Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – First Report on the application of Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 laying down procedures relating to the application of certain national technical rules to products lawfully marketed in another Member State and repealing Decision No 3052/95/EC

In accordance with Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 (the 'Mutual Recognition Regulation'), the Commission shall review the application of this legal instrument on a regular basis.

This first report by the Commission on the application of the Mutual Recognition Regulation takes due account of the outcome of the three meetings of the Consultative Committee on mutual recognition held to date, the notifications addressed to the Commission by the Member States under Articles 6(2) and 7(2) of the Regulation, the information provided for in the yearly reports addressed by the Member States to the Commission in accordance with Article 12(1) of the Regulation, the input provided by the national Product Contact Points (PCP), the specific input provided by stakeholders and the complaints, petitions and parliamentary questions pertinent to this area received by the Commission.

Within the non-harmonised area, the Regulation defines the rights and obligations of, on the one hand, national authorities and, on the other, enterprises wishing to sell in a Member State products lawfully marketed in another Member State, when the competent authorities intend to take restrictive measures about the product in accordance with national technical rules. It is generally perceived to be a helpful piece of legislation and has contributed towards an increased awareness of the principle of mutual recognition. The Regulation has eased the burden on economic operators introducing in a given Member State products previously lawfully marketed in another Member State.

The report will demonstrate that the Regulation works by and large in a satisfactory way and that there is no need for amendments at present. It also shows that that there are certain specific categories of products where the difficulties in the application of the Regulation seem to concentrate.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)292: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:292:FIN

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