EU internal market emergency measures

KEY POINTS

Scope

Regulation (EU) 2024/2747:

• applies to goods, services and persons in the internal market;
• does not apply to:
  • certain products (medicines, semiconductors, energy and defence items) and services (banking, credit and insurance),
  • sectorial crisis response or management legislation, such as the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Governance

The Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Board:

• is chaired by the Commission and comprises:
  • as members, representatives from each EU Member State,
  • as a permanent observer, a representative from the European Parliament, and
  • as possible occasional observers, representatives of other crisis-relevant bodies at the EU level, representatives of international organisations and non-EU countries, and experts with specific knowledge who may be invited to attend certain meetings on an ad hoc basis;
• advises the Commission on:
  • proposing administrative cooperation on information exchange,
  • assessing ad hoc alerts notified by the Member States, data analysis and market intelligence,
  • consulting economic operators and social partners,
  • analysing aggregated data from other EU and international bodies,
  • maintaining a repository of national and EU crisis measures that have been taken in previous crises,
  • selecting and implementing measures to anticipate and plan for a crisis,
  • internal market vigilance measures (activation/deactivation criteria, sharing information and analysing and discussing the impact of the threat of a crisis, particularly in border regions),
  • internal market emergency responses (activation/deactivation criteria, sharing information and analysing and discussing the impact of a crisis, particularly in border regions, along with analysing national and Commission crisis-relevant information, action to be taken and standard templates and forms for sectors producing or supplying crisis-relevant goods and services).

In addition:

• the European Parliament:
  • may invite the Commission, as the board’s chair, to appear before its relevant committee,
  • receives information on any Council of the European Union implementing acts proposed or adopted pursuant to this regulation,
  • expresses its views to the Commission, which takes these into account;
• the Commission brings together economic operators, social partners, researchers and civil-society organisations to:
  • identify useful voluntary initiatives in an emergency,
  • provide scientific advice, opinions or reports,
  • help the exchange of information and best practice;
• each Member State establishes a central liaison office to contact, coordinate and exchange information with other national liaison offices and the EU-level liaison office operated by the Commission, which must report significant incidents without undue delay.

Contingency planning

The Commission is responsible for:

• preparing a detailed crisis contingency plan covering:
  • timely cooperation between national and EU authorities, including consultation with economic operators and social partners,
  • secure information exchange,
  • coordination of crisis communication;
• initiating, on the board’s recommendation, the drawing up of voluntary crisis protocols by economic operators setting out:
  • the specific parameters of the disruption that the protocol seeks to address,
  • the roles of each participant,
  • the procedures for activating the measures under the respective voluntary crisis protocol and their duration,
  • action to mitigate and respond to potential crises;
• developing and regularly organising preparedness training for the liaison offices, drawing on lessons from previous crises;
• regularly conducting and coordinating stress tests, including simulations that aim to anticipate and prepare for a crisis in the internal market.

Vigilance mode

The Commission can propose that the Council activate the vigilance mode if it considers a possible crisis could escalate into an emergency within six months. This stage requires:

• legislation, in the form of Council implementing acts, containing:
  • an assessment of the potential impact of the crisis on free movement,
  • a list of goods and services considered critically important,
  • details of, and justification for, the measures to be taken;
• national authorities to monitor supply chains of critically important goods and services and the free movement of persons involved in their production;
• the Commission to propose to the Council that the initial maximum six-month duration of the vigilance measures be extended for one or more similar periods.

Emergency mode

The Commission proposes that the Council move to the emergency mode if it considers a crisis would have a significant negative effect on the internal market by severely disrupting free movement or the functioning of the supply chains. This must be based on concrete and reliable evidence.

This stage requires a detailed assessment of:

• the obstacles, sectors and supply chains involved;
• the impact on society, the economy and particular regions.

Based on this assessment, a Council implementing act activating the emergency stage for six months will be proposed. The period may be extended. If necessary, the implementing act will list the crisis-relevant goods or services.

Free movement in the emergency mode

Member States:

• must ensure any national measures they adopt:
  • comply with EU law, especially with regard to non-discrimination, justification and proportionality,
  • are removed as soon as they are no longer justified,
  • do not create unnecessary administrative burdens on the public or economic operators,
  • contain clear explanations for the public on the need to restrict free movement,
  • are communicated to the Commission and other Member States, especially if they affect cross-border free movement;
• must not adopt measures that:
  • are not limited in time,
  • ban the internal EU trade of crisis-relevant goods or services or disrupt their supply chains,
  • place unjustified restrictions on the free movement of persons travelling to their Member State of nationality or residence,
  • prohibit business travel linked to the development or supply of crisis-relevant goods.

Transparency

Member States establish a single contact point to:

• provide the public with information about national free movement restrictions;
• help the public with any procedures and formalities being put in place.

The Commission operates an EU contact point for information and assistance on EU-wide measures.

Emergency response measures

The Commission, if the Council has agreed a list of crisis-relevant goods and services, may:

• ask economic operators in the relevant supply chains to provide information on:
  • production capacity, existing stocks and expected output of the goods concerned,
  • any disruptions or shortages;
• request one or more operators to prioritise production or supply where crisis-relevant goods are in persistent shortage (priority-rated request); however, the economic operators are free to refuse such request, and operators that accept such a request and then fail to deliver face a fine of up to €100,000;
• recommend that Member States:
  • help any other Member State experiencing shortages of the crisis-relevant goods and services,
  • take specific measures, such as expediting new production capacities, to reorganise supply chains, production lines and use of existing stocks to increase the availability of the goods and services.

Public procurement

The Commission:

• launches, if some Member States request, a public procurement procedure for those willing to participate to purchase critically important or crisis-relevant goods and services;
• establishes a negotiating mandate containing details such as the conditions and maximum quantities involved;
• complies with its own internal financial rules and concludes contracts with one or more economic operators;
• may carry out a joint procurement procedure open to Member States, candidate countries and other European participants.

Member States must consult each other and the Commission and coordinate any procurement procedures for crisis-relevant goods and services they launch during an emergency.

Timing

By 29 May 2026, the Commission and Member States will develop the necessary interoperable tools and IT infrastructure to achieve the legislation’s aims.

By 29 November 2029, and every five years thereafter, the Commission will report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the regulation’s implementation.

The regulation amends Regulation (EC) No 2679/98. Regulation (EU) 2024/2748 and Directive (EU) 2024/2749 amend earlier harmonised product legislation to ensure that strategic goods are available quickly to tackle shortages in a market crisis.