Landmark EU law to make products safer as of this Friday

On Friday 13 December 2024, companies operating in the EU will have to comply with new rules to make everyday products safer. These include criteria manufacturers and authorities will need to account for when assessing the safety of products. Economic operators including online marketplaces will need to boost traceability. Also, it should be easier for consumers to report products that might present a risk to their health and safety.

BEUC and ANEC count on authorities to pay special attention to enforcing the General Product Safety Regulation, so it better protects consumers from dangerous products.

The regulation modernises a 20-year-old directive. Its star principle is that all non-food products sold on the EU market via any channel must be safe. It acts as a safety net for products or risks not regulated by other EU legislation.

Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, commented:

“Consumers must get safe products no matter whether they shop online or offline. This new law, together with the DSA, gives tools to authorities to protect consumers from unsafe products. It is important these rules do not stay on paper and authorities have the necessary resources to act against rogue traders.

“E-commerce has become massive in our lives, with 7 in 10 European consumers who bought goods or services online last year.[1]  Traders especially from outside the EU are flooding our market with unsafe products containing illegal chemicals or not compliant with our safety rules. This needs to stop. We therefore call on the national and European institutions to take decisive action to tackle the increasing number of illegal products sold in the EU via online marketplaces.”

Stephen Russell, Director-General of ANEC, added:

“We very much welcome the stronger safety criteria to assess which products are “safe”. This includes special mention of vulnerable groups such as children, gender safety aspects, and cybersecurity requirements. It is good news the GPSR will require standards bodies and manufacturers to develop inclusive standards and empower the authorities to act when standards are not inclusive. Better implementation and enforcement are therefore priorities."

Background:

More information on the regulation is available on the European Commission dedicated page.

A new General Product Safety Regulation: recommendations for the trilogue negotiations,BEUC-ANEC, 2022.