Article 18 Consultation Forum

The Commission shall ensure that, in the conduct of its activities, it observes, in respect of each implementing measure, a balanced participation of Member States’ representatives and all interested parties concerned with the product or product group in question, such as industry, including SMEs and craft industry, trade unions, traders, retailers, importers, environmental protection groups and consumer organisations. These parties shall contribute, in particular, to defining and reviewing implementing measures, to examining the effectiveness of the established market surveillance mechanisms and to assessing voluntary agreements and other self-regulation measures. These parties shall meet in a Consultation Forum. The rules of procedure of the Forum shall be established by the Commission.