'What's Good for Europe is Good for Israel' — The 2025 Harmonisation Reform

1. What the Reform Actually Changes

For decades, a product legally sold across the European Union still had to go through a separate Israeli approval process — often duplicative, often more expensive than the product itself, and always slower. A European toy, a European appliance, a European cosmetic that had passed every EU safety requirement could sit in a bonded warehouse in Ashdod for weeks while Israeli-specific lab testing was repeated.

The 1 January 2025 reform writes the EU directive directly into the Israeli regulatory path. A product demonstrably compliant with the applicable EU directive — evidenced by CE marking, a manufacturer's Declaration of Conformity (DoC), the Technical File, and the relevant harmonised-standard test reports — can be imported to Israel on that basis. A duplicate Israeli certification is no longer required by default.

2. The Three Domains Covered

The reform is a single policy framework that applies across three distinct regulatory domains. Each has its own sector ministry, its own acceptance mechanism, and its own documentation — but all share the same principle of EU equivalence.

Each domain has a dedicated guide — see our food imports guide and cosmetics imports guide for the specifics.

3. How the Route Works

In all three domains, the practical mechanism is the same three-step pattern:

1. Evidence of EU compliance. The manufacturer or the EU importer of record holds the documentation package required under the EU directive — CE marking for industrial products, CPNP notification for cosmetics, EU labelling for food. The importer in Israel obtains copies of this package.
2. Israeli declaration and registration. The importer in Israel declares — under legal responsibility — that the product complies with the referenced EU directive, and registers the declaration with the relevant Israeli authority (a pre-approval for food, a notification for cosmetics, or an importer declaration under the standardisation reform).
3. Israeli-specific adaptations. Hebrew labelling, Hebrew instructions / safety information, Israeli electrical plug where relevant, and compliance with the Israeli grid (230V/50Hz — which matches EU). None of these replace the EU directive; they are localisation layers on top.

4. Benefits for Importers

• No duplicate testing. The biggest saving. A product already tested under EN 60335 (household appliances), EN 55014 (EMC), EN 71 (toy safety), or the equivalent international harmonised standard doesn't need a repeat Israeli lab test.
• Time to shelf reduced from months to weeks. New European products can be launched in Israel without waiting for a certification cycle that may take 2–4 months.
• Lower landed cost. Testing fees and re-certification costs that used to be amortised over a product line are eliminated. That saving flows to retail price.
• Access to broader EU catalogues. Retailers and e-commerce operators can now import niche or specialty EU products that were previously uneconomic at small volumes.
• Alignment with the EU regulatory model. The European system is declaration-based with post-market surveillance; Israel now mirrors that. Compliance teams who understand the EU framework carry most of their knowledge over.

5. What Still Must Be Done

The reform replaces duplicate certification, not Israeli-specific localisation. Several requirements apply regardless of EU compliance:

• Hebrew labelling — product name, manufacturer, importer of record, contents, warnings, usage instructions. Required by the Consumer Protection Law and sector rules.
• Israeli plug / power compatibility — for electrical goods, the Israeli SI-32 plug and 230V/50Hz grid compatibility. (The grid matches Europe; the plug shape sometimes does not — UK-style plugs require an adapter or replacement.)
• Kashrut (for food) — not legally mandatory for import, but commercially decisive for many Israeli retail channels.
• Customs duty, purchase tax, VAT — the reform does not touch taxation. See our Import Taxation guide.
• Product file maintenance — the importer in Israel must hold the EU technical file and test reports ready to produce on audit.

6. Limits & Exclusions

The reform does not cover everything. Key exclusions:

• Products not covered by a harmonised EU directive — if the EU does not itself regulate the category, there is no EU-equivalence basis to use. These products continue through the traditional Israeli-standard track.
• Products with Israeli-specific requirements — e.g., security equipment with specific Israeli certification, some building materials with Israeli Building Code clauses that differ from EU, Hebrew on-screen-display for certain electronics.
• Sanctioned or restricted origins — the reform does not override origin restrictions. Goods from countries Israel does not import from remain excluded.
• Products recalled or withdrawn in the EU — if the EU itself has flagged or banned the product, the Israeli acceptance falls away. Importers must monitor EU safety-notice channels (e.g., Safety Gate / RAPEX) for relevant products.