New Legislative Framework

The New Legislative Framework is a framework to design legislation, aiming to improve the internal market of the European Union. Adopted in 2008, it "aims to improve the internal market for goods and strengthen the conditions for placing a wide range of products on the EU market". The framework aims to improve market surveillance rules, set clear and transparent rules for the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, boost the quality of and confidence in the conformity assessment of products, clarify the meaning of CE marking, and establish a common legal framework for industrial products.

Enacted as a package of two laws in 2008 that were later amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, it is the successor of previous frameworks – the New Approach (Council Resolution of 7 May 1985) and the Global Approach (Council Resolution of 21 December 1989). As with its predecessors, the technical specifications of products meeting the essential requirements set out in the directives are laid down in harmonised standards set by European Standards Organizations. Likewise, the European Commission is assisted by the committee procedure (comitology) in its work under the framework.