On February 2, 2018, an agreement was signed by the Council of the Eurasian Union on the marking of products by means of identification in the Union. "Identification means" according to Article No. 1 of the agreement implies a single sequence of characters in machine-readable form, represented as a barcode, or recorded on an RFID tag, or represented by other means (technology) of automatic identification”.
This would be a means of centralized control over the products circulating on the territory of the Eurasian Union through the creation of a single marking register.
The document concerns the creation of a single product marking in the Union, which provides for the use of identification means, the information of which will be introduced into a single register. According to Article No. 1 of the agreement "a single register of means of identification is a common information resource, including a description of identification tools used for marking goods in the Union, information about their characteristics, composition and structure of information contained in means of identification ".
The party responsible for creating and maintaining the register is the Eurasian Commission.
This system is supposed to:
- ensure fair competition;
- improve the quality of products;
- protect consumers;
- fight against counterfeit products.
This system introduces new methods of identification that upon their implementation will enable the digitization of products circulating in the territory, as well as the modernization of logistics and transport infrastructure in the member countries of the Union.
According to Ms. Veronica Nikichina, the Counsil member, "all interested parties, i.e. the authorities, businesses, consumers and others, will be able to obtain information on the products included in the system of marking, even from a mobile application ". This will be possible, for example, thanks to the QR-code, which contains the link to the information on a product unit in the computer system.
The text of the Agreement also addresses the following issues:
- the need for identification
- product marking procedure
- list of products subject to special identification, as well as products exempt from identification. Currently it is specified that the products not subject to the single marking requirements are: products for export outside the Union, samples and units of products for testing in laboratories, duty free products, products imported by natural persons and intended for personal use.
- types of marking application
- list of mandatory information to be provided and other
It is important to note that the national marking, i.e. marking of each member country, will continue to exist. In the future member countries will still be allowed to make proposals about national marking. Nevertheless, these proposals will be reviewed by other member countries as well.
Status of the document as of 01/03/2018: has not entered into force
