EU – Baltic States, Foodstuff, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

Amendments to the directives will provide clearer labelling of products, less red tape for industry and more effective market surveillance.

These product safety rules would be applied for a wide range of products covering almost all consumer electronics, such as phones or irons, lifts as well as explosives or other products intended for only professional use.

According to the Vice Minister of Economy of Lithuania Rasa Noreikiene, EU harmonized legislation, which ensures the free movement of goods, contributes to better operation of the EU single market. This legislation provides a high level of consumer protection and on its basis economic operators can prove the compliance with safety requirements.

Consumers will receive better protection, as health-related impacts of new products will be more strictly controlled and better traceability of products ensured. European producers will be protected in a more consistent manner against importers of dangerous products from third countries. The free movement of safe goods will be ensured.

According to the amendments, instruction and information accompanying products, including their labels, should be clear and understandable. In order to increase transparency, economic operators will be encouraged to place not only their postal, but also website addresses on the labels of their products.

The economic operators will also be able to benefit from less red tape as they will be provided with the possibility to submit documents which prove the compliance with the relevant EU law not only in paper form, but also through the electronic means.

The provisionally agreed text of eight directives establishing the harmonized rules on non-automatic weighing instruments, measuring instruments, simple pressure vessels, lifts, explosives for civil uses, electrical equipments, equipments intended for use in explosive atmospheres and apparatus with electromagnetic compatibility requirements still needs to be adopted by the European Parliament Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and they will have to be approved by the European Parliament's plenary session and the EU Council.