The General Product Safety Directive − the EU’s flagship piece of legislation protecting consumers from unsafe products − applied as of January 2002. But, because of the COVID-crisis, the directive’s twentieth birthday didn’t get the celebration it deserved. So, let’s rectify that.
Because the General Product Safety Directive has been a landmark piece of consumer protection in the last 20 years, it still deserves a large cake and a birthday speech with good wishes for its future. Luck may be needed, as the directive is currently under review and some business lobby groups are trying to dismantle its foundations.
Some nice memories from your first years
Dear GPSD,
You were born with a bold mission: to keep consumers safe and to ensure fair competition. To this end, legislators equipped you at birth with some strong principles.
First, they gave you the precautionary principle as an ethical compass for decision making. The precautionary principle is an important instrument in EU policy making and legislation: it offers options for action in situations of scientific uncertainty and in which regulators have the responsibility to set an adequate level of safety for consumers and the environment. Precaution must be part of responsible innovation and does not oppose it. It was true in 2001. And it is true today.
Second, you operate as a safety net. This means that your rules apply to all consumer products. And where there is a loophole in sector-specific legislation, it is your responsibility to fill it to keep consumers safe.
Third, you have been given an emergency mechanism. This has helped on several occasions to keep consumers safe, for example from harmful softeners in toys, child-appealing lighters, and chemicals in sofas. Well done!
Some difficulty in your teenage years
As with most teenagers, you had some troublesome years: legislators wanted to strengthen your instruments and usefulness. But unfortunately they could not agree on what new rights and powers to grant you. Consequently, you were left floating in the air for some years without much support.
Adulthood brings a change
Now that you are grown up and in your twenties, the world has changed tremendously: you not only had to take care of bikes, ladders, sofas and childcare products, but also of products which connect to the internet and which can easily be hacked. People are speaking about artificial intelligence, robots, virtual reality and ‘self-learning’ devices that change their habits over their lifetime. It will be interesting to see how you tackle these challenges. Know that we are rooting for you and believe in your capabilities – if you get the support you need.
You know that consumers’ habits have changed. Now they not only shop on the high street but can − with the tap of a button on their smartphone − have clothes, shoes, mobile phones, toys, and thousands of other items sent to their home directly from places as far afield as China. How will you cope with all these challenges and continue to keep consumers safe?
Some good wishes for your future
In 2021, the Commission decided to have another try and give you some new and useful powers.
One was to turn you into a powerful regulation, directly applicable in all Member States. Another was to clearly state the precautionary principle in your scope. Maybe you will have software under your umbrella, your safety criteria on chemicals, mental health, and cybersecurity could be strengthened. You could be given more powerful tools such as a traceability system, requirements for more information on accidents and injury and a contact person in the EU for all products. All these possibilities should materialise for you to fulfil your potential as a powerful consumer safety legislation.
What we do not wish for your future is that some industry lobbyists succeed in taking away your precautionary principle and safety net function. This would leave you struggling to intervene to protect consumers.
Take sofas as an example. Today, a sofa is in your scope which means you help Member States’ market surveillance authorities intervene in case the sofa has dangerous components or materials. Of course, a sofa is not a high-risk product as such. But what if the sofa has been stuffed with harmful chemicals which lead to bad allergies and skin rash? You would want to be helpful in such a situation, but some members of the European Parliament do not want to require a contact person for every product in the EU but only for high-risk ones. Would you still be enforced if you are unable to find someone to take responsibility because there is no legal representative of that company?
Dear General Product Safety Directive, we need you more than ever in this complex world to keep consumers safe. We hope to celebrate your new, expanded powers next year or at the latest when you turn 25!