Safer Products and Better Market Surveillance – Research and Development/Commercialiation

ECOS Environmental Consultants were pleased to hear that the European Parliament have voted in favour of new rules to improve the safety of consumer products circulating in the EU’s internal market – including those imported from outside the EU – and to step-up market surveillance concerning all non-food products.

It is intended that this will contribute to strengthening consumer protection and create a level playing field for business by ensuring that responsible manufacturers do not suffer unfair competition from products which do not comply with European safety or environmental rules.

ECOS environmental consultants Limerick Munster research and development and product/process commercialization

The key changes approved by the European Parliament are:

  • Clearer responsibilities and more coherent rules across all product sectors for manufacturers, importers and distributors, to ensure the safety of all consumer products. This also means lower compliance costs for businesses, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
  • A single set of coherent rules for market surveillance, providing more effective tools to national surveillance bodies enforce safety and take action against dangerous and non-compliant products. This means safe and compliant products throughout the EU with an even higher level of protection, enabling more consumer confidence in the internal market.
  • Improved traceability of consumer products – enabling swift and effective responses to safety problems. To achieve this manufacturers and importers will also have to ensure that products (or their packaging) bear an indication of the product’s country of origin. For products manufactured in the EU, companies will have the choice of indicating either a particular EU country or the “EU” as the place of origin.
  • Creation of a more cooperative system of market surveillance across the EU. Better coordination of product safety checks means eliminating unfair competition from dishonest or rogue operators.
  • Streamlined procedures for the notification of dangerous products, and synergies between the existing Rapid Alert Information System (RAPEX) and the Information and Communication System for Market Surveillance (ICSMS).

For more information or assistance please contact us.

T: +353 61 633644

E: info@ecos.ie

W: www.ecos.ie

Source: EC Enterprise & Industry 

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