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In 2021 the European Commission announced the revision of the Council Directive 2011/64/EU on the excise rules for tobacco. In the inception impact assessment, the EC stated that there are areas of weakness and ambiguity in the current legal arrangements which give rise to market distortions, legal uncertainty and can also hinder the detection and prevention of fraud. The review will ensure that the rules remain fit for the purpose and improve the proper functioning of the internal market, and a high level of health protection. The policy changes focus on:
The Union customs code is facing situations for which it was not conceived, notably e-commerce. The revision of the Union customs legislation will aim at improving the controls of e-commerce to the benefit of tax payers and citizens products.
The evaluation aims at checking if the rules on health and social services of general economic interest meet their objectives under the 2012 services package.
The Commission is presenting revised rules that will make it cheaper, quicker and more predictable to protect industrial designs across the EU. The proposals for a revised Regulation and Directive on industrial designs modernise the existing Community design framework and parallel national design regimes, created and harmonised 20 years ago.