Art. 34 Mutual recognition agreements | CRA regulation | CRA

This is a notably brief article that opens the door to international trade cooperation.

It allows the Union to enter into Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with third countries, enabling recognition of each other's conformity assessment processes.

The underlying logic is that if a third country's technical standards and conformity assessment approach are sufficiently aligned with those of the Union, a formal agreement can be struck to smooth the path for cross-border trade in products with digital elements.

Important points:

The Union may conclude Mutual Recognition Agreements with third countries to facilitate international trade in products with digital elements.
Any such agreement must be concluded in accordance with Article 218 TFEU, the standard treaty procedure for Union international agreements.
The third country's level of technical development and its approach to conformity assessment are the key factors the Union will consider before entering into such an agreement.

In its relationships with third countries, the Union endeavours to promote international trade in regulated products. A broad variety of measures can be applied in order to facilitate trade, including several legal instruments such as bilateral (inter-governmental) Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for conformity assessment and marking of regulated products. MRAs are established between the Union and third countries which are on a comparable level of technical development and have a compatible approach concerning conformity assessment. Those agreements are based on the mutual acceptance of certificates, marks of conformity and test reports issued by the conformity assessment bodies of either party in conformity with the legislation of the other party. Currently, MRAs are in place with several third countries. Those MRAs are concluded in a number of specific sectors, which might vary from one third country to another. In order to further facilitate trade, and recognising that supply chains of products with digital elements are global, MRAs concerning conformity assessment can be concluded for products regulated under this Regulation by the Union in accordance with Article 218 TFEU. Cooperation with partner third countries is also important, in order to strengthen cyber resilience globally, as in the long term this will contribute to a strengthened cybersecurity framework both within and outside of the Union.

Article 34 Mutual recognition agreements

Relevant recitals