Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council reached an interim inter-institutional agreement on Thursday 7 February on the introduction of new EU product market surveillance rules (see EUROPE 12184).
With this agreement, "the EU will benefit from a more effective, modern and common control system, with a greater attention to goods sold online", Nicola Danti (S&D, Italy) cheered in a statement. He pointed out that "for most products in circulation in the EU, including imported goods, it will be necessary to have an economic operator [in the EU, Ed.] to guarantee their conformity" with European rules.
It is precisely this provision that has caused the US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, to react negatively via his Twitter account. On the other hand, the EuroCommerce association, which represents retail and wholesale trade, welcomed such a provision, which will protect manufacturers and traders in good faith against less scrupulous importers.
Mr Danti also welcomed the fact that the future rules will strengthen the system of mutual cooperation between national authorities and the investigative powers of the latter.
According to the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, this will intensify the sharing of information about illegal products and ongoing investigations so that authorities can take effective and rapid action against illegal products. EUROPE will continue to follow this. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)