Press Release: 25 years of avoiding unnecessary barriers to intra EU-trade – the untold success story of Directive 98/34/EC

Although we enjoy free movement of goods in the EU, national regulations can make it difficult for enterprises to sell their products in other Member States. There is however a successful tool which enables us to anticipate and fight against unnecessary barriers to trade. The tool is the notification procedure under Directive 98/34/EC and its predecessor, Directive 83/189/EC. For 25 years they have obliged Member States to provide information on any draft technical regulations on products and Information Society Services before they are adopted at the national level This system gives the Commission and other Member States - during standstill periods - the opportunity to examine draft regulations. Also enterprises can actively contribute to the fight against unnecessary administrative burdens by making use of this notification procedure. Since 1984 more than 12 000 draft regulations have been cleared.