(BRUSSELS) - EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen launched on Wednesday a push to make it easier for companies to sell goods in other member states by cutting red tape.

Under the the European Union's internal market rules, a product that is allowed for sale can in principle be sold in any of the 27 member states as long as it respects national regulations.

But the daunting patchwork of national rules and regulations across the EU puts off many firms, especially small and midsized companies, from moving into markets outside their home country.

"The national rules, to put it lightly, are not always easily understood," Verheugen told journalists.

Such national rules are holding up the cross-border trade in goods like construction products, bread and pasta, furniture, bicycles, ladders and precious metals, the European Commission lamented.

Companies that do venture into other EU countries face huge costs certifying their products and adapting them to meet local rules.

As a result, "only a fraction of European manufacturers participate in cross-border trade," said Verheugen.

To remedy the situation, Verheugen wants member states to have to justify to a company why it refuses a product that has been approved in another member state.

The proposal, which has to be adopted by EU members and the European Parliament to come into effect, would affect goods that are not already covered by EU-wide rules, which is about 25 percent of goods made in the bloc.

For the 75 percent of industrial goods already covered by EU-wide rules, Verheugen wants member states to set up a single accreditation authority, compared with the 1,800 agencies across Europe that currently check that goods make the grade.

The commission also wants to step up monitoring of industrial goods' markets to ensure high standards across the EU.

European Commission package on Internal Market for goods - further information

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