The European Commission proposed yesterday a new package of measures to boost free trade within the European Union.

The legislative proposal is, in the first place, aimed to make it easier for EU companies to sell their products to the market of other member states.

Under the so-called mutual recognition rules of the EU internal market, a product that is allowed for sale in one member state can in principle be sold anywhere in the 27-nation bloc as long as it respects national regulations.

However, for those goods which do not fall under EU legislations, the complex national requirements of technical rules are hindering companies from operating beyond their home market. So the advantage of the internal market is not fully exploited.

"Such national rules restrict intra-EU trade in goods, as construction products, many foodstuffs -- bread and pasta -- furniture, bicycles, ladders and precious metals sometimes. This leads to extra administrative costs and heavy testing requirements," the EU's executive arm said.

At present companies that intend to enter other EU countries have to face burdensome paperwork and huge costs to prove that their products fulfill the requirements of local rules.

In this respect, the proposal reversed the burden of proof, which means it will no longer be the company's burden to prove the conformity of its products, but the national authority's responsibility to justify its refusal of market access by giving precise and detailed reasons.

Since companies, particularly small and medium sized ones, are very often unfamiliar with what specific technical regulations exist in individual member states, the commission suggested all member states set up one or several contact points to provide information to outside businesses about additional requirements in the local market.

These measures will affect 25 percent of all industrial goods manufactured in the EU, the commission said.

For the intra-EU trade in industrial goods already covered by EU-wide rules, the commission proposed each member state set up a single accreditation authority, compared with the 1,800 agencies across Europe that currently check that goods are in compliance with European rules.

The wide-ranging package of measures also includes improving cooperation between accreditation authorities and better protection of the CE mark, which is a declaration by the manufacturer that his product meets all EU standards.

In order to ensure a high level of safety and quality of those products sold on the EU market, the commission proposed in its package to extend the existing market surveillance over consumer goods to all industrial goods, including imports from third countries.

The proposal, which has to be adopted by EU members and the European Parliament to come into effect, would in this regard affect 75 percent of the intra-EU trade in industrial goods that are worth 1.5 trillion euros and relate to 22 industrial sectors.