European law report - No compromise on safety!
The message that the EU's Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva sought to impart to the Chinese authorities during her recent visit to China is clear: There can be no compromise on safety where EU consumers are concerned. A tough stance must...
The message that the EU's Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva sought to impart to the Chinese authorities during her recent visit to China is clear: There can be no compromise on safety where EU consumers are concerned. A tough stance must be taken by the Chinese authorities against companies exporting dangerous toys and appliances into the EU.
This message comes in the wake of a spate of recalls from the EU market of a considerable number of China-made products and in particular toys.
Such recalls should come as no surprise considering that 924 products which pose serious risks to the health and safety of consumers were barred from European markets last year following safety alerts.
These products ranged from cosmetics and toys to electrical appliances and motor vehicles - half of which came from China. This represents a 32 per cent increase over the number of products recalled from European markets in 2005.
What action can be taken by EU authorities to thwart the circulation of goods that pose a serious risk to health and safety to EU consumers?
In terms of EU legislation on product safety, there are various steps which ought to be taken by member states and by manufacturers as well as by the Commission authorities in order to eliminate the risk.
The European Rapid Alert System for non-food consumer products, better known as RAPEX, ensures that information about dangerous products identified on the market is quickly shared between EU countries. All three players have an important role in the proper functioning of this system. When a product is found to be dangerous, the competent national authority takes appropriate action to eliminate the risk. It can withdraw the product from the market, recall it from consumers or issue warnings.
It then informs the European Commission about the product, the risks it poses for consumers and the measures taken by the authority to prevent risks and accidents. The European Commission then disseminates the information that it receives to all other EU countries, the authorities of which in turn take measures to eliminate the risk, either by requiring the product to be withdrawn from the market, by recalling it from consumers or by issuing warnings. The Commission also publishes weekly overviews on the internet of dangerous products and the measures taken to eliminate the risks.
On their part, producers and distributors must inform the competent national authority when they get to know that a product they placed on the market is dangerous. This means that producers and distributors are responsible in the first instance for preventing any risks posed by the dangerous products they place on the market.
In certain specified circumstances, the Commission may itself adopt a formal "decision" requiring the member states to ban the marketing of an unsafe product, to recall it from consumers or to withdraw it from the market. Such decisions are taken where the member states have different approaches to dealing with the risks posed by such dangerous products, where urgency is needed due to the risk of the product, where no other Community laws deal with that risk, and where such decisions are the most effective way of eliminating the risk.
The EU has also sought to intensify cooperation at an international level, particularly with China, one of the biggest exporters of consumer products to Europe. To this end, both the Chinese authorities and the European Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Roadmap for safer toys to improve the safety of incoming products. The Roadmap, supported by both the European and Chinese toy manufacturers' associations, includes practical measures regarding training and technical assistance, exchanges of RAPEX information between the EU and the Chinese authorities, and tracing, feedback and follow-up mechanisms for dangerous products.
It also contains a commitment from the Chinese authorities to strengthen inspection and supervision of toys exported to Europe. Recent events go to show that nonetheless more work needs to be done on all fronts to ensure the safety of everyday consumer products to the EU consumer.
Dr Vella Cardona is a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.
This message comes in the wake of a spate of recalls from the EU market of a considerable number of China-made products and in particular toys.
Such recalls should come as no surprise considering that 924 products which pose serious risks to the health and safety of consumers were barred from European markets last year following safety alerts.
These products ranged from cosmetics and toys to electrical appliances and motor vehicles - half of which came from China. This represents a 32 per cent increase over the number of products recalled from European markets in 2005.
What action can be taken by EU authorities to thwart the circulation of goods that pose a serious risk to health and safety to EU consumers?
In terms of EU legislation on product safety, there are various steps which ought to be taken by member states and by manufacturers as well as by the Commission authorities in order to eliminate the risk.
The European Rapid Alert System for non-food consumer products, better known as RAPEX, ensures that information about dangerous products identified on the market is quickly shared between EU countries. All three players have an important role in the proper functioning of this system. When a product is found to be dangerous, the competent national authority takes appropriate action to eliminate the risk. It can withdraw the product from the market, recall it from consumers or issue warnings.
It then informs the European Commission about the product, the risks it poses for consumers and the measures taken by the authority to prevent risks and accidents. The European Commission then disseminates the information that it receives to all other EU countries, the authorities of which in turn take measures to eliminate the risk, either by requiring the product to be withdrawn from the market, by recalling it from consumers or by issuing warnings. The Commission also publishes weekly overviews on the internet of dangerous products and the measures taken to eliminate the risks.
On their part, producers and distributors must inform the competent national authority when they get to know that a product they placed on the market is dangerous. This means that producers and distributors are responsible in the first instance for preventing any risks posed by the dangerous products they place on the market.
In certain specified circumstances, the Commission may itself adopt a formal "decision" requiring the member states to ban the marketing of an unsafe product, to recall it from consumers or to withdraw it from the market. Such decisions are taken where the member states have different approaches to dealing with the risks posed by such dangerous products, where urgency is needed due to the risk of the product, where no other Community laws deal with that risk, and where such decisions are the most effective way of eliminating the risk.
The EU has also sought to intensify cooperation at an international level, particularly with China, one of the biggest exporters of consumer products to Europe. To this end, both the Chinese authorities and the European Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Roadmap for safer toys to improve the safety of incoming products. The Roadmap, supported by both the European and Chinese toy manufacturers' associations, includes practical measures regarding training and technical assistance, exchanges of RAPEX information between the EU and the Chinese authorities, and tracing, feedback and follow-up mechanisms for dangerous products.
It also contains a commitment from the Chinese authorities to strengthen inspection and supervision of toys exported to Europe. Recent events go to show that nonetheless more work needs to be done on all fronts to ensure the safety of everyday consumer products to the EU consumer.
Dr Vella Cardona is a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.