CUPRINS - Universitatea George Bacovia

Savvas C. Savvidesbuild into their accession strategies the possibility of delays (sometimes long) inachieving membership. The EU decides on which countries to accept based ontheir degree of preparedness for membership.3.2. The EU Regulatory Framework: The Acquis CommunautaireThe body of rules, regulations and policies that comprise the acquiscommunautaire impacting on the enterprises’ conduct of business may be looselygrouped into the following three categories of regulation: (1) Internal market(product-related) legislation; (2) Free-market facilitating legislation; and (3)Process-related legislation. We discuss each one briefly below in order tounderstand the changing context in which enterprises need to operate.3.2.1 Internal Market Legislation: Standards and CertificationsThis body of laws and regulations are product-specific and relate to thecharacteristics and attributes of traded products and services. 12 Before products canbe traded in the frontier-less internal market of the EU, they need for example tocomply, among others, with a set of minimum safety standards and requirementsrelating to the characteristics and other attributes of these products. The internalmarket legislation can be divided into two types:Sectoral approach directives: They are considered to be the old way ofissuing harmonization directives, but relevant until today, which provide detailedtechnical specifications of products, especially in sectors such as foodstuffs,pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles and chemical products;New approach directives: They introduce a standard form ofharmonization, the standardization and compliance of which is undertaken byprivate sector organizations. They basically establish essential minimumrequirements in such areas as health, safety and environment for groups of productsor general risks. Examples of such standardization bodies are: the EuropeanCommittee for Standardization (CEN), the European Committee for ElectrotechnicalStandardization (CENELEC), and the European TelecommunicationsStandardization Institute (ETSI). These standards are voluntary and provide theminimum requirements for quality assurance. Companies are able to avail theirproducts for trading in the internal market only when they conform to theseminimum standards and have received the relevant certification.12 The internal market is an area without internal frontiers in which free movement ofgoods, persons, services, and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of theTreaty of Rome. The Single European Act (signed in 1986) intended to create by 1/1/1993a free and de-regulated market environment by: (i) eliminating customs duties betweenmember states (Articles 12-17); (ii) eliminating quantitative restrictions between memberstates (Articles 30-37); (iii) supporting the free movement of persons, services, and capitalbetween member states (Articles 48-73); (iv) promoting transport between member states(Articles 74-84); (v) establishing rules against the distortion of competition (Articles 85-94).196