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Only the products that fall within the scope of at least one of the 20 or more directives require the CE marking. These include, for example: the Low Voltage Directive (2014/35/EU); the Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC); the Medical Device Directive (93/42/EEC); the Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU); the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (2011/65/EU); and the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive (2014/30/EU).

Table 3.13 Principal SPS legislation in the EU in 2017
Legislation Last amended Note
Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules 2014a
On official controls for verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health, and animal welfare rules. The Regulation sets out general rules for the performance of official controls to verify compliance with rules aiming, in particular, at: (a) preventing, eliminating or reducing to acceptable levels risks to humans and animals, either directly or through the environment;
(...)
Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament of the Council of 26 October 2016 on protective measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No. 228/2013, (EU) No. 652/2014 and (EU) No. 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC Repeal of Directive 2000/29/EC
Protective measures against the introduction of organisms which are harmful to plants or plant products.

The European Commission is responsible for developing draft proposals for legislation and, where the legislation delegates the authority, delegated acts. The Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF Committee) is the principal regulatory body responsible for delivering opinions on draft implementing measures. The PAFF Committee is made up of 14 different sections, each responsible for different aspects related to SPS measures. [136] In addition, there are five committees that are also responsible for specific SPS-related issues:
• Regulatory Committee under Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms;
• Regulatory Committee under Directive 2009/41/EC on the contained use of genetically modified microorganisms;
• Standing Committee on Plant Variety Rights;
• Standing Committee on Zootechnics; and
• Biocidal Products Committee.

[136] General Food Law, Biological Safety of the Food Chain, Toxicological Safety of the Food Chain, Controls and Import Conditions, Animal Nutrition, Animal Health and Animal Welfare, Genetically Modified Food and Feed and Environmental Risk, Phytopharmaceuticals, Plant Health, Propagating Material of Ornamental Plants, Propagating Material and Plants of Fruit Genera and Species, Seeds and Propagating Material for Agriculture and Horticulture, Forest Reproductive Material, and Vine.

The EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), established under the General Food Law of 2002, is an independent agency responsible for risk assessment for food and feed safety, nutrition, animal health and welfare, plant protection, and plant health, as well as, through environmental risk assessments, the possible impact of the food chain on biodiversity. The Health and Food Audits and Analysis Directorate (formerly known as the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO)) of the Commission is responsible for audits, inspections, and related activities to assess compliance with EU food safety and quality, animal health and welfare, and plant health legislation within the EU, and compliance with EU import requirements in third countries exporting to the EU.

The new Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 on protective measures against plant pests extends the definition of pests to include non-parasitic plants that could have a severe economic, social, or environmental impact within the EU. It also lists pests as being in the category of quarantine pests or quality pests. Quarantine pests are those that pose the greatest danger for the EU and are to be eradicated and/or protected zones created to prevent their spreading outside areas where they are endemic.

The procedure for approving genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has not changed. An application for approval for use of a GMO for food, feed, cultivation, or release on the market for other purposes (e.g. cut flowers) must be made to the competent authority in a member State. The EFSA, in collaboration with the member States' scientific bodies, conducts a risk assessment and delivers an opinion. On the basis of the opinion, the Commission prepares draft legislation to grant or refuse authorization. Directive (EU) 2015/412 [143] gives the member States more flexibility to restrict or prohibit cultivation of a GMO in their territory either during the authorization procedure, by demanding to exclude their territory from the geographical scope of the application, or, after authorization has been granted, by adopting measures that prohibit or restrict cultivation of specific GMOs. The Commission has also proposed a review of the decision-making process on GMOs. [144]

[143] Directive (EU) 2015/412 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 amending Directive 2001/18/EC as regards the possibility for the member States to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GMOs in their territory.
[144] Commission Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 as regards the possibility for the member States to restrict or prohibit the use of genetically modified food and feed on their territory, COM(2015) 177 Final, 22 April 2015.

As at end-2016, one GMO is approved for cultivation (with ongoing procedures for renewal of authorization) and 72 for food and feed uses. In addition, 3 applications for cultivation and 47 for food and feed uses were pending. There are also 5 GMO flowers approved for sale in the EU.

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) allows food and feed authorities of the member States and the Commission to exchange information about measures taken in response to direct and indirect risks to human health from food, and human and animal health and the environment from feed. Member States notify risks detected in products already on the market (market notifications) and when products are refused entry into the EU (border rejections).

During this period, WTO Members used the SPS Committee to raise two new specific trade concerns about measures taken in the EU or a member State [155] and referred to eight concerns that had been raised earlier. [156] The EU has also used the Committee to raise its concerns in nine cases.

[155] EU proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 to allow EU member States to restrict or prohibit the use of genetically modified food and feed (ID 396), EU restrictions on exports of pork from the State of Santa Catarina (ID 407).
[156] Agricultural biotechnology approval process (ID 110), France's ban on Bisphenol A (BPA) (ID 346), EU phytosanitary measures on citrus black spot (ID 356), EU ban on mangoes and certain vegetables from India (ID 374), EU withdrawal of equivalence for processed organic products (ID 378), EU revised proposal for categorization of compounds as endocrine disruptors (ID 382), EU proposal to amend regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 to allow EU member States to restrict or prohibit the use of genetically modified food and feed (ID 396), and EU restrictions on exports of pork from the State of Santa Catarina (ID 407).

The two largest areas of expenditure out of the EU budget in 2013 and 2014 were agriculture and structural operations, comprising the European Agriculture Guarantee Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, and the Cohesion Fund. Another notable area of expenditure is research. The structural funds comprise the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). ERDF resources focus on the co-financing of productive investment leading to job creation and maintenance and investment in infrastructure. The ESF supports programmes in education and job market improvement, and the Cohesion Fund covers member States whose gross national income per inhabitant is less than 90% of the EU average, and, inter alia, funds projects in the field of transport and environmental infrastructure.