While the regulation on the Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI) has already been the subject of an initial interinstitutional discussion at the European Parliament/EU Council, on Wednesday 11 October the ambassadors of the EU Member States (Coreper) validated the negotiating mandate for the ‘omnibus’ package, which is directly linked to the SMEI.
This package contains a directive and a regulation amending some twenty existing laws on the conformity specifications for products that can enter the internal market.
More specifically, this proposal authorises national authorities, in the event of a crisis, to approve the entry onto their territory of products that have not completed all the standard procedures for assessing conformity with single market standards. However, these authorisations only have effect on the territory of the State issuing them, and their duration is limited to the crisis period.
The aim of this change in legislation, in addition to the creation of the Single Market Emergency Instrument, is to reduce the risks associated with shortages that can arise in times of crisis, as was the case during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to several sources, the negotiating mandate was adopted by a large majority of Member States.
For its part, the European Parliament adopted its position on the SMEI regulation at its plenary session on 13 September (see EUROPE 13249/19). One of the main amendments to the legislative text made by MEPs proposes to prohibit Member States from taking measures restricting the free movement of goods, services and persons, unless they are “justified by legitimate public interest objectives”.
The next trilogue, which will cover the SMEI regulation and the entire ‘omnibus’ package, is due to take place on Wednesday 26 October.
As a reminder, the adoption of this instrument was presented as one of the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, which hopes to finalise the dossier before the end of the year (see EUROPE 13252/8). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)