According to the information we have received, discussions at the Council of the EU’s "technical harmonisation" working group were on the right track on Wednesday 7 February with regard to the regulation on the mutual recognition of non-harmonised or partially harmonised goods in the EU.
During the meeting, experts were able to conclude the reading of all the articles in the European Commission proposal and a convergence of positions during this reading was observed. The national experts are expected to meet up again to discuss this legislative dossier on 14 March next. According to the information we have received, a general approach is possible under the mandate of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the Union.
According to one diplomatic source’s explanation to EUROPE, however, the European Commission' second draft regulation on respect for the effective application of the legislation, could take more time due to its technical specificities. This same source said that under the Bulgarian Presidency it would be difficult to obtain a general approach. The experts will be meeting up to discuss the second text on 19 February.
Names of Parliament rapporteurs finally released. At the end of January, MEPs gave a positive welcome to the European Commission's proposals in this regard (see EUROPE 11947). We have been informed that the text on mutual recognition will be covered by Ivan Štefanec (EPP, Slovakia) and that the second, on respect and application of European legislation, will be steered through by Nicola Danti (S&D, Italy). Parliament's legislative timetable will be made known on 21 February.
It should be recalled that in December 2017, the European Commission presented a package of “safe products" in an effort to improve and speed up mutual recognition, as well as enhance implementation of European rules for combating the marketing of dangerous or non-compliant products (see EUROPE 11929). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)