MENA Newswire News Desk: The European Council has given its final approval to the Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act (IMERA), a regulation establishing a framework of measures aimed at strengthening the European Union’s internal market in response to crises. This represents the last step in the decision-making process for the act. The newly adopted regulation is designed to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to future emergencies by monitoring potential crises and activating vigilance or emergency modes as needed.
The act also coordinates responses between the EU and its member states. As part of the legislation, the Council has also approved a package of updates, commonly referred to as the ‘IMERA omnibus,’ which amends existing internal market legislation to account for crisis situations. The act establishes an advisory group composed of the European Commission and EU member states, tasked with assessing the situation and recommending responses when vigilance or emergency modes are triggered.
Under IMERA, last-resort emergency measures include the power to request targeted information from economic operators, prioritize crisis-relevant product requests, and fast-track the introduction of specific goods to the market. It also allows for derogations from certain product-specific regulations during emergencies. The European Commission will conduct stress tests and crisis simulations to evaluate the potential impact on the free movement of goods, services, and people within the EU. Economic operators are also encouraged to develop their own protocols, training, and simulations to prepare for such emergencies.