(a)

a report on the operation of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services from 2014 to 2015 (2); and

(b)

a report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 (3).

(a)

smart enforcement of the rules in a borderless single market;

(b)

enforcement of legislation at external borders.

(a)

consolidate the existing framework for market surveillance activities;

(b)

encourage joint actions by market surveillance authorities from several Member States;

(c)

improve the exchange of information and promote the coordination of market surveillance programmes;

(d)

create a strengthened framework for controls on products entering the Union market and for improved cooperation between the customs authorities and market surveillance authorities.

(a)

ensuring the effective functioning of the mutual recognition principle;

(b)

building cooperation and trust;

(c)

guaranteeing the operation of the internal market for non-harmonised products.

(a)

clarifying the scope of mutual recognition, by clearly defining when it is applicable;

(b)

introducing a self-declaration to facilitate the demonstration of a product being already lawfully marketed and a problem-solving system to deal with decisions denying or restricting market access;

(c)

setting up administrative cooperation and putting in place an IT tool that will enhance communication, cooperation and trust among national authorities, and thus facilitate the functioning of mutual recognition.

(a)

it confirms its usefulness in terms of transparency, administrative cooperation and prevention of technical barriers in the internal market, demonstrated by the broad stakeholder interest in the notification procedure, which makes it possible to identify areas where harmonisation at EU level could be an option;

(b)

it recognises, nevertheless, that there is still room for improvement in the application of the procedure, namely concerning the number of notifications from some Member States and their compliance with the notification obligations;

(c)

it considers that a higher number of notifications and more active participation of the Member States in the procedure would facilitate the prevention of new technical barriers and the identification of systemic issues in each Member State and across the EU;

(d)

it deems it crucial to further promote the Directive and step up its implementation, whilst establishing a stronger link with follow-up policy and legislative action, in order to fully achieve its objectives.

(a)

there is a need for reliable and competent ‘conformity assessment bodies’ that operate correctly in order to verify whether products meet certain standards before they are put on the market;

(b)

for this reason, the EU has established a system of accreditation of conformity assessment bodies;

(c)

the Commission is of the view that the EU accreditation infrastructure set up under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 (8) provides added value, not only for the single market but also for international trade;

(d)

the report confirms that accreditation has the strong backing of EU industry and the community of conformity assessment bodies;

(e)

the challenge, however, is to ensure that the whole accreditation system keeps pace with recent developments and is always applied with the same stringency;

(f)

the report also confirms that businesses are aware of the important role of CE marking of products in the single market, introduced between 2013 and 2017.

(a)

assist market surveillance authorities to make more informed risk assessment decisions;

(b)

provide a basis for preventive action and public awareness-raising campaigns, and allow standardisers to develop better product standards;

(c)

help manufacturers to adapt the design of new products to include safety aspects; and

(d)

evaluate the effectiveness of preventive measures and set priorities in policymaking.