The EU single market

Benefits

EU companies benefit from

• a 'home market' of over 450 million consumers for their products
• easier access to a wide range of suppliers
• lower unit costs
• greater commercial opportunities.

EU citizens benefit from

• lower prices
• more innovation and faster technological development
• higher safety and environmental standards

Legislation

Legislation on the single market for goods aims to ensure that products placed on the EU market meet high health, safety and environmental requirements and that products allowed to be sold in the EU can circulate without barriers to trade, while keeping the administrative burdens to a minimum.

Key elements

The key elements of the internal market are:

• Safety – products marketed in the EU must meet high safety and environmental requirements.
• Standards – Standards define technical or quality requirements for products, production processes, services or test methods. Standardisation is a tool for industry to ensure the performance, safety and the interoperability of products. More on European standardisation.
• Conformity assessment – A conformity assessment procedure must be carried out before a product can be placed on the EU market. A manufacturer can only place a product on the EU market if it meets all the applicable requirements. More on the conformity assessment procedure.
• Accreditation – Accreditation is the final level of public control in the European conformity assessment system. It aims to ensure that conformity assessment bodies have the technical capacity to perform their duties. More about accreditation.
• Notified bodies – A notified body is an organisation designated by an EU country to assess the conformity of certain products before they are placed on the market. More about notified bodies.
• Market surveillance – Market surveillance ensures that non-food products on the EU market do not put Europe’s consumers and workers at risk and that other public interests – such as the environment, safety and fairness of trade are protected. More about market surveillance.
• ICSMS – The Information and Communication System on Market Surveillance (ICSMS) is an IT platform to facilitate communication between market surveillance authorities in the EU and EFTA countries. More about ICSMS.
• CE marking – The CE marking indicates that a product sold in the EU meets all applicable safety, health and environmental protection requirements. More about CE marking.
• Legal metrology – the application of legal requirements to measurements and measuring instruments. EU legal metrology legislation is one of the pillars of the single market for products. EU requirements aim to promote technological innovation, protect health and the environment, ensure public safety, and promote fair trade. More about legal metrology.
• External borders – EU countries check products coming from outside EU territory at the Union borders.
• New legislative framework – A new legislative framework was adopted in 2008 to improve the internal market for goods and strengthen the conditions for placing a wide range of products on the EU market. Read more about the new legislative framework.

Free movement of goods

Many products on the EU market are subject to harmonised rules that protect consumers, public health and the environment. Harmonised rules prevent the adoption of potentially divergent national rules and ensure the free movement of products within the EU. However, some sectors are still subject to national rules. The principle of free movement of goods ensures that these rules do not create unjustified barriers to trade.

Harmonised sectors

Harmonised sectors are subject to common rules across the EU. They provide businesses with a clear and predictable legal framework. If manufacturers follow these rules, their products can be sold freely on the market.

• In most sectors(e.g. electronic and electrical equipment, machinery, lifts and medical devices), EU legislation is limited to essential health, safety and environmental protection requirements -to demonstrate compliance with these requirements, manufacturers can voluntarily use standards or other technical specifications.
• In other sectors (e.g. automotive and chemicals), legislation sets out detailed requirements obliging certain types of products to have the same technical specifications.

Non-harmonised sectors

Non-harmonised sectors are not subject to common EU rules and may be covered by national rules. These sectors continue to benefit from the Treaty provisions governing free movement of goods under Arts. 34-36 TFEU. National rules on these products are subject to a notification procedure to ensure that they do not create undue barriers to trade.

In order to ensure the free movement of goods in non-harmonised sectors, the principle of mutual recognition, the 2015/1535 notification procedure and the application of Arts. 34-36 TFEU are essential.