EU countries and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on a set of new laws that would extend some support measures beyond small and medium-sized enterprises to “small mid-cap” companies and allow more product paperwork to be handled digitally.
The agreement was struck by negotiators for the Council presidency and the European Parliament as part of the EU’s “Omnibus IV” legislative package, the Council of the EU announced on Tuesday night.
It covers proposals on small mid-cap enterprises, and on digitalisation and “common specifications” — a legal route for showing a product meets EU rules in limited cases.
Small mid-cap enterprises would be defined as companies with fewer than 1,000 employees and either annual turnover of up to €200 million or a balance sheet total of up to €172 million under the provisional deal.
The European Commission’s original proposal set lower thresholds — fewer than 750 employees and either up to €150 million turnover or up to €129 million in balance sheet total.
The Council said these firms account for 6% of employment across the EU and are present in sectors including electronics, aerospace and defence, energy, energy-intensive industries and health.
More documents in digital form, with paper safety information kept
The proposals on digitalisation would amend 20 pieces of EU product legislation under single market rules and would introduce a “digital by default” approach for certain requirements, the Council said.
This would include digitalising the EU declaration of conformity — a statement that a product meets EU requirements — as well as digital exchanges between national authorities and businesses.
Manufacturers would also be able to provide instructions for use in digital form instead of on paper in some cases.
Paper safety information would still be required where there is a risk of serious harm to consumers.
The deal also sets out how “common specifications” could be used as a fallback option to demonstrate a product complies with EU rules when harmonised standards are unavailable or insufficient.
If adopted, the Commission would review the definition of small mid-cap enterprises within five years of the rules entering into force, including its impact on administrative burden and competitiveness.
The provisional agreement still needs formal approval by the Council and the European Parliament before legal and linguistic checks and adoption
