INFORMATION REGARDING TÜRKİYE'S LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK BUILD ON EUROPEAN UNION'S PRODUCT SAFETY SYSTEM
With its large market and the growing industry, Türkiye has been a major trading partner of the European Union (EU) for a long time. This partnership was strengthened with a Customs Union (CU) in 1995, and later on, with the perspective of membership of EU. This status requires Türkiye to align with technical legislation of the EU and promotes cooperation between the Parties in the area of standardisation, accreditation, metrology and conformity assessment. As a matter of fact, Türkiye has committed itself to approximate its technical legislation with that of the EU within the framework of the Türkiye – EU Association Council Decision (ACD) No. 1/95 of 6 March 1995 that establishes a Customs Union.
As mentioned above, Türkiye and the EU established a Customs Union (CU) in 1995. The scope of the CU covers trade in industrial products and processed agricultural products between Türkiye and the EU, and also entails alignment by Türkiye with EU policies with regard to technical legislation of products. Within this context, Türkiye has transposed the horizontal legislation of the EU on CE marking, notified bodies, market surveillance, general product safety and mutual recognition in the non-harmonized area to its legal order; as well as the EU vertical legislation regarding the products.
In Türkiye, The Ministry of Trade - DG Product Safety and Inspection (the DG) is responsible for transposing the horizontal legislation of the EU, in particular those in the field of product safety. Besides, the DG coordinates the transposition work of the vertical legislation among the 8 competent authorities and the market surveillance in Türkiye. Besides, the DG is responsible for the coordination of the chapter of “free movement of goods” concerning the accession negotiations of Türkiye in the EU. In this background, Türkiye has aligned its product safety system with the EU.
In order to realize its responsibilities stemming from aforementioned CU, Türkiye has revised its current legislation on general product safety and further amends its legislation on consumer protection. As such, Türkiye has implemented Law No. 4703 between 2002 to 2021; which harmonised the EU’s horizontal legislation and provided the national legal basis for the harmonisation of the EU’s vertical technical legislation.
Then, parallel to the revision process in EU, Türkiye published The Law on Product Safety and Technical Legislation No. 7223, repealing Law No. 4703. The Law on Product Safety and Technical Legislation No 7223 entered into force on March 2021. The Law 7223 transposes the general principles of the EU product safety legislation. The basis and starting point of the Law No. 7223 is technical regulations. According to Law No. 7223, all products should be safe and in compliance with the relevant technical regulation or regulations.
Briefly, the highlights of the Law No. 7223 are explained below:
- Online trade has been included within the scope of the Law.
- Traceability principle has been introduced to maintain the responsible economic operator for the unsafety/non-compliance.
- The roles and responsibilities of the economic operators: manufacturer, importer, authorized representative and distributor has been separately defined.
- The recall of the unsafe products from the end user has been set.
- Product liability principle has been covered.
- Effective notification of the public regarding unsafe products has been set as one of the key principles of the product safety system.
- By aiming deterrence regarding the breach of consumer/product safety rules, administrative fines have been updated.
After the Law 7223, the secondary legislation had to be updated in line with the EU acquis. Below you will find the secondary legislation (regulations):
- CE Marking Regulation
- Conformity Assessment Procedures Regulation
- Conformity Assessment Bodies and Notified Bodies Regulation
- The Regulation on Mutual Recognition in the Non-Harmonized Area
- The Framework Regulation on Market Surveillance and Inspection of Products
- Regulation on Market Surveillance of Products Placed on the Market Through Means of Distance Sales
- The Regulation Related to Recording and Notification of the Results and Measures of Market Surveillance
- Regulation on the Notification of Technical Regulations of Standards between Türkiye and the European Union
- The Regulation on General Product Safety
In order to asses more information regarding the transposed EU technical legislation, please visit Türkiye's Product Rules Database.
NOTIFICATION of the DRAFT TECHNICAL REGULATIONS in ACCORDANCE with DIRECTIVE 2015/1535/EU
The draft technical regulations in the non-harmonised area have been notified to the European Commission since 2002 within a mechanism that is foreseen in the Directive No. 2015/1535/EU (former 98/34/EC) together with the relevant adaptations mentioned in the ACD No. 2/97. Furthermore, MoT – DG product Safety and Inspection (as the central unit in Türkiye) sends the notifications received from EU Member States to relevant public authorities in Türkiye.
The rules and procedures are laid down in the Regulation on the Notification of Technical Regulations of Standards between Türkiye and the European Union.
Please find Türkiye's draft technical regulation notifications here.
Please find Türkiye's draft technical regulation notifications here.
INFRASTRUCTURE for an EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION of the TRANSPOSED EU INSTRUMENTS
For the effective implementation of the transposed legislation, considerable steps have been taken for building up the required infrastructure and setting the administrative framework for conformity assessment, accreditation and market surveillance in Türkiye.
Türkiye has transposed hundreds of EU acts including almost all the New Approach directives and is implementing them now with all the accompanying mechanisms. As part of these mechanisms, for example, Türkiye has notified 65 national conformity assessment bodies as Notified Body under 16 New Approach directives (as of April 2025). Turkish Accreditation Agency became a full member of European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA) in 2004 and has signed all EA Multilateral Agreements. Furthermore, Türkiye has also been part of the notification mechanism as laid down in Directive 98/34/EC (which is now 2015/1535/EU) since 2004. With the accession of the Turkish Standards Instution to CEN and CENELEC, in the beginning of 2012 an important missing part has been completed.
Besides, a “Working Group Technical Legislation” was established under the Customs Union Joint Committee on 6 May 2004. This Group plays an important role in eliminating problems in the area of the approximation of technical legislation, and constitutes a platform to exchange and discuss information on technical regulation of products.
NOTIFIED BODIES
Notified body is any public or private body designated and authorized by the related public authority from among the testing, inspection and/or certification bodies to carry out conformity assessment procedures.
The criteria for the designation of these bodies and their responsibilites are laid down under The Law on Product Safety and Technical Legislation No. 7223 (Article 14) and the Conformity Assessment Bodies and Notified Bodies Regulation (Articles 6-13).
The candidate notified bodies are selected by the relevant competent authority and their names, addresses and duty scope are notified to the Europan Commission via the NANDO system. After the approval of the Commission, these bodies start operating as notified bodies following a communique published in the Official Gazetta.
(Please click here for the list of Turkish Notified Bodies.)
RELEVANT DECISIONS OF TÜRKİYE – EC ASSOCIATION COUNCIL REGARDING TECHNICAL LEGISLATION
- Decision No. 1/95 of Türkiye – EC Association Council (ACD No. 1/95)
Within the framework of the Articles 5 - 7 of the ACD No. 1/95 (corresponding to Articles 28-30 of the Treaty), the signatories shall eliminate not only classical trade restricting measures i.e. tariffs, quotas, but also the barriers to trade arising from different regulatory practices on goods both in Türkiye and the EU.
Within the framework of the Articles 5 - 7 of the ACD No. 1/95 (corresponding to Articles 28-30 of the Treaty), the signatories shall eliminate not only classical trade restricting measures i.e. tariffs, quotas, but also the barriers to trade arising from different regulatory practices on goods both in Türkiye and the EU.
Within the framework of the Articles 8 - 11 of the ACD No. 1/95, Turkey shall progressively adopt the relevant acquis communautaire on the removal of technical barriers to trade and all other related technical regulations. Thus, a system which is parallel to that of the EU shall be established and the technical barriers to trade shall be removed between Türkiye and the EU.
(Please click here for those relevant Articles of the Decision No. 1/95 of Türkiye – EC Association Council of 22 December 1995 on Implementing the Final Phase of the Customs Union.)
- Decision No. 2/97 of Türkiye – EC Association Council (ACD No. 2/97)
The list of the technical legislation to be transposed by Türkiye as well as the conditions governing their implementation has been determined by the ACD No. 2/97 of 21 May 1997, the Annex 1 of which includes provisions stating that Türkiye shall have the same rights and obligations with those of the EU Member States in parallel to its transposition.
The list of the technical legislation to be transposed by Türkiye as well as the conditions governing their implementation has been determined by the ACD No. 2/97 of 21 May 1997, the Annex 1 of which includes provisions stating that Türkiye shall have the same rights and obligations with those of the EU Member States in parallel to its transposition.
(Please click here for the Decision No. 2/97 of Türkiye – EC Association Council of 4 June 1997 establishing the List of Community Instruments relating to the Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade and the Conditions and Arrangements governing their Implementation by Türkiye.)
- Decision No. 1/2006 of Türkiye – EC Association Council (ACD No. 1/2006)
A further ACD No. 1/2006 has been put into force on 15 May 2006 on the implementation of Article 9 of the 1/95 ACD. The ACD No. 1/2006 regulates mainly the rules and procedures on the allocation of identification numbers to the Turkish notified bodies.
A further ACD No. 1/2006 has been put into force on 15 May 2006 on the implementation of Article 9 of the 1/95 ACD. The ACD No. 1/2006 regulates mainly the rules and procedures on the allocation of identification numbers to the Turkish notified bodies.
As stated in the ACD No. 1/2006, Türkiye – EC Customs Union Joint Committee is authorized to adopt a “statement” for ascertaining that Türkiye put into force the provisions of the Community instrument or instruments necessary for the elimination of technical barriers to trade concerning the New Approach Directives.
(Please click here for the Decision No. 1/2006 of Türkiye – EC Association Council of 15 May 2006 on the Implementation of Article 9 of Decision No. 1/95 of the EC – Türkiye Association Council on Implementing the Final Phase of the Customs Union.)
- Commission’s Interpretative Communication No. 2003/C 265/02
In order to explain the rights and obligations of economic operators supplying goods to the EU market from Türkiye stemming from the CU, it should be better to quote from the Commission interpretative communication on facilitating the access of products to the markets of other Member States: the practical application of mutual recognition (2003/C 265/02).
“Articles 5 to 7 of Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union (OJ L 35, 13 February 1996, p. 1) provide for the elimination of measures having an effect equivalent to customs duties between the European Union and Turkey. Pursuant to Article 66 of Decision 1/95, Articles 5 to 7 must, for the purposes of their implementation and application to products covered by the Customs Union, be interpreted in conformity with the relevant Judgments of the Court of Justice. Consequently, principles resulting from the Court of Justice's case law on issues which are related to Articles 28 and 30 of the EC Treaty, particularly the ‘Cassis de Dijon’ case, apply to the Member States and to Turkey.”(Page 13, Footnote 18)
“This communication (2003/C 265/02) makes it clear that the Member State of destination of a product must allow the placing on its market of a product lawfully manufactured and/or marketed in another Member State or in Turkey,….., provided that this product provides an equivalent level of protection of the various legitimate interests involved.”(Page 2, paragraph 4)
“The Court of Justice recognises that, in the absence of harmonised Community rules, the Member States have the power to adopt technical rules.”(Page 3, Section 1.2., paragraph 8)
“However, the Member State of destination must allow an EEA/Turkish product free access to its market, provided that it provides an equivalent level of protection of the various legitimate interests at stake. This principle will henceforth be referred to as the principle of ‘mutual recognition’.”(Page 4, Section 1.2., paragraph 9)
“An essential principle of Community law is that an EEA/Turkish product enjoys the basic right of free movement of products, guaranteed by the EC Treaty, provided that the Member State of destination has not taken a reasoned decision of refusal, based on proportionate technical rules.”(Page 5, Section 4, paragraph 1)
“However, mutual recognition is not always automatically applicable: it can be affected by the right of the Member State of destination to verify the equivalence of the level of protection provided by the product under scrutiny, compared with that provided by its own national rules.”( Page 3, Section 1.2., paragraph 10)
“This supervision must be based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria which are known in advance, in such a way as to circumscribe the exercise of the national authority's discretion so that this discretion is not used arbitrarily.”(Page 5, paragraph 3)
“…….. In any event, supervision should always be exercised in the framework of a procedure that is as short, effective and inexpensive as possible. In principle, there can be no systematic control in the Member State of destination before release on the market. As a result, as a general rule, the Member State of destination can only examine the conformity of an EEA/Turkish product with its own technical rules as part of an inspection undertaken as part of its market monitoring activities, and after release on the national market.”(Page 5, Section 4 Supervision by the Member State of Destination, paragraph 4)
“………The Member State of destination will only have the right to require additional tests when all the following conditions have been met:
— these tests have not already been carried out or have not been carried out by a body providing equivalent guarantees to those required for the national bodies,
— this type of test is also imposed on national product's,
— these tests are necessary to provide the competent authority with the information required to evaluate the level of protection afforded by the product.” (Page 7, paragraph 9)
“A negative decision by the Member State of destination regarding the access of an EEA/Turkish product to its market is, in principle, likely to constitute a measure having an equivalent effect to a quantitative import restriction, prohibited by Article 28 of the EC Treaty. Thus, the economic operator may always contest under national law a negative decision taken against him.”(Page 10, Section 5.2., paragraph 1)
(Please click here for the Commission’s Interpretative Communication on facilitating the access of products to the markets of other Member States, the practical application of mutual recognition (2003/C 265/02).)