On 19 April, new rules on the mutual recognition of goods came into force. They aim to make selling products faster, simpler and easier. The new rules come from Regulation 2019/515 that was recently updated. They concern products which are not fully or partially subject to common EU rules, but rather may come under national rules.

The new rules aim to improve the EU’s mutual recognition principle which allows products to move freely within the Single Market if they are lawfully marketed in one EU country. Companies can fill in a voluntary ‘mutual recognition declaration’ which will clearly show competent national authorities that their products are lawfully marketed in another EU country. When companies are denied or restricted market access for their products, they can contest such decisions using the European Commission’s problem-solving network SOLVIT. Product contact points' set up in each Member State will provide information on national technical rules easily accessible online. More information and access to the SOLVIT network can be found here and the national contact points here.