Towards effective, efficient EU market surveillance: all for a level-playing field without additional burdens for legitimate manufacturers

The European technology industries represented by Orgalime should almost all comply with Union harmonisation legislation in the mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering and metalworking sectors. 

Orgalime has welcomed the Commission proposal on compliance with and enforcement of EU legislation on products and we support the efforts of both the European Parliament and the Council to improve this proposal with a view to “prevent illegal and non-compliant products on the market distorting competition and putting consumers and professional end-users at risk”. We especially welcome the Council’s drive to deliver a “strengthened framework for controls on products entering the Union market and for improved cooperation between market surveillance authorities and customs authorities”, a framework that should be compatible with the New Legislative Framework to the greatest possible extent. 

Under Article 4, we call on the European institutions to clarify that economic operators should cooperate with authorities without the latter requesting the technical file to be physically present within the EU territory, or requesting that these operators should mitigate risks beyond their competence or role in the distribution chain. 

We call on the Commission and the Council to support the Parliament’s amendments to Article 8, which would preserve a key feature of more efficient and effective market surveillance across countries and industry sectors to better protect end-users.

Download the position paper to read our views in full.