During 2009 to 2011 the European Commission held public consultations regarding the suitability and effectiveness of the General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC). Whilst it was generally felt that the Directive contains the correct core elements, it was decided that a revision was required due to overlaps in; current market surveillance rules set out in various pieces of EU legislation; and, the requirements of the New Legislative Framework for the Marketing of Products and its corresponding Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 (Requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products). Subsequently, in 2013 a ‘Product Safety and Market Surveillance’ package was introduced which includes four main elements;
| 1) A proposal for a NEW Regulation on Consumer Product Safety. 2) A proposal for a single Regulation regarding Market Surveillance for Products. 3) A communication setting out a multi-annual plan to improve current market surveillance and product safety. 4) A report on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 |
Significantly, the proposed new ‘Consumer Product Safety Regulation’, that is set to repeal Directives 2001/95/EC (General Product Safety) and 87/357/EEC (Dangerous Imitations), is intended to; simplify legislation, create uniform rules and remove legislative overlaps in regards to the safety of consumer products; improve product identification and traceability combined with the enhanced use of the Rapid Alert Information System (RAPEX); align itself with Regulation (EC) No 768/2008 (A common framework for the marketing of products); and, promote the increased use of European standards by developing existing standards and creating new ones in alignment with the European Standardisation Regulation 1025/2012.
As a result, it is hoped that; it will become easier to identify and remove dangerous products from the EU market; the responsibilities of manufacturers, importers and distributors will be more clearly defined; product recalls and other marketing restrictions (such as bans) will be easier to implement through improved traceability; there will be increased synergy between RAPEX and ICSMS (the Information and Communication System for Market Surveillance) resulting in improved awareness of dangerous products; there will be significant alignment between all consumer product safety rules and market surveillance activities.
The actions proposed in the Product Safety and Market Surveillance package were intended to be implemented from 2013 to 2015 and it is understood that this has been the case, however, it is still unclear precisely when the proposed Consumer Product Safety Regulation will come into force and repeal the GPSD. Indeed, the requirements of this proposed regulation are yet to be confirmed as being set in stone.
Comments are closed.
