§1.1.2 Mutual Recognition and Regulation (EU) 2019/515 on the Mutual Recognition of Goods

Alongside legislative initiatives to prevent new barriers and promote the free movement of goods, the systematic application of the principle of mutual recognition enshrined in EU law was also pursued. National technical regulations are subject to the provisions of Articles 34 to 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (7), which prohibit quantitative restrictions or measures having equivalent effect. Case law of the Court of Justice, especially case 120/78 (the ‘Cassis de Dijon’ case (8)), provides the key elements for mutual recognition. The effect of this case law is as follows. — Products lawfully marketed in one Member State should in principle move freely throughout the Union. — In the absence of Union harmonisation legislation, Member States are free to legislate on their territory subject to the Treaty rules on free movement of goods (Arts. 34 – 36 TFEU). — Barriers to free movement of goods which result from differences in national legislation may only be accepted if: 1) the national rule of the Member State of destination pursues a legitimate public interest objective, and 2) the measure restricting or denying access is proportionate, meaning that the measure is appropriate for securing the attainment of the objective and necessary (it does not go beyond what is necessary for attaining the objective). To help implement these principles, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 764/2008 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 3052/95/EC (9). This Regulation has now been replaced by Regulation (EU) 2019/515. Regulation (EU) 2019/515 on the mutual recognition of goods lawfully marketed in another Member State applies as of 19 April 2020. It introduces the following points to facilitate the application of the principle of mutual recognition (10): 1. A voluntary ‘mutual recognition declaration’, which businesses can use to demonstrate that their products are lawfully marketed in another Member State; 2. A business-friendly problem solving procedure, based on SOLVIT, which helps businesses when mutual recognition is denied; 3. Stronger administrative cooperation to improve the application of the mutual recognition principle; 4. More information to businesses through ‘product contact points’ and the ‘single digital gateway’. However, while contributing greatly to the free movement of goods within the single market, the mutual recognition principle cannot solve all the problems and there remains, even today, room for further harmonisation.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07