Policy
Making mutual recognition work
The German food sector's expectation of the EU Institutions from 2019 to 2024
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The recently adopted Mutual Recognition Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/515) finally offers the opportunity to give this important principle the practical significance it deserves. Above all, it is up to the Member States to comply fully with their obligation to ensure mutual recognition. The new Regulation stipulates very clearly that it will be very difficult indeed for Member States to justify the refusal of products that comply with the requirements in other Member States. To make it very concrete: even if the beer is not brewed according to the German “Reinheitsgebot”, if liqueurs have a lower alcohol content, and if fruit juices or dietary supplements may have higher levels of vitamins or minerals, as provided for in a national regulation, they can and will (continue to) be legally marketed.
That is of course yet another reason to forgo Member States legislation, which only leave domestic producers with competitive disadvantages and guarantee domestic consumers no “higher” level of protection if the products from the other Member States are already marketable.
What else does the German food sector expect from the Institutions and the Member States of the European Union in the legislative period until 2024? Click here for the overview.
