History of Product Placements on the EU Market
The foundation of a functioning EU internal market—and thus the free movement of goods—is the removal of technical barriers to trade. In the past, these barriers consisted primarily of various mandatory product requirements set forth in the legislation of individual Member States, different conformity assessment procedures, and various national standards. The removal of these barriers to trade is addressed in the EU in two ways: through the harmonization of EU Member States’ legislation, or, if no common harmonization regulation exists, through mutual recognition.
As early as 1985, the so-called “New Approach to Technical Harmonization and Standardization” was established, the fundamental essence of which was to define the role of EU directives. These are limited to product requirements solely from the perspective of safety, health protection, property protection, and environmental protection. Based on this principle, the so-called “New Approach Directives” began to be developed in the EU. New Approach Directives covering key product sectors must be fully transposed into national legislation and are legally binding documents.
As early as 1985, the so-called “New Approach to Technical Harmonization and Standardization” was established, the fundamental essence of which was to define the role of EU directives. These are limited to product requirements solely from the perspective of safety, health protection, property protection, and environmental protection. Based on this principle, the so-called “New Approach Directives” began to be developed in the EU. New Approach Directives covering key product sectors must be fully transposed into national legislation and are legally binding documents.
The “New Approach” was followed in 1989, the so-called “global approach to conformity assessment,” which addresses general principles of testing and certification, particularly the elements that ensure the system’s credibility and are a prerequisite for the recognition of certificates among member states (i.e., accreditation of testing and certification bodies and certification of manufacturers’ quality systems). A system of so-called modules, which can be used for conformity assessment, was adopted, and rules for affixing and using the CE marking were established.
Note: For certain sectors, such as the food industry, automotive industry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, etc., sector-specific directives (sometimes referred to as “Old Approach directives”) are still in use; these apply to narrow categories of products, are highly detailed, and also include technical regulations and limit values. The “New Approach” and “Global Approach” have recently been revised, and the rules are currently defined in the form of the so-called New Legislative Framework (NLF).
