In a major switch of emphasis the European Commission would shift the onus of proof onto regulators, who would have to justify why a product from another member state cannot be sold in their national markets.

Günter Verheugen, the commissioner responsible for enterprise and industry, said many companies are discouraged from venturing outside their domestic market because they have to prove that their products fulfil the requirements of technical rules in other member states.

"That's why I'm proposing to unburden industry by placing more responsibility on the authorities of member states and encouraging dialogue and cooperation," he said in announcing the proposals on 14 February.

Under current EU regulation regulators can only forbid the sale of products coming from other member states on the grounds of public safety, health concerns or environmental considerations.

But the reality is often different, the Commission notes.

Many companies still face technical barriers, because members can require goods to be adapted to their national technical rules on designation, form, size, weight, composition, presentation, labelling and packaging.

"This leads to substantial obstacles to the free movement of goods and necessitates extra administrative controls and tests," the Commission stated.

For new products introduced in the bloc, a member state that intends to refuse market access would have to give precise and detailed reasons for doing so.

For industrial goods which are already subject of EU-legislation, the Commission suggests establishing a system of market surveillance built upon the existing one for consumer products.

The changes would include establishing a new procedure for co-operation between national authorities and manufacturers.

The Commission wants to extending market monitoring to industrial goods, including imports from third countries, so as to ensure that the same high product and safety standards apply.

Another proposal would require every member state to establish a single accreditation authority. Such authorities could also provide services to other member states that do not have the resources to set up their own.

The proposals also aim to improve cooperation between accreditation authorities by laying down uniform standards and procedures.

Difficulties arise from the fact that there are 1.800 agencies within the EU tasked with ensuring products are in compliance with the rules, the Commission stated.

Appreciable differences also exist in terms of quality and costs. In some cases the cost for the same approval certificate in one country can be six times higher than in another.

The Commission also wants to providing better protection for the "CE" mark, by which manufacturers declare that their products comply with all EU standards. The proposals would make forgery of the CE mark subject to sanctions;

The right to use the CE mark is awarded to manufacturers as a means of signifying that a specific product meets the provisions of European directives relating to cross-border trade.

As part of the strategy the Commission plans to remove legal uncertainties by harmonising definitions and regulations in various directives. For example different procedures exist for the conformity testing of products.

The goal will be achieved by standardising texts, including definitions, obligations for market participants and conformity assessment procedures.

The measures will have an impact on 22 industrial sectors, representing a market volume of around €1,500bn a year, the Commission stated.

"National technical regulations have considerable practical implications for the production, distribution and day-to-day use of products," the Commission stated. "Such national rules restrict intra-EU trade in goods, as construction products, many foodstuffs such as bread and pasta, furniture, bicycles, ladders and precious metals sometimes. This leads to extra administrative costs and heavy testing requirements."

Only a fraction of European manufacturers currently participate at all in cross-border trade, the Commission stated.

"Small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, often baulk at crossing the border because they do not know their rights or because there are barriers that make the product unnecessarily expensive," the Commission stated.

The harmonised EU area already covers 75 per cent of the intra EU trade in industrial goods, accounting for about €1.5 trillion in revenues.

Trading areas that are non-harmonised represents the rest. For such sectors member states are currently entitled to issue national technical rules, but they must continue to observe the principle of mutual recognition for such goods.

Under the principle, a product that was legally manufactured in one member state must be allowed onto the market without hindrance in all other member states.

Technical restrictions have to be justified by overriding reasons of general interest, such as a high standard of consumer or environmental protection.

In practice, however manufacturers very often do not know what specific technical regulations exist in individual member states, the Commission stated.

Some companies end up reaching the conclusion that the differing nature of such rules requires adjustments to the product to suit the individual national markets.

This belief often leads them to conclude that it unnecessarily expensive or uneconomic to market their products elsewhere.

"The different national technical rules are, to put it mildly, not always understandable," the Commission stated. "Additional and expensive tests are often necessary in order to comply with these rules. The onus is on importing manufacturers or dealers to prove that a particular product is in compliance with national regulations."

The Commission said the proposals would help create more jobs and higher growth in the EU while at the same time increasing the overall safety of products.