Market surveillance under the General Product Safety Directive

Market surveillance under the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Erik Hansson European Commission DG Health and Consumer Protection

The General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Applies to consumer products Waives for requirements on same aspects in specific legislation

Business-obligations Produce and sell only safe products Monitor and follow up safety – trace, take actions and notify Co-operate with authorities

Member-States obligations Control: market surveillance and enforcement Reporting Co-operation

European Commission obligations Monitor Support Recognise standards Rapid EU decisions

Ensuring the safety of consumer products Pre-market (preventive) Conformity assessment requirements for many products falling under sectoral legislation Post-market (reparative) Monitoring and safety management requirements in GPSD

Organisation of Market Surveillance in Member States Geographical National Regional Local Type of product

The essential market surveillance requirements of the GPSD Somebody to do the job Defined tasks and organisation Investigation powers Encourage voluntary actions Powers to require corrective actions Sanctions

The Essential operational requirements of the GPSD Surveillance programmes Cooperation arrangements Scientific and technical knowledge Complaints and notification procedures Evaluation and review

Transparency Citizens right to know Except Professional secrecy Investigation secrets

Commission support Networking Information exchange Tracing and recall Exchange of expertise and best practices

Commission support Joint surveillance projects Specific products Communication systems (ICSMS) Injury data registration Best practice in market surveillance (PROSAFE)

Commission control Continuos Information exchange, RAPEX, complaints, etc. Regular Commission reports In depth assessment

Rapid Alerts (RAPEX) Notifications from Member States on measures ordered by authorities or voluntary measures by business concerning consumer products causing a serious risk Excludes: foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices. Link: Overviews of RAPEX notifications: http: //ec. europa. eu/comm/dgs/health_consumer/dyna/rapex/ra pex_archives. cfm

Authority A Authority B Contact points in Member States Authority D Authority C DG A DG C DG Health and Consumer Protection DG B DG D

International co-operation USA – CPSC China - AQSIQ ICPSC International standardisation – ISO/COPOLCO

Guidance documents: Borderline to sectoral directives Business notification duty RAPEX operation Recall guideline http: //ec. europa. eu/comm/consumers/ • Consumer safety: • Products and services