RAPEX report: A step in the right direction…
17 April 2008by eub2 -- last modified 17 April 2008
Today the European Commission is presenting its Annual Report 2007 on the operation of the RAPEX system, the European rapid alert system for all dangerous consumer products (with the exception of food, pharmaceutical and medical devices).
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We welcome the efforts made by Commissioner Kuneva to tackle the difficult issue of market surveillance. The report underlines that notifications are on the increase. We can therefore be pleased that controls seem to be intensifying, and that Member States are exchanging more and more information on dangerous products.
However it is also perfectly legitimate to be concerned when reading the report: when one knows that given that just one notification can mean millions of products, one wonders how many products actually slip through the net.
There is still a lot to be done; consumers are still exposed to a number of dangerous products, and we are not surprised to see toys and cosmetics in the "top five"! While it is true that market surveillance mechanisms and cooperation between national authorities need to be strengthened, it is also essential to reinforce European legislation on product safety and the responsibilities of businesses. Unfortunately the current revisions of legislation on toy safety and cosmetic products are, for the moment, far from satisfactory.
Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC stated: "RAPEX is a good indicator, but we will only be satisfied when the laws are stricter and make manufacturers genuinely responsible for the products they put on the market".
The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) was created in 1962 by the consumer organisations of Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. After working together for a number of years, these organisations decided to create a European association, based in Brussels, right at the heart of Community policy. BEUC was a pioneer, one of the first lobbying organisations to set up base in the European capital in a bid to influence the decision-making process.
BEUC - The European Consumers' Organisation