Czech beer, Italian pasta, Belgian chocolate - three things people all over Europe love to consume. Thanks to the EU's common market they can be produced in one country then freely enjoyed in others. As consumers we take this for granted. However, restrictions on the movement of goods remain. A public hearing with MEPs and experts on 5 June in the European Parliament examined a planned new regulation that aims to sweep away many remaining restrictions on the flow of products around the Union.

It is not just consumers who stand to lose out from restrictions on the free movement of goods. The hearing was told by Jean-Paul Mingasson of "Business Europe" that 28% of companies still encounter barriers when moving their produce from one EU state to another.

The EU's principle of "mutual recognition" of goods (where you can sell goods from one country in another) should ensure problems do not arise although the hearing was told barriers still exist.

Rules vary from country to country

Many of the rules relate to size weight, presentation, labelling and packaging. This can really affect small and medium size businesses (who form the majority in the EU). Many small companies have to adapt their product to different markets which affects their competitiveness as a whole.

Speaking from the Danish perspective, Finn Lauritzen of their national enterprise and construction agency said consumers and industry benefited from the competition between different goods. He said it kept manufacturers "on their toes".

In the hearing Alexander Stubb - Parliament's rapporteur on the goods package legislation - used the example of bikes. He said that while certain safety regulations may apply in one country "in another country you require a light with a dynamo system and two hand breaks".

Mutual recognition a core principle

Mr Stubb - who represents the European People's Party and European Democrats - also mentioned the nearly 300 cases the European Court of Justice had dealt with on such issues. These included bread and bakeries in Belgium and plant based products in Spain.

Some problems that speakers identified included a lack of awareness by consumers and business of the mutual recognition principle, a lack of dialogue between country's authorities and confusion as to the scope of the "mutual recognition" principle.

In February of this year the European Commission proposed a regulation that would help ease the flow of goods. Among the ideas being proposed are rules and procedures to be followed by countries if they indeed to ban, modify or withdraw a product (for national technical reasons).

Information "contact points" planned

The Commission also wants to establish "product contact points" where companies can receive more information on what rules apply where. The overall objective is to shift the burden of proof regarding at product from the manufacturer (where it currently is) to the country.

The Parliament's Internal Market Committee will be looking at the issue over the coming months. There is the possibility the full Plenary will consider the issue in November.