European Council adopts legislation making products safer for European consumers

The Council adopted the General Product Safety Regulation, which strengthens safety standards for products sold both online and face-to-face. The rules will strengthen market surveillance of unsafe products and the rights of consumers who have been sold an unsafe product.

The adopted Regulation reinforces product safety and consumer protection, and facilitates the repair, return or replacement of unsafe products. In particular:

• online marketplaces will have to cooperate with market surveillance authorities in case they detect a dangerous product on their platform and will have to set up a single point of contact in charge of product safety;
• Market surveillance authorities will be able to order online marketplaces to remove dangerous products from their platforms or to prevent access to them;
• a single surveillance regime will apply to all products;
• if a product has been found to be unsafe, economic operators will have to implement corrective measures immediately and inform market surveillance authorities and consumers;
• if a product has to be recalled, consumers are entitled to have it repaired or replaced or reimbursed (and may choose at least two of these options);
• economic operators must designate a person responsible for products sold online and offline (irrespective of the origin of the product) who ensures the availability of technical documentation, instructions and safety information.

Consumer protection: Google commits to comply with EU rules to provide consumers with clearer, more accurate information

Background

The 2001 directive on general product safety made sure that all consumer products placed or made available on the EU market are subject to general safety requirements.

However, the increasing number of goods and products sold online required an update to keep the rules fit for current digital and technological developments. The GPSR transforms the general product safety directive (that had to be transposed to national rules) into a regulation (which leaves no scope for divergent transposition by member states).

It modernises the rules for all economic operators (manufacturers, importers, and distributers) and for online businesses and online marketplaces. Transforming the directive into a regulation will also ensure a sound legal framework to guarantee that products are safe and follow European standards.

More information

European Council