX  2  –  APPLICATION  OF  THE  PROCEDURE  BETWEEN  2014-2015:  NOTIFICATIONS  OF 
TECHNICAL REGULATIONS SUBMITTED BY THE MEMBER STATES 

Annexes 2.1,  2.2  and  2.3  give  a  statistical  overview  of  the  development  of  the  number  of 
draft  technical  regulations  notified  by  the  Member  States  between  2014  and  2015,  and  of 
their breakdown by Member State and by sector. It should be pointed out that, in accordance 

6 

Annex II, Chapter XIX, point 1 to the EEA Agreement. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
with  Article  8  of  the  Single  Market  Transparency  Directive,  ‘statistics  concerning 
communications received’ as part of the notification procedure are published once a year in 
the Official Journal, C series7. 

The reactions to the notified drafts – in the form of comments or detailed opinions from the 
Commission  or  the  Member  States,  or  of  requests  to  postpone  the  adoption  of  the  notified 
draft  for  12  or  18  months  (Article  6(3)(4)  and  (5)  of  the  Single  Market  Transparency 
Directive) on the part of the Commission – are illustrated in Annexes 2.4 to 2.6. 

Annex 2.7  refers  to  the  requests  to  apply  the  urgency  procedure  that  the  Member  States 
addressed  to  the  Commission  pursuant  to  Article 6(7)  of  the  Single  Market  Transparency 
Directive. 

Annex 2.8  shows  the  action  taken  by  the  Member  States  in  response  to  the  Commission’s 
reactions. 

7  

For 2014: OJ C 174, 28.5.2015, p. 2–6. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
2.1 Volume of notifications during the 2014-2015 period 

Figure 1: Number of Notifications 

The statistics in Figure 1 show that the Member States notified 655 draft regulations in 2014, 
and 727 draft regulations in 2015 to the Commission. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.2 Breakdown by country 

During the 2014-2015 period, three Member States which notified the highest number of draft technical regulations were United Kingdom (143), 
France  (118)  and  Germany  (111).  A  group  of  six  other  countries  (Netherlands,  Austria,  Finland,Sweden,  Denmark  and  the  Czech  Republic) 
come next with a total number of notifications of between 63 and 103.  

7 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 1 – Number of notifications of technical regulations submitted by the Member 
States in 2014 and 2015 

Member States 

Austria 
Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Sweden 
United Kingdom 
Total 

2014 

2015 

43 
20 
13 
4 
3 
37 
39 
17 
37 
69 
61 
8 
22 
2 
20 
21 
8 
1 
1 
44 
36 
22 
17 
35 
6 
30 
32 
79 
727 

38 
20 
6 
10 
14 
26 
29 
18 
34 
49 
50 
7 
24 
6 
29 
15 
4 
2 
5 
59 
25 
7 
24 
23 
8 
21 
38 
64 
655 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 2 – Percentage of notifications submitted by the Member States in 2014 and 2015 

Member States 

Austria 
Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Sweden 
United Kingdom 

2015 

5.9% 
2.8% 
1.8% 
0.6% 
0.4% 
5.1% 
5.4% 
2.3% 
5.1% 
9.5% 
8.4% 
1.1% 
3.0% 
0.3% 
2.8% 
2.9% 
1.1% 
0.1% 
0.1% 
6.1% 
5.0% 
3.0% 
2.3% 
4.8% 
0.8% 
4.1% 
4.4% 
10.9% 

2014 

5.8% 
3.1% 
0.9% 
1.5% 
2.1% 
4.0% 
4.4% 
2.7% 
5.2% 
7.5% 
7.6% 
1.1% 
3.7% 
0.9% 
4.4% 
2.3% 
0.6% 
0.3% 
0.8% 
9.0% 
3.8% 
1.1% 
3.7% 
3.5% 
1.2% 
3.2% 
5.8% 
9.8% 

9 

 
 
2.3 Breakdown by sector 

Table  3:  Breakdown  by  sector  of  the  drafts  notified  by 
the Member States of the European Union in 2014 

M                    

Sectors 
Construction 
Agriculture, Fisheries and 
Foodstuffs 
Telecoms 
Transport 
Mechanics 
Environment 
Energy, Minerals, Wood 
Goods and Miscellaneous 
Products 
Domestic and Leisure Equipment 
Chemicals 
98/48/EC  Information Society 
Services 
Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics 
Health, Medical Equipment 
Total 

2014 
143 

127 
52 
48 
47 
41 
38 

37 
36 
31 

25 
23 
7 
655 

Figure 3: Percentage of the sectors of the drafts notified by the 
Member States of the European Union in 2014 

3.8% 3.5% 1.1%

4.7%

21.8%

5.5%

5.6%

5.8%

6.3%

7.2%

7.3%

7.9%

Construction

Agriculture, Fishing
and Foodstuffs

Telecoms

Transport

Mechanics

Environment

19.4%

Energy, Minerals,
Wood

Goods and
Miscellaneous
Products
Domestic and Leisure
Equipment

Chemicals

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Table  4:  Breakdown  by  sector  of  the  drafts  notified 
by the Member States of the European Union in 2015 

Figure 4: Percentage of the sectors of the drafts notified by 
the Member States of the European Union in 2015 

sector of th
M               

Sectors 
Construction 
Agriculture, Fisheries and 
Foodstuffs 
Transport 
Energy, Minerals, Wood 
Telecoms 
Mechanics 
Environment 
Domestic and Leisure Equipment 
98/48/EC Information Society 
Services 
Chemicals 
Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics 
Goods and Miscellaneous 
Products 
Health, Medical Equipment 
Total 

2015 
142 

124 
70 
60 
57 
43 
43 
43 

43 
35 
35 

28 
4 
727 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.4 Commission  reactions:  comments  and  detailed  opinions  in  2014  and  2015 

(Articles 5(2) and 6(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535) 

Figure 5: Commission Reactions to Notifications in 2014 and 2015 

The number of comments made by the Commission increased from 161 in 2014 to 191 in 
2015. 

The number of detailed opinions issued by the Commission increased between 2014 and 
2015: 60 detailed opinions in 2014 on the total number of 655 notifications (9.1%) and 81 
in 2015 on the total number of 725 notifications (11.2%).  

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.5 Commission reactions: requests to postpone the adoption of the notified draft for 
12 months in 2014 and 2015 (articles 6(3) and 6(4) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535) 

During the 2014-2015 period, the Commission requested a 12-month postponement of the 
adoption of 12 draft regulations notified by the Member States, because they concerned a 
subject  on  which  Union  harmonisation  work  had  already  been  announced  or  was 
underway. 

Table 5 

Year 

2014 
2015 

Standstills (Blockages) 

Announcement of a 
Community text 
(Article 9(3)) 
0 
0 

Presentation to the Council of 
a Community text 
(Article 9(4)) 
2 
1 

Total 

2 
1 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.6 Member States reactions 

Table 6 - Comments and detailed opinions issued by the Member States in 2014 and 
2015 (Articles 5(2) and 6(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535) 

2014 

2015 

Comments 

Detailed 
Opinions 

Comments 

Detailed 
Opinions 

Austria 
Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Sweden 
UK 
Total 

8 
0 
1 
4 
0 
0 
1 
1 
3 
10 
17 
0 
2 
1 
8 
0 
0 
0 
3 
3 
15 
0 
3 
2 
6 
9 
3 
12 
112 

5 
1 
3 
0 
0 
4 
0 
1 
1 
2 
6 
3 
3 
0 
6 
0 
2 
0 
2 
0 
2 
5 
2 
6 
0 
11 
0 
2 
67 

9 
1 
2 
0 
0 
6 
1 
0 
0 
5 
0 
2 
2 
1 
4 
0 
1 
0 
5 
1 
6 
2 
2 
6 
0 
8 
0 
0 
64 

9 
1 
3 
1 
0 
5 
4 
2 
2 
8 
33 
0 
5 
2 
7 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
12 
0 
1 
6 
2 
9 
5 
7 
125 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 7 – Number  of reactions (comments and detailed opinions) issued by Member States between 2014 and 2015 by sector 

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Austria
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Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Lithuania
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom

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0
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0
0
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0
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0
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0
0
0
0
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0
0
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0
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2.7 Urgency Procedure (Article 6(7) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535) 

Table 8 - Requests to apply the urgency procedure received in 2014 and 2015 

2014 

2015 

Requests 

0 
4 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
3 
10 
1 
1 
0 
5 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
3 
0 
1 
0 
1 
1 
6 
1 
40 

Favourable
opinion 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 
10 
1 
1 
0 
5 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 
0 
29 

Requests 

0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
1 
0 
4 
4 
2 
3 
0 
5 
0 
0 
3 
3 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
6 
0 
36 

Favourable
opinion 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 
4 
2 
3 
0 
5 
0 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
6 
0 
31 

Austria 
Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Cyprus 
Czech R. 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Sweden 
UK 
Total 

Table  8  provides  an  overview  of  the  number  of  requests  to  apply  the  urgency  procedure,  by 
Member State and by year; it also shows the number of requests to which the Commission gave 
a favourable opinion.   

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 9 - Breakdown by sector of the requests to apply the urgency procedure in 2014 and 2015 

BE 

BG 

CZ 

EE 

FI 

FR 

DE 

HR 

HU 

IT 

LT 

LV 

NL 

PL 

RO 

SI 

SK 

ES 

SE 

UK 

R  F R  F  R  F  R  F R  F  R  F R  F R  F R  F  R  F R  F  R  F R  F R  F R  F R  F R  F R  F R  F  R  F 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

3 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0  1 

1 

0 

0 

98/48/EC 
Information 
Society 
Services 
Agr. Fisheries 
and Foodstuffs

Chemical 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

6 

6  14 14

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  5 

5 

0 

0 

Construction 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  1 

1 

0 

0 

Domestic and 
Leisure Equip.

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

Environment 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  3 

3 

0 

0 

Goods & 
Misc. Products

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

Mechanics 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

Pharmac. and 
Cosmetics 

0 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

1  0 

0 

0 

0 

3 

3 

0 

0  10 10

0 

0 

1 

0 

2 

2 

0 

0 

2 

2 

2 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  2 

2 

0 

0 

Telecoms 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

1 

0 

Transport 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0  0 

0 

0 

0 

Total 

5 

2 

1 

1 

1 

0 

7 

7  14 14

3 

3 

4 

4 

1 

0  10 10

1 

0 

3 

0 

3 

2 

1 

1 

4 

2 

2 

1 

1 

0 

1 

1 

1 

0  12 12

1 

0 

R:  Requests     F: Favorable Opinions 
Table 9, which gives a sectoral breakdown of the requests to apply the urgency procedure received by the Commission during the 2014-2015 
period, shows that the application of this exceptional procedure was invoked mainly in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sector (29 requests) and 
in the chemicals sector (23). 

17 

 
 
 
  
2.8 Follow-up to Commission reactions 

Table  10  shows  the  number  of  detailed  opinions  issued  by  the  Commission  in  2014-2015,  the 
number  of  replies  to  detailed  opinions  by  Member  States  and  the  number  of  replies  that  were 
deemed satisfactory. The table also shows the number of notifications that were closed. 8 

 Table 10 

Year 

2014 
2015 

Detailed 
Opinions 
60 
81 

Responses from 
the MS 
62 
69 

Satisfactory 

Closures 

28 
35 

3 
6 

Table 11 

Year 

2014 
2015 

Comments 

161 
191 

Responses from 
MS 
101 
132 

Table  11  shows  the  number  of  comments  issued  by  the  Commission  in  2014-2015  and  the 
number of replies to comments by Member States.  

8  

The  number  of  replies  by  Member  States  to  detailed  opinions  and  comments  refers  to  the  replies  sent 
during  each  of  the  two  years  considered.  These  replies  do  not  necessarily  refer  to  the  detailed  opinions 
issued in the same year (for instance, some of the replies sent in 2014 concern detailed opinions issued in 
2013). This explains why the number of replies to detailed opinions by Member States in 2014 is higher 
than the number of detailed opinions issued in the same year. 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ANNEX 3 – APPLICATION  OF  THE  PROCEDURE  IN 2014-2015:  PARTICIPATION  OF  EFTA  COUNTRIES  SIGNATORY  TO  THE  EEA  AGREEMENT,  OF 

SWITZERLAND AND OF TURKEY 

Table 12 – Number of notifications from EFTA countries and comments issued to them by the European Union 

2014 

2015 

Notifications  Comments   Notifications  Comments  

A
T
F
E

Iceland 

Liechtenstein 

Norway 

4 

0 

17 

2 

0 

5 

2 

3 

18 

0 

2 

5 

EN 

19 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table  13  –  Number  of  notifications  submitted  by  Switzerland  and  Turkey  and  comments  issued  to  them  by  the  Commission  or  the 
Member States 

2014 

2015 

Notifications  Comments  Notifications Comments 

Switzerland

Turkey 

9 

6 

3 

2 

10 

16 

5 

2 

Table 14 – Number of comments from EFTA, Switzerland and Turkey regarding the notifications from the Member States 

2014 

2015 

EFTA 

Switzerland

Turkey 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

EN 

20 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX 4 – INTERNET CONSULTATIONS 2014-2015 

Note: Internet consultations available only after August 2014 due to the roll-out of the new website and new statistical analysis algorithm. 

EN 

21 

EN