The European Commission is preparing a European Product Act to reform EU rules on product compliance and market surveillance. According to analysis of a leaked draft, the Act would replace the New Legislative Framework, the 2008 package that underpins CE marking and conformity assessment, and the Market Surveillance Regulation, which governs how products are checked and policed. It would take the form of a regulation, applying directly in every Member State. A parallel revision of the EU Standardisation Regulation is expected alongside it.
No official proposal has been published yet. That is exactly why the coming months matter. Businesses that understand the direction of travel now will be better placed to respond when the text arrives, and to have their say while it can still change.
Where things stand
The Commission's planning placed the proposal in the third quarter of 2026, and a presentation was expected on 6 October. On 29 September, MLex reported a statement from the office of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné that the presentation had been postponed "until later this year", so that the Commission can "present general provisions alongside changes to sector-specific legislation". Law firm Cooley has since added a notice to its own analysis confirming the postponement, with the date still to be confirmed. As of 9 October 2026, no new date has been announced.
A Commission proposal is the start of the legislative process, not the end. In the "One Europe, One Market" roadmap signed on 24 April 2026 by the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council Presidency, the political target for the co-legislators to agree the European Products Act is the fourth quarter of 2027. That is a target, not a guaranteed adoption date or a compliance deadline. The anticipated reform does not itself change current obligations. Any new requirements will depend on the adopted legislation and its application dates.
Why the EU is acting
Two pressures sit behind the reform. First, today's rules were built around the moment a product is first placed on the market. They predate the digital product passport and pay little attention to what happens afterwards, such as repair, refurbishment and resale.
Second, e-commerce volumes have outgrown enforcement capacity. According to the European Parliamentary Research Service, 4.6 billion low-value consignments (worth up to EUR 150) entered the EU in 2024, up from 2.4 billion in 2023 and 1.4 billion in 2022. Over the same period, customs checks on imports for product compliance fell from 203 per million imports in 2022 to 82 per million in 2024, a decline the briefing attributes to the rising number of shipments.
The EU's Safety Gate system recorded 4,671 alerts on dangerous non-food products in 2025, a 13 percent increase on 2024. That is a count of alerts, not a measure of the share of products found to be unsafe.
What the leaked draft points to
A draft of the proposal circulated in September and has been reported on by journalists and law firms. Its contents are provisional. According to law firm Cooley's analysis of the leaked draft, the Act could be "a broad reset of EU product compliance", with "a particular focus on closing the gaps that are perceived to have opened up around ecommerce and third-country supply chains". Reported elements include:
- Online marketplaces: checking product and compliance information before listing, stronger duties to remove non-compliant products and stop them reappearing, and suspension of traders who repeatedly fail to comply. Law firm Osborne Clarke reports that a marketplace which fails to carry out those checks could be treated as the product's authorised representative where no EU-based operator is responsible for it.
- Economic operators: more detailed obligations for the EU-based responsible person, including a risk reporting obligation, and specific obligations for fulfilment service providers and refurbishers.
- Refurbished and modified products: specific rules where sector legislation opts in.
- Digital compliance: a wider digital product passport regime, a new "product responsibility record" for products not covered by a passport requirement, and a move towards digital CE marking.
- Product registration: a pre-market registration requirement for in-scope products, under which each product's digital product passport or product responsibility record would be registered in a new EU registry before the product is placed on the market.
- Enforcement: direct EU-level investigation and enforcement powers for the Commission, and a market surveillance fee on products imported from third countries. Cooley also reports two penalty mechanisms: Member State penalties set within a range of 1 to 6 percent of global annual turnover, and separate EU-level penalties of up to 6 percent.
Any of these elements could change before the Commission adopts its proposal, and again during negotiations. They show the reported direction of travel, not settled obligations.
How it connects to other EU rules
The Act will not arrive in isolation. The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 has applied since 13 December 2024. The reformed Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, was published in the Official Journal on 19 September 2026, with most of its provisions applying from 21 September 2027. It makes non-EU platforms and sellers involved in distance sales to EU consumers responsible as importers, and introduces an EU Customs Data Hub, mandatory for e-commerce from 1 July 2028. Digital product passports are also arriving, beginning with certain batteries under the Batteries Regulation from 18 February 2027.
The common thread is clear. Data about a product, and the identity of the party in the EU who answers for it, will increasingly be checked before goods move rather than after.
Who should be watching
- Manufacturers and importers placing CE-marked products on the EU market, including non-EU businesses that rely on an EU representative.
- Online marketplaces, and the sellers who depend on them.
- Distributors, refurbishers and resellers.
- Logistics providers, fulfilment services and customs brokers handling consumer goods.
Six questions to work through now
Our practical advice is to improve access to the compliance evidence you already hold, which pays off under current rules and under any version of the Act, and to hold back major systems spending based solely on leaked provisions until the official text is published. These questions are a good place to start.
- Who is your responsible EU operator for each product line, and could they produce compliance evidence on request today?
- Where does your conformity documentation live, including declarations of conformity, technical files and test reports, and could it be shared digitally at speed?
- If you sell through online marketplaces, could you supply compliance information before listing rather than after a request?
- Do you repair, refurbish or resell products, and do you know which party carries the obligations when you do?
- Which of your product groups are already in line for a digital product passport?
- Will you, or your trade association, respond when the Commission opens its feedback window?
Having your say
Once the Commission adopts a legislative proposal, its Better Regulation guidance provides for an eight-week feedback period on the "Have Your Say" portal. The deadline displayed on the portal entry for the proposal is the one to follow. The feedback received is summarised and sent to the European Parliament and the Council. Businesses that gather evidence now, such as compliance costs, supply chain constraints and practical examples, will be ready to contribute when that window opens.
What happens next
ECTM is tracking the European Product Act closely. When the official proposal is published, review it against the leaked draft and your answers to the six questions above, and prepare your evidence for the feedback window.
ECTM works in close collaboration with Grayston & Company, our strategic partner and trusted legal advisors on trade and compliance matters.
Sources
- European Parliamentary Research Service, "European product act" (PE 789.349, David Ashton, June 2026)
- Joint Roadmap "One Europe, One Market", signed 24 April 2026
- Council of the EU, "One Europe, One Market Roadmap", document ST 8473/26 (priority deliverables table)
- Council of the EU, press release, 24 April 2026
- Cooley, Productwise, "The European Product Act: The Widest Reset Yet for Product Safety?" (22 September 2026, with later postponement notice)
- Osborne Clarke, "Leaked draft European Product Act gives the Commission direct enforcement powers and exposes marketplaces to liability as authorised representatives" (1 October 2026)
- MLex, "European Product Act delayed beyond planned Oct. 6 presentation" (29 September 2026, subscription)
- European Commission, Better Regulation Toolbox, Chapter 7: Stakeholder consultation
- Council of the EU, press release on final approval of the EU customs reform, 3 September 2026
- EY, tax alert, "New Union Customs Code - Regulation (EU) 2026/2108"
- Cuatrecasas, "New Union Customs Code (UCC) enters into force"
