There was still no agreement on the regulation on compliance with and enforcement of European rules at the end of the 3rd interinstitutional meeting (trilogue) on Thursday 17 January.
The Member States and Parliament have failed to make progress on the issue of peer review of compliance and enforcement, mutual assistance on the exchange of information between market surveillance authorities, and memoranda of understanding between market surveillance authorities and economic sector organisations to carry out joint product compliance monitoring activities.
The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU has decided to come back to the Member States at a forthcoming meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper). The next trilogue is scheduled for 30 January. The Parliament would like to reach an agreement by this date, which would be a particularly ambitious objective, according to several diplomatic sources. Moreover, a 5th trilogue is scheduled for 7 February.
Negotiations were said to be tough under the Austrian Presidency of the EU Council in December, with the co-legislators also coming up against Article 4 on the person responsible for product compliance information, in particular on their jurisdiction (see EUROPE 12160). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)