Product Safety - Key issues from a consumer perspective

On 13 February 2013, the European Commission published a product safety and market surveillance package comprising a draft regulation for consumer product safety, a draft regulation on market surveillance and a multi-annual action plan on market surveillance. 

In this position paper, ANEC and BEUC give recommendations on the provisions that need to be modified in the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on consumer product safety (CPSR) if the highest practicable level of safety for consumers is to be ensured.

We call for:

1. Making the precautionary principle a key pillar of both Regulations, as it is of the present legal framework;
2. The terms ‘safe’ and ‘safety’ to be used in a consistent way;
3. Developing a comprehensive framework for the safety of services;
4. Keeping the CPSR as safety-net, able to address potential loopholes in existing and future EU legislation with regard to product safety;
5. The CPSR to allow for the establishment of mandatory product-specific rules without limitations, either in terms of content or the period of applicability;
6. The CPSR to provide for an opportunity to apply higher conformity assessment modules than supplier’s self-declaration;
7. Making the country of origin labelling mandatory only for food products in food products legislation;
8. Extending specific traceability systems to product groups for which the number of non-compliances is high;
9. Ensuring the safety of products that appeal to children and taking consumer expectations into account as a priority when assessing the safety of products;
10. Obliging economic operators to inform consumers immediately in case of serious risk;
11. A better definition of potential exemptions for economic operators;
12. The CPSR to be more prescriptive concerning warnings and instructions for use;
13. Penalties to be proportionate and dissuasive, taking into account various criteria
14. such as the level of infringement, illegal profits and potential damage to consumers;
15. The CPSR to introduce a collective redress mechanism