The Health and Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission identified the need to improve the way the general product safety regime in the EU works.

With input from stakeholders, the Commission was able to identify four main areas in need of improvement:

• procedures for launching standardisation ("mandating European Standardisation Organisations") under the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD)
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• harmonisation of safety evaluations
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• market surveillance cooperation and coordination
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• alignment of economic operator obligations with the New Legislative Framework for goods ( NLF)

The Health and Consumers Directorate-General identified and listed the issues in detail and proposed a set of solutions. In this context, it launched a public consultation from mid-May to mid-August 2010, seeking views from different stakeholder groups.

International Product Safety Week: Workshop on the revision of the GPSD – 1 December 2010

A stakeholder conference in December 2010 in Brussels brought together some 120 non-food, consumer product safety professionals from around the world. They represented regulators, businesses, consumer organisations, standard-makers, test laboratories, academics and experts.

Presentation of the Commission on the results of the public consultation

Presentations of stakeholders

• Mr. Michael Cassar, Board Member of PROSAFE, Head of Market Surveillance Directorate of Malta Standards Authority
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• Mr. Paul Coebergh van den Braak, Chair of BusinessEurope, Senior Director Standardization- BG Healthcare Philips Intellectual Property & Standards
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• Mr. Jean-Philippe Montfort, Partner of Mayer Brown International LLP
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• Ms. Tania Vandenberghe, ANEC, and Ms. Sylvia Maurer (BEUC)
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• Mr. Henk De Pauw, Senior Officer at NORMAPME
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• Mr. Laurent Parrot, Responsable service technique de la Fédération Française du Jouet et de la Puériculture

Discussion questions

Outcomes

The impact assessment focuses on:

• Quicker procedures for launching standardisation;
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• Direct application of temporary "emergency" measures to economic operators (Art. 13 of GPSD) and extending their validity from the current, 1 year renewable;
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• Better cooperation between Member States (e.g. through a coordination forum and coordinated market surveillance);
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• Simpler notification procedures, i.e. Rapid Alert System for non-food consumer products (RAPEX);
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• Aligning the GPSD with the New Legislative Framework for marketing of products (e.g. provisions on traceability and obligations of economic operators).

Next Steps

The Commission is assessing the impacts of the revision.

It will submit a proposal to the Council and the European Parliament towards end of 2011.

Results of the public consultation on the revision of the General Product Safety Directive

Report on the public consultation on the revision of the General Product Safety Directive

• Annex 1
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• Annex 2
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• Annex 3

Position papers

1. ANEC
2. BEUC
3. BRE
4. BusinessEurope
5. CBI
6. CEN-CENELEC
7. EPEE
8. Eurocommerce
9. MEDEF
10. ORGALIME
11. Oxylane
12. PROSAFE
13. UEAPME

Summary	Consultation papers	Questionnaires
Standardisation procedures under the General Product Safety Directive		Economics Operators Members States Other Stockeholders
Harmonisation of diverging safety evaluations of consumer products		Economics Operators Members States Other Stockeholders
Market surveillance framework in the product safety area		Economics Operators Members States Other Stockeholders
Alignment with the Free Movement of Products Package		Economics Operators Members States Other Stockeholders