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SMEs welcome EU mutual recognition proposal

Published On 19 February 2007 at 14:14:30

A proposal from the European Commission to strengthen the enforcement of laws that maintain product standards across the internal market should be welcomed by small businesses.

According to the Forum of Private Business (FPB), small enterprises that often lack the necessary resources allowing them to monitor foreign regulatory requirements ought to find that the proposal will make business easier for them.

The EU treaty principle of 'mutual recognition' obliges member states to not impose individual requirements on goods traded in the internal market, but instead uphold a recognition of product standards in other member states.

Several EU member states claim that they cannot adhere to the obligation due to public interest reasons, but the FPB believes this is a front for "protectionism" and should be banned.

The FPB's EU spokesman, Martin Smith, commented: "This not only affects businesses that trade in other member states, it also impacts on those that only operate domestically but source raw materials from other EU states.

"Small businesses operating on tight margins can't cope with such cost burdens, nor can those that do sell abroad cope with all the different regulatory requirements in the absence of mutual recognition."

 

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