The Swedish Presidency of the EU came to an end on July 1st; now, for the next six months, it is the turn of the Belgians. One of the last acts of the Swedes was to send the revised General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) on its way to become law in two years' time. Because the GPSD is a Directive and not a Regulation there will be the normal time lag of around two years to allow for the transposition into national law, in our case the Consumer Protection Act. Had it been a Regulation it would have come into force at once and could not be changed.
Through me, NfCG has been involved all along the line with GPSD. I was appointed rapporteur of the study group set up by the Economic and Social Committee of the EU when the draft proposal was mandatorily referred to it last year by the EU Commission. I seem to be getting typecast as I am also responsible for other safety related issues such as the banning of phthalates in baby toys and azo-dyes in leather and textile products.
The original 1994 GPSD Directive was a step forward for all consumers in its attempt to make sure that all "products placed on the market are safe". Fine as an aim but scarcely fulfilled in practice, as the continuing toll of 80,000 deaths and 40m annual product-related injuries demonstrates. The report of the Law Centre at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, commissioned by DG SANCO, the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General of the EU Commission, commented that "you would need a degree in EU law to understand it". By 2000 the Directive needed to be clarified, simplified and given greater legal certainty. Moreover, the world has changed a lot in the span of a very few years. Take two examples: firstly there is the development of new technology which can provide rapid reaction across national boundaries in emergency situations and, at the same time, provoke new risks of buying via e-commerce. Secondly, the so-called 'migration of products' means that there are now substantial numbers on sale to domestic consumers, such as laser pens, paints, pesticides, medical items and complicated DIY machines, intended originally only for fully trained professional operatives.
The new updated GPSD still aims to make sure that all products put on the market are safe and now spells out more clearly and in detail the special responsibilities of the EU itself, governments, manufacturers and retailers. (Maybe we should add a postscript detailing also the responsibilities of consumers, particularly in relation to their growing need for awareness and understanding of risk assessment.) To make sure that everyone involved in the subsidiary chain knows what is going on, the Commission will "prepare, publish and regularly update a practical guide".
This latest version of the GPSD highlights the need for higher standards (with greater consumer representation on standards bodies), more openness, speedier recalls and withdrawals of dangerous products, more effective market surveillance and enforcement, and stronger links between the 'competent authorities' (in our case Trading Standards Departments) in the Member States. For the first time - something I have particularly campaigned for on behalf of the Federation - the export of condemned products to Third World countries will be prohibited.
But the text touches only marginally on services, for example, when you buy a product which is combined with a service such as installation, though some Member States do include them in their own national legislation. However, in view of the importance of safety of services within the Internal Market, and the concern generated by consumers, Robert Coleman, Director General of SANCO, says that the Commission intends to identify possibilities and priorities for Commission action. Watch this space!
In the meantime emphasis must increasingly be concentrated on product safety. The emphasis has, up till now, been on workplace and traffic safety, with many lives saved arid injuries avoided through well co-ordinated Action Programmes. But the same reductions have not yet been achieved in home and leisure accidents which claim a great number of victims. Product-related safety is, therefore, an area where most lives could, most effectively, be saved. The new GPSD is a step in the right direction.
As a member of study groups I am working on a whole variety of subjects such as: subsidies in sheep meat, the 23rd amendment to the Dangerous Substances Directive, pollution by gaseous emissions, Malta on the road to Accession, practical applications of the Euro - the final stages, and e-learning - the use of IT in education.
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