"MUTUAL RECOGNITION" - Its unclear and imprecise use in EU-documents makes it unfit for use within consumer policy. Manfred Westphal and Christina Beck (German consumer organistions, vzbv) answer Bob Schmitz (from the ULC Luxembourg). PROBLEM Mutual Recognition also addressed as a principle is used by European institutions, associations and politicians. But its meaning differs and although it leads to a seeming consensus, the parties actually using it understand its meaning quite differently. The Green book on consumer protection from February 2007 enumerates three options: full harmonisation combined with mutual recognition for those aspects where full harmonisation is not possible; minimum harmonisation combined with mutual recognition; and minimum harmonisation combined with the country of origin principle. The paper discusses the different approaches within official text and concludes that the principle is far too vague to be used by consumer organisations to define a tolerable form of harmonisation. Document attached in German only. And link below to views by Bob Schmitz in English. ID: 40311 Author(s): SCR Publication date: 04/10/07     vzbv: Gegenseitige Anerkennung (Mutual Recognition, auf Deutsch) (50319 Bytes) URL(s): Link to original commentary by Bob Schmitz (ULC)

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Created: 04/10/07. Last changed: 04/10/07.
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