The new rules aim to ensure that all kinds of products in the EU, whether sold online or in traditional shops, comply with the highest safety requirements.
On Thursday, the Internal Market Committee adopted its position on the EU’s updated rules on product safety of non-food consumer products with 41 in favour, one against and two abstentions. MEPs adopted changes to enhance the safety of products sold in the EU and future-proof the existing legal framework. MEPs also clarified obligations for economic operators and online marketplaces and strengthened product safety requirements.
Clearer rules for operators and safety of products
All economic operators, such as manufacturers, importers and distributers, would have to comply with the updated general safety obligations to place products on the EU market. If those economic operators are not established in the EU, they would have to designate a responsible person in the EU as a contact point for authorities.
If they fail to comply, penalties can reach up to 4% of their annual turnover.
MEPs also strengthened provisions on safety requirements for products to take into account possible specific risks to the most vulnerable consumers such as children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Products should be safe for all users, including women, whose safety should also always be considered when products are designed. Technological aspects, like cyber interference, but also the effects that digitally connected products can have on children’s mental health need to be considered.
Removal of dangerous goods
According to the adopted text and in line with the recently agreed Digital Services Act, online marketplaces would have to establish single contact points to communicate swiftly with surveillance authorities and consumers. Authorities can oblige online marketplaces to remove and disable access to illegal listings of dangerous products. After being notified, online marketplaces would have one day to act. They would conduct random checks to identify the dangerous products.
MEPs also want the rapid alert system for dangerous products (“Safety Gate” portal) to be modernised to allow online marketplaces to detect unsafe products more easily. The portal should become more intuitive and information should be easily accessible for users, including persons with disabilities.
Efficient recall procedures and access to information
In case a dangerous product needs to be recalled or there is a safety warning, economic operators and online marketplaces would be required to inform consumers and widely disseminate the information online. Consumers would be informed of their right to repair, replacement or refund.
MEPs also added a provision to make sure that information on products’ safety is available in easily understandable language and accessible to persons with disabilities.
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The rapporteur Dita Charanzová (Renew, CZ) said:
Today, we take a crucial step towards making sure all products are safe in Europe, by giving consumers more rights and businesses, including online marketplaces, more responsibilities. And importantly, we do so in a way that protects small businesses without limiting consumer choice. Our “Safety Net” will be more effective and new obligations will target sectors where action is most needed. I look forward to a quick adoption under the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Next steps
Once the Council adopts its negotiating mandate, interinstitutional talks between Parliament and member states can start. Once an agreement is reached, it will have to be endorsed by Parliament and Council before its publication and entry into force.
Further information
Source – European Parliament
EPP Group: Banning unsafe products from the EU market
“Buying a game console or a connected watch should be a source of fun, not anxiety. By updating the product safety rules we will assure the protection of consumers from dangerous items or fraud while shopping online or offline”, said Marion Walsmann MEP, the EPP Group negotiator for Product Safety, after the vote on the new rules in the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee this morning.
The new law is meant to fight unsafe products, from shoes to mobile phones or baby monitors.
“Even if the EU Single Market is one of the safest markets in the world, the rise in online shopping and new technologies means that many unsafe products still get onto the market. It was high time to extend the safety requirements to all products, even the ones including new technologies, like Artificial Intelligence or the Internet of Things, so that an important loophole has been closed.”
Another existing loophole is the fact that consumers can often not find the producer of an unsafe product or have trouble getting in touch with them if it has been imported from a third country. “Thanks to the new rules, we will guarantee that there will always be a responsible person for a product in the EU, regardless of where it has been manufactured or if it was sold online or offline.”
Another improvement for consumers is that they will be better informed about recalls and that online marketplaces have to provide a single point of contact for allowing direct communication with the consumers and the relevant authorities.
“According to estimation, one third of consumers in the EU continue to use recalled products despite a recall, exposing themselves to high risks. Now, the recall procedure will be quicker and more efficient. Additionally, the traceability of the dangerous products along the supply chain will be strengthened and that is going to help identify the place of the dangerous product”, said Walsmann.
“With the new Product Safety rules, consumers will be better protected from unsafe goods and the economic operators selling the goods on the EU market will have more clarity on their obligations to guarantee the safety of products placed on the EU market”, concluded Walsmann.
Note to editors
The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 176 Members from all EU Member States
Source – EPP Group
Safety of products in the EU guaranteed through S&D efforts
The general safety of products citizens use in daily life will be guaranteed from now on by new legislation, with a significant contribution from the S&D Group and its negotiator, René Repasi, in the European Parliament’s Committee on the internal market and consumer protection (IMCO). In a vote in the committee today, the S&D Group succeeded in ensuring there is a safety net for products, that gives manufacturers and other market players clear responsibilities and includes strict obligations for online marketplaces. From now on, there will be better controls over the safety of products on the EU market – be they produced in the European Union or imported from third countries. In the case of an imported product, it will be mandatory to have a person within the EU who will be responsible for its safety.
René Repasi MEP, S&D negotiator on the General Product Safety Regulation in the Committee on internal market and consumer protection, said:
“For us, the Socialists and Democrats, it was crucial to include specific provisions for online marketplaces and we made sure they are there. If marketplaces fail to comply with the new rules, they will be held responsible with financial penalties. This is in harmony with another key S&D Group success, the negotiations on the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, where our group was guided by the principle that what is illegal offline must remain illegal online too. I am happy the new rules for the safety of products are extended to new and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and connected devices. This means the legislation we create is adequate for the fast pace of change in the world of technology and the devices used more and more in the daily lives of our citizens.
“As the S&D Group, we were ready to go beyond the Commission’s proposal and increase the level of product safety in the EU. However, a strong conservative majority wanted to lower the ambition of the European Parliament’s position. The S&Ds not only prevented this but also managed to safeguard product safety levels in the EU. Furthermore, we would have preferred to have a public debate on the appropriate level of protection for EU citizens against harmful products coming from within and outside the EU. The adoption of the report in the parliamentary committee sends a clear signal to the member states: we are ready to fight for strong product safety rules and protect European consumers. The next step for the European Parliament is to begin negotiations with the Council of the EU on the future rules for product safety.”
Source – S&D Group
Renew Europe pushes for future-proof EU legislation on safety of products
June 16, 2022The Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament welcomes today’s adoption by the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the report on General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), as an updated, and more effective legislative framework was needed to ensure that all products circulating in the single market are safe.
To be future proof, the GPSR covers all consumers’ products: from the traditional ones to new connected digital ones. Updating our product safety legislation to reflect innovations in production and trends of global market by digitalising the market surveillance system is key for our political group.
New rules for online marketplaces will increase safety, better protect consumers and help in reaching a level playing field between the online and offline sectors while preserving the freedom of choice for consumers and the competitiveness of our economic operators. The GPSR will keep the burden for smaller economic operators proportionate and new obligations will target sectors where is more needed.
This new legislation will ensure more safety for our citizens when shopping offline and online and will give consumers more rights, especially when products are recalled or when they need effective remedies.
MEP, Dita Charanzová (ANO, Czech Republic), Vice-President of the European Parliament and rapporteur on General Product Safety Regulation, said:
“This legislation is our “Safety Net” to counter illegal and dangerous products, especially those coming from the third countries, which can harm us and our children. Now, every product will have to have a legally responsible person in the EU and Member States and individuals can take actions against them if they don’t do their job. This will mean less risky products on the market, because it will not only be risk to consumers but to the businesses that sell them.”
“All economic operators and online marketplaces will be required to inform all consumers they can identify about a recall of a product and if they are ordered to remove something, they have to do so within one day. No consumer should be left out of hand because a manufacturer failed to deliver a product which does not comply with the required standards.”
Source – Renew Europe