The CE marking and China Export marking

9.10.2024

Question for written answer  E-001996/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Jorge Martín Frías (PfE)

To be sold in the EU, it is mandatory for many products to bear the CE marking, which shows that the manufacturer has assessed the product and that it is considered to comply with a number of EU requirements. Moreover, it is obligatory for products manufactured anywhere in the world that are to be placed on the EU market.

In 2006, China created a logo for its exports, China Export, whose font and size are similar to its European counterpart. It was designed to compete fraudulently with the legitimate CE marking and circumvent controls. In this way, the Chinese logo prevents China’s products from getting assessed to find out whether they meet the requirements set by the European Economic Area, which in turn leads to confusion among EU consumers.

Furthermore, there is the problem that the CE marking is not registered as an EU logo, and for that reason China cannot be required to cease using the Asian imitation.

In light of this situation:

Is the European Commission going to confront this problem and study measures, such as modifying the current CE logo, to resolve this issue that has been ongoing for 18 years, and take the necessary action to put an end to this fraud?

Submitted: 9.10.2024