How it works

The SOLVIT procedure

All cases are handled by two SOLVIT Centres: the Home Centre, the SOLVIT Centre of the country with which the applicant has the closest links (nationality, place of residence, establishment) and the Lead Centre, the SOLVIT Centre of the country where the problem occurred and where the administration concerned is located. This cooperation is organised under the supervision of the European Commission.

By way of illustration, Luxembourg citizens or businesses encountering difficulties with an administration in another Member State contact the Luxembourg SOLVIT Centre, which, after checking the file and its admissibility, in turn contacts the SOLVIT Centre at the location of the administration concerned. The Lead Centre will aim to find a solution within 10 weeks with the public administration concerned.

Request for informal legal advice

At the request of the SOLVIT Centres, the European Commission provides expertise when they cannot agree on the legal analysis of a case. When two SOLVIT Centres have different interpretations of an EU provision, it is therefore possible to request an informal legal opinion from the European Commission services. Once the request is sent, the European Commission has two months to issue its opinion.

The legal advice is only informal and cannot be considered binding on the European Commission, although it would probably constitute the position of the European Commission in the event of an infringement procedure. The legal arguments set out in this advice are used to try to persuade the entity against which the complaint has been lodged to adapt its decision(s) and/or practice(s). However, these informal legal opinions cannot be communicated to complainants.

Special procedure in the legal area of mutual recognition for goods

Regulation (EU) 2019/515 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the mutual recognition of goods lawfully marketed in another Member State and repealing Regulation (EC) No 764/2008

In 2019, SOLVIT has been given specific competence by a European regulation. In order to facilitate a better application of the principle of mutual recognition, the EU Regulation on the mutual recognition of goods lawfully marketed in another Member State has designated SOLVIT Centres as “arbitrators” to settle certain disputes between businesses and administrations concerning the free movement of goods.

A producer of goods can first draw up a “declaration of mutual recognition” to show the competent authorities of the Member State of destination that his goods are legally marketed in another Member State. If the authority refuses market access, the economic operator can submit the case to SOLVIT.

Under this procedure, SOLVIT Centres can ask the European Commission to issue a formal legal opinion in order to objectify and settle the dispute.

The time limit for handling such a SOLVIT case is three months and a request for an opinion from the European Commission extends the procedure by nine weeks to five or six months. This new procedure is an alternative to launching a legal action, which is costly and time-consuming for the company concerned.

Last update 25.04.2022