Free movement of products is an essential dimension and one of the main assets of the Internal Market. This is why it is the legal basis (Art. 95 of the Treaty) of many product-related directives that provide for full harmonisation of all national legislations, such as the LVD, the MSD or the EMC. Unfortunately, the free movement of engineering products  is often  restricted by national deviations from legislative origins  (national “gold plating” requirements) or standardisation (national “A” deviations). Other sources of “technical barriers to trade” are differing levels of transposition, enforcement and interpretation of EU law by national authorities. Some of these problems have recently been  highlighted by UNICE in its booklet “It is the Internal Market, Stupid!”.

Orgalime acts as a watchdog over the free movement of goods and reports on all internal barriers to the trade of engineering goods encountered by its member’s companies. We strive to assist the Commission in its function of “Guardian of the Treaty”,  especially  as regards meeting the Lisbon objectives, and advocates forcefully for consistency while participating in all relevant Commission committees and working parties on the application of EU directives. Orgalime provides input in the drafting of the more than ever needed official guidelines that assist Member States to transpose directives (as for the WEEE and the RoHS directives) or to enforce them in the same way in all countries. Finally Orgalime also tried to minimise the impact of non-harmonised legislation (Art. 175 of the Treaty) on the free movement of engineering goods (e.g. in the areas of  environmental or public health).

 

Picture Courtesy of FreeFoto.com