european unions flags flutter at half mast in memory of late european parliament president david sassoli in front of european commission building in brussels belgium january 11 2022 reutersyves herman berlin sept 2 reuters  the european commission is seeking emergency powers to intervene in the production of certain goods in critical situations germanys frankfurter allgemeine zeitung faz newspaper reported citing a draft of the proposal the eu executive has been looking at how to avoid the supply bottlenecks that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic and no longer wants to rely on companies in the european unions 27 member states to take precautions on their own the socalled internal market emergency instrument set to be presented on sept 13 lays out several stages that open up varying powers to the commission depending on the situation vigilance mode which could be declared over an event that could threaten security of supply allows the commission to request company data and suggest building up strategic reserves first and if that is not enough to mandate it in crisis mode the commission would be allowed to directly dictate what orders companies should prioritize the newspaper reported companies would only be exempt if the commissions conditions cause economic difficulties or for capacity reasons according to faz member states would be able to prevent the triggering of these modes as well as specific interventions by the commission but the hurdle would be especially high the powers are designed to stop member states from restricting their internal markets during a crisis  as seen during the pandemic with export bans on face masks  through transparency and better coordination of national measures a commission official said the proposed measure aims to ensure greater transparency and coordination in the event of a critical situation safeguard the free movement of services and goods and maximise the availability of essential products the official declined direct comment on the article saying the commission did not comment on leaked documents the eu executive is now finalising its proposal faz said the proposal has faced criticism in the european parliament which along with the eu council of ministers would have to greenlight it before it could come into effect writing by miranda murray additional reporting by foo yun chee in brussels editing by philippa fletcher