31998R2679

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

Regulation (EC) No 2679/98 sets out rules that help to ensure the free movement of goods and prevent physical obstacles to trade (e.g. border blockades, demonstrations/strikes or attacks on trucks) through enabling the sharing of information on these obstacles between all European Union (EU) Member States.

Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 (the Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act) seeks to ensure the normal functioning of the EU’s internal market in the event of a crisis. It amends Regulation (EC) No 2679/98 to clarify the rules that come into play in relation to crisis-relevant goods and services¹ when the internal market emergency mode² has been activated.

KEY POINTS

• Regulation (EC) No 2679/98, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/2747, specifies that the exercise of fundamental rights, as recognised in the Member States and at the EU level, should not be affected, including the right of workers and employers to negotiate and conclude collective agreements and, in the event of conflicts of interest, to take collective action to defend their interests.
• When a physical obstacle to trade occurs or is threatening to occur, any Member State with relevant information must immediately transfer it to the European Commission. The Commission then immediately transmits that information to all Member States along with other information it considers relevant.
• The Member State where the obstacle is taking place must promptly respond to information requests from the Commission and from other Member States concerning the nature of the obstacle and the action that it has taken or proposes to take. All information exchanged between Member States must also be transmitted to the Commission.
• When an obstacle occurs, the relevant Member State must take all necessary and proportionate measures so that the free movement of goods is resumed, and then inform the Commission of the action it has taken.
• When the Commission determines that an obstacle is occurring, it notifies the relevant Member State of the reasons that led it to that conclusion and requests that the Member State take all necessary and proportionate measures to remove the obstacle. The Member State then has five days to inform the Commission of the steps it has taken or plans to take, or to give a reasoned answer as to why measures are not needed.
• Member States that do not respond by the deadline given by the Commission can be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
• In addition to amending the abovementioned rules in relation to respecting fundamental rights, Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 adds a new article (5a). This article states that, where the internal market emergency mode has been activated, Articles 3 to 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2679/98, which provide for a mechanism for bilateral discussions and notification of the obstacles to the functioning of the internal market, cease to apply in respect of the goods designated as crisis relevant for the duration of the internal market emergency mode.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

Regulation (EC) No 2679/98 has applied since 1 January 1999.

Amending Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 applies from 29 May 2026.

BACKGROUND

• The quick and efficient free movement of goods is a key principle of the EU. When obstacles get in the way of this free movement of goods it can cause serious economic losses, which is what the Rapid Intervention Mechanism aims to prevent.
• This regulation is based on Article 268 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and applies to clear, unmistakable and unjustified obstacles to the free movement of goods originating in action or inaction on the part of a Member State.
• For further information, see:
  • Physical barriers to trade (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

1. Crisis-relevant goods and services. Goods or services that are non-substitutable, non-diversifiable or indispensable in the maintenance of vital societal functions or economic activities in order to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and its supply chains, that are considered essential for responding to a crisis and that are listed in an implementing act adopted by the Council.
2. Internal market emergency mode. A framework for addressing a crisis with a significant negative impact on the internal market that severely disrupts the free movement of goods, services or people or, where such a severe disruption has been or is likely to be subject to divergent national measures, the functioning of its supply chains.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EC) No 2679/98 of 7 December 1998 on the functioning of the internal market in relation to the free movement of goods among the Member States (OJ L 337, 12.12.1998, pp. 8–9).

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2024 establishing a framework of measures related to an internal market emergency and to the resilience of the internal market and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2679/98 (Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act) (OJ L, 2024/2747, 8.11.2024).