EU support for joint market surveillance actions for non-food products

Deadline: Sep 15, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

This call for proposals is for joint actions to keep non-compliant products off the EU single market, support the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and support training needs in the field of market surveillance.

Deadline:

 15 September 2020

Description and objectives

The objective of the call is threefold:

Objective 1 - Keep non-compliant products from the single market

Products which are non-compliant with EU harmonisation legislation keep finding their way onto the single market. Market surveillance authorities sometimes lack the resources to finance product testing and other activities to promote compliance. The first objective of this call is to support authorities in EU countries in their market surveillance activities and in their compliance promotion activities.

This would also include financial support for joint actions to control the compliance of non-food products put for sale on the single market in the context of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis, to protect consumers against the propagation of the virus.

The products concerned by this objective should fall within the scope of one or more of the legal instruments set out in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

Objective 2 - Support the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020

Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products will apply from 16 July 2021. However, Articles 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 36 will apply from 1 January 2021.

The second objective of this call is to support the preparatory work of market surveillance authorities necessary to ensure smooth, harmonious and timely application of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

Objective 3 - Increase skills and knowledge

Market surveillance authorities have to keep up with multiple challenges, including the e-commerce boom and an increase of imports from non-EU countries. They also need to keep up with EU legislation and master IT tools and market surveillance procedures. The third objective of this call is to develop programmes meeting the training needs of market surveillance authorities’ staff.

A recent survey sent by the European Commission to market surveillance sectoral groups (ADCOs) has revealed training needs in the following areas

• ICSMS: how to use ICSMS (Information and Communication System on Market Surveillance), how to decide which data to input, how to correctly input data, how to perform analysis using the Kibana dashboard
• E-commerce: how to implement best practices for e-commerce, how to better perform online investigations, how to enforce post-inspection corrective measures
• Legislation: understand the relationship between ‘neighbouring’ legislation (e.g. RED/EMC, PED/TPED, TEXTILE/REACH)

Applications could also cover other training needs.

The market surveillance authorities concerned by this objective should be conducting market surveillance for one or more of the legal instruments set out in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

Eligible applicants

Proposals may be submitted by any of the following 

• non-profit organisations (private or public)
• public authorities (national, regional or local)

Only applications from legal entities established in the following countries are eligible

• EU member states
• European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA)

Budget and project duration

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under this call for proposals is estimated at €3,000,000. Several projects could be co-financed through this budget. 

The maximum duration of projects is 24 months. 

How to apply

Applicants must comply with the requirements set out in the full text of the call for proposals and submit their application using the application forms provided.

Please read the guide for applicants carefully before starting the electronic submission process. You can also check the SEP guide for submissions (PDF).

Please note that the deadline for electronic submission is 15 September 2020, 17.00 (CEST).

As additional information (including the updated list of the call's questions & answers) will be posted on this webpage during the publication stage, we encourage you to visit this page regularly.

More information

Questions on this call for proposals can be submitted by email to: GROW-CFP-20-318@ec.europa.eu