Support and protection for European producers by making product-labelling compulsory

Subject: Support and protection for European producers by making product-labelling compulsory

For many years now, the Commission has been working on legislation to create an EU-level legal framework for the use of ‘Made in’ labels.

The coronavirus pandemic has emphasised the weakness of the rules in place to protect the European single market from the supply of low-quality products that are often unfit for use. We need to protect our businesses and make them as competitive as possible in the internal market. The solutions we introduce must therefore be beneficial to the European economy and to European firms, in particular SMEs. We also need to protect consumers. The ‘Made in’ label is their right: they need to know exactly where the goods they buy come from.

1. Is the Commission intending to make it compulsory for the country of origin to be marked on products before they are placed on the market in the EU, and for the ‘Made in’ label to be used to indicate the country of manufacture? When does the Commission intend to do this?

2. What other protective arrangements is the Commission intending to introduce to protect the internal market against the influx of goods of dubious quality from outside Europe?

Answer given by Mr Breton on behalf of the European Commission

(3 September 2020)

1. As part of its 2020 Work Programme, the Commission has announced the withdrawal of the proposal for a regulation on consumer product safety (1), which included the proposed ‘Made in’ label as a provision. This is because the proposal has been blocked for several years in the Council and has been partly superseded by the ‘goods package’, which led to the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (2). The Commission has announced that it will table a new proposal as part of the regulatory fitness and performance check of the General Product Safety Directive (3). In the revised Commission Work Programme for 2020, this proposal is indicated for adoption during the second quarter of 2021 (4). Currently, there is no plan to include a ‘Made in’ label, which is not a product safety requirement.

2. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, which will enter into force in 2021, strengthens the enforcement powers of Member States, reinforces coordination among market surveillance authorities, establishes the European Union Product Compliance Network and sets out the framework for an extensive international cooperation on market surveillance including on import controls. Moreover, in the area of e-commerce, the Commission is developing IT tools, which, once completed, will enhance the EU’s market surveillance capabilities.

Before the end of 2020, the Commission intends to propose a Digital Services Act, to clarify and harmonise the responsibilities of online platforms. The currently ongoing public consultation and impact assessment process is also examining options as regards illegal products and content online, including options concerning service providers established outside the EU and which provide their services in the European market. The public consultation on the Digital Services Act is open until the 8 September 2020.

⋅1∙ Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer product safety and repealing Council Directive 87/357/EEC and

Directive 2001/95/EC (COM/2013/078 final — 2013/0049 (COD)).

⋅2∙ Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending

Directive 2004/42/EC and Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 305/2011 (OJ L 169, 25.6.2019, p. 1). ⋅3∙ Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety (OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4), as amended. ⋅4∙ COM(2020) 440 final, Annex II.