Summary:

The European Commission has launched a REFIT consultation on the revision of the New Legislative Framework (NLF) for product legislation. This revision aims to modernise EU product rules, reduce regulatory burdens, and increase the use of digital tools to support compliance and safety.

More information:

The NLF underpins product compliance across 30 EU legal acts. The Commission’s intention is to enhance harmonisation across product rules and strengthen the use of digital tools (e.g. the Digital Product Passport – DPP) to improve circularity and reduce regulatory burdens.

The DPP, is prominently included in the scope of this revision.

The Commission has identified three key issues requiring attention:

1. Lack of timely information on product compliance (regulatory gap/information failure)
2. Untapped potential of circularity (regulatory gap/market failure)
3. Lack of consumer awareness about the CE marking and misleading marking (information failure/behavioural issue)

Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on how to improve EU product legislation, specifically regarding the circular economy and the digital transition.

The consultation seeks input on three main policy options:

1. Baseline scenario: Maintain the current approach (where new legislation such as the Batteries Regulation or ESPR includes digital tools like the DPP) without updating the NLF. This could lead to inconsistencies across sectors.
2. Non-legislative actions: Develop guidance and best practices, especially to support SMEs in adopting digital tools.
3. Legislative revisions, potentially including:

• Making the Digital Product Passport mandatory across sectors
• Revising and streamlining conformity assessment procedures
• Aligning definitions with newer legislation (e.g. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020)
• Improving oversight and efficiency of notified bodies
• Ensuring faster and more consistent action on non-compliant or unsafe products across Member States

Next Steps

The consultation is open until 2 September.

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