| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 17.8.02 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 17/08/2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Products placed on the European market will have to meet high standards of consumer safety following the formal adoption of a Directive on general product safety [Directive/2001/95/EC] on 3 December 2001. The Directive aims to ensure that all products intended for consumers or likely to - be used by consumers, supplied in the course of a commercial activity or the - provision of a service are safe and places the responsibility for their safety on producers. Background The safety of products in the EU is covered by Directive/1992/59/EC on general product safety. This applies mainly to consumer products and establishes that a product is regarded as safe if it conforms to the specific Community provisions governing its safety. In the absence of such provisions, the product must conform to the specific national health and safety rules applicable before it can be marketed in the Member State in whose territory it is in circulation. Under article 16 of the Directive, the European Commission must report on the success of the Directive four years after it enters into force (1994) and make any necessary proposals to the Council of the European Union regarding the need to update or extend the Directive. In response to the significant developments in food safety and the need to update the relevant legislation accordingly, the European Commission put forward a proposal [COM(2000)139] in March 2000 for the revision of Directive 1992/59/EC. The proposal aims to clarify the following points of the earlier Directive:
In addition, the proposal sought to enhance the general safety requirements at the Community level for all non-food products by improving market surveillance and establishing a European Product Safety Network and improving the Rapid Alert System (RAPEX) for quick interventions at the EU level in case of a serious health risk. The Legislative Procedure The European Commission proposal on a revised Directive on general product safety was subject to the co-decision procedure. In the European Parliament the Environment, Public Health and Consumers Committee was responsible for the proposal with MEP Laura Gonzalez Alvarez tasked with acting as Rapporteur. The committee adopted the report, prepared by Laura Gonzalez Alvarez, on 17 0ctober 2000 which broadly welcomed the proposal but called for the strengthening or clarification of a number of provisions. For example, it felt a reference to the precautionary principle should be introduced so that the competent authorities could take the necessary measures to prevent serious risks, even in the absence of final and complete scientific evidence. It also felt that both the Member States' obligations regarding the withdrawal or recall of dangerous products and the issue of warnings to consumers and the obligations - of producers and distributors needed amending. The committee also tightened up the consumer information requirements, calling for warnings affixed to products to be worded clearly, comprehensively and in the language of the country where they were placed on the market. It also called on the European Commission and the Member States to establish the proposed European Product Safety Network within a year of the transposition of the directive. - At the first reading of the proposal in the European Parliament on 15 November 2000 MEPs voted 330 to 187 with 11 abstentions in favour of the resolution adopted by the committee. , They sought to ensure that any amendments to the legislation would not apply to flea markets, charity shops, car-boot sales and other bric-a-brac activities and suggested 1 January 2004 as the date by which a European Product Safety Network should be established. In February 2001, the European Commission put forward a revised proposal [COM(2001)376] based on the amendments put forward by the European Parliament. The amended proposal accepted 10 of the EP's amendments in full. These included the definition including services linked to products; distinction between certain areas and the health protection and safety aspects; creation of an advisory committee; traceability of consumer - products; risks for the health and safety of consumers and access to the RAPEX - system. However the European Commission rejected the amendment concerning the exclusion of second hand goods and the exemption of charities and NGOs from the obligation to provide product information as well as a number of the other amendments proposed by the European Parliament. The Council quickly outlined their common position on the European Commission's proposal, adopting 21 of the 30 amendments proposed by the European Parliament including the need for the Commission to present regular reports on the application of the Directive and the opening-up of the RAPEX system to the applicant countries, third countries and international organisations under the conditions laid down in agreements between the Community and those countries and organisations. Moreover, the Council introduced a number of amendments of its own. MEP Laura Gonzalez Alvarez prepared a second report on the issue in April 2001 which examined the Council's common position. It reinstated a number of important amendments from first reading, in particular on safety of services, the precautionary principle, market monitoring and the European product safety network. The committee also argued that - the new provisions introduced by the Council which provided for decisions to be taken on a case-by-case basis ran counter to the very aim of the directive, which was seeking to harmonise Member States' laws allowing only safe products to be marketed. It therefore demanded that the text of the original proposal be reinstated. The European Parliament held their second reading of the proposal on 16 May 2001 and they approved the resolution by Mrs Laura Gonzalez Alvarez. The main points of the common position were maintained because there were insufficient votes for amendments seeking to change Council's position on the export of dangerous substances. However MEPs did agree to ask the European Commission to submit proposals concerning the safety of services before 1 January 2003 and demanded that the competent authorities be guided by the precautionary principle. The proposal then went before a conciliation committee who met in June 2001 and were able to reach an agreement on a joint text for the directive. Under the compromise reached, the European Commission must report to the Council and Parliament before 1 January 2003 on the needs, possibilities and priorities for Community action on the safety of services, accompanied by proposals where appropriate. The agreement also provides for the European Commission to report to the Council and Parliament every three years on its programmes for setting the requirements and the mandates for standardisation and on appropriate independent certification was recognised as a facilitating instrument in proving compliance with applicable product safety criteria. Lastly, the authorities of the Member States will be obliged to take due account of the precautionary principle. The text agreed at the conciliation committee was formally endorsed by the Council on 27 September 2001 and adopted unanimously by the European Parliament at its third reading on 4 October 2001. The final decision was taken on 3 December 2001 and the Directive entered into force on 15 January 2002. The Directive must be transposed into national law by 15 January 2004. Civil society groups have offered mixed reactions to the Directive. CE Marking, an organisation which represents the EC trade mark, said the new Directive was unlikely to have many more implications on business than the previous Directive on general product safety. Indeed, it suggests that the new Directive might help smaller businesses to succeed in Europe, saying:
However, the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) have consistently voiced their concerns about the Directive, suggesting that it places unnecessary and significant burdens on the economic actors concerned. The European Consumer's Organisation BEUC has welcomed the Directive overall but has made clear its preference for a broadening of the scope of the Directive to cover all products. The European Commission has recently launched a consultation paper that examines the possibility of developing Community legislation to cover the safety of services. Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
Helen Bower Products placed on the European market will have to meet high standards of consumer safety following the formal adoption of a Directive on general product safety [Directive/2001/95/EC] on 3 December 2001. |
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