Free movement of goods
Free movement of goods means that goods must be able to circulate freely throughout the EU internal market. In practice, this movement can be facilitated in two ways: the EU countries can adopt common rules, which is known as harmonisation, or they can follow the principle of mutual recognition where common rules are not in place.
Harmonisation at Community level
In order to make it easier for goods to move freely, EU countries have adopted common rules - harmonisation at EU level - in many cases in order to protect lives, people's health and the environment. Ahead of the completion of the internal market in 1993, work to achieve harmonisation was stepped up and a new harmonisation method was introduced (the New Approach). This New Approach means that the Community can only establish concise, basic safety requirements in directives, after which the technical details are worked out by the European Committee for Standardisation. As a result, standardisation has become very important for the functioning internal market.
Central government, the county councils, the municipalities and the business sector have a joint responsibility for standardisation in Sweden. This cooperation is coordinated through the Swedish Standards Council, whose main task is to appoint the organisations which have the right to issue Swedish standards and to represent Sweden in international and European standardisation work.
Independent control bodies and control of the market
At the same time as the EU introduced the New Approach, greater responsibility was placed on industry to carry out its own checks that goods meet the established requirements. In some cases it is necessary for checks to be carried out by an independent body. For this reason it is imperative that they ensure that their own control bodies have the necessary know-how so that a product need only be checked once within the EU.
The testing and checking of goods in Sweden is now primarily carried out by competitive private companies. To ensure that they have the right know-how, these companies must obtain accreditation, which means that they must be approved by the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC).
The development of the free movement of goods has led to a greater need for the agencies responsible for market control to monitor incidences of dangerous products on the market. The Market Control Council, which is run by SWEDAC, provides a platform for the Swedish Consumer Agency, the Swedish National Electrical Safety Board and other market control agencies to exchange experiences and coordinate activities.
National regulations - mutual recognition
If there are no common rules at EU level the Member States' national regulations apply. The point of departure is that, in principle, free movement applies. If a Member State does stop a product then it must examine whether goods manufactured in another EU country meet requirements that are equivalent to those that apply at national level. If the different countries' regulations are equivalent then a product can circulate freely in the internal market.
The principle of approving goods that have been legally manufactured and marketed in another Member State is known as mutual recognition. This principle was established by the European Court of Justice in the 'Cassis de Dijon' case. A Member State may only stop a product if there are compelling reasons to justify this, for example if people's lives or health are at risk, or if the aim is to protect the environment or the consumer. The measures taken must be necessary and only as far-reaching as is necessary (proportionate).
Member States' duty to report
Member States have an obligation to report to the EU Commission any proposals for new national rules and regulations which can affect the free movement of goods or certain services.
The Commission administrates a kind of consultation procedure between the Member States where both the Commission and other Member States are given the opportunity to report whether the proposed regulations affect free movement. If a Member State in breach of this procedure were to adopt and implement such national regulations, the final result may be the imposition of damages.
In Sweden, the National Board of Trade is the contact point for these matters and it receives all European proposals and prepares Swedish reactions to other Member States' regulations.
