I chanced upon this article on Safe Toys by Cornelia Bolesch in The German Times. Since one of the eight internationally recognised consumer rights is 'the right to safety' and in view of the importance of this issue, I feel morally obliged to feature it. I appeal to all parents to read it accordingly:

The debate over risky toys from China is putting the spotlight on the European Parliament. No fewer than five committees in the body have been occupied with the European Commission's drive for improved market surveillance.

Until recently, the safety of children's toys had hardly been of interest to Europeans. However, since the US manufacturer Mattel was repeatedly forced to recall items produced by the Chinese, many have been raising questions about quality control and appropriate seals of quality.

The European Commission had begun tinkering with new regulations for Europe long before the Mattel case. The elected representatives in Strasbourg are familiar with this. Usually their work is only noticed when the laws have already been passed. This time it's different.

In the wake of new public interest in Barbie and Co they are no longer working behind the scenes and raised their voices in the debate. Parliamentarians of all factions are demanding tougher market surveillance, enforced liability for importers and a European Seal of Safety for consumer goods.

Many are resisting more extreme measures such as the banning of imported goods from China. "Not everything that comes from China is bad," said German MEP Peter Liese. His CDU colleague, Andreas Schwab, agrees: "I don't agree with putting a general stop to imports," he said. "That would be a violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations. And as an export nation, Germany couldn't possibly be interested in such measures."

Schwab advises against "doing things just for the sake of it." Instead, together with Liese he draws attention to the necessity of improving controls in EU member states and a new European seal of quality, which would guarantee consumers more safety. In their opinion, the European Commission's proposals don't go far enough. "Market surveillance doesn't seem to function well anywhere," said Liese. "And in some countries it seems to be downright terrible."

Liese quotes findings by Rapex, the EU's rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products. According to the report, inspectors in Germany confiscated 67 substandard consumer goods in the first half of this year. Italian inspectors only found 19 in their country.

German controllers should not, however, rest on their laurels. Liese thinks the weak link is not trade inspectors but the Hamburg harbour. Every day, hundreds of containers arrive from China, filled with cheap products, ranging from light bulbs to dolls.

"There needs to be more controls," Liese said. Most of these products are dispatched to department stores or other shops for quick sale as 'special offer' items, thereby disappearing before any inspector has the chance to discover them.

That makes it all the more important that parliament not only enforces manufacturer liability but that the importers of substandard goods are also held liable. "We are really determined to include importers and inspect them too," Liese added.

Parliament's second concern relates to registration matters. Schwab would like to see a voluntary European safety seal. Following the example of the German 'GS' test seal, it would clearly signal to consumers that a particular product such as a toy, has not only been tested by the manufacturer but an independent third party like the German Technical Inspection Agency (TUV) as well. Such a seal would promise more safety than the commonly used Certified Establishment (CE) seal which, as a rule, allows manufacturers to oversee the safety of their products according to their own standards, without having to subject them to another neutral body for inspection.

Schwab criticises the European Commission for not seriously considering this new idea. Instead, the body has tried to abolish national quality seals. Still, Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen recently said he was contemplating the enforcement of third party certification for sensitive articles such as toys. In the wake of public concern progress seems possible.

Cornelia Bolesch is the Brussels correspondent for Suddeueutsche Zeitung. This article was published on September 14.