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EU Market Surveillance Regulation Takes Effect

A landmark piece of European Union (EU) legislation intended to strengthen market surveillance of products for compliance with applicable regulations is now in full effect.

Issued by the EU Commission in July 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, formalizes a number of provisions designed to enable market surveillance authorities to more quickly and easily verify compliance with product-specific regulations in effect in the EU. The Regulation also helps to protect consumers and workers from unsafe products, while also supporting businesses against competitors who fail to assess their own products for compliance with mandatory requirements.

Among the most important requirements in the legislation are those presented in Article 4 of the Regulation. Specifically, Article 4 requires that economic operators responsible for placing products on the EU market:

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  • Maintain all requisite declarations of conformity and technical documentation and make that documentation available to market surveillance authorities for the period required by legislation applicable to their given products;
  • Upon request, provide market surveillance authorities with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance with all applicable regulations and requirements;
  • When in possession of information that their product may pose a safety risk, to promptly inform market surveillance authorities of the issue; and
  • Cooperate with the authorities to take immediate corrective action in cases of non-compliance or to mitigate any emergent risk associated with the product.

Article 4.4 of the Regulation also requires economic operators to take steps to ensure that their products provide information regarding the name and contact information of the economic operator. Such information can be provided on the product itself, on product packaging, or on documentation that accompanies the product.

The final deadline for compliance with all of the Regulation’s requirements including those stipulated in Article 4 was July 16, 2021.

Read the complete text of the EU’s market surveillance regulation.

The EU Commission has produced a guidance on the application of the Regulation’s market surveillance requirements.

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