Study on market surveillance - non-food consumer product safety
Project Overview
Location:
European Union
Dates:
December 2009 - April 2011
Funding Body:
The European Commission
Project Status:
Completed
The growing complexity and internationalisation of product supply chains, rapidly changing trade patterns and increasing imports of consumer products from third countries present a challenge to the effectiveness of the current market surveillance framework in the EU. To be able to ensure a high level of consumer protection and a well-functioning internal market, it is necessary to ensure that the future market surveillance framework can tackle these challenges and continues to be 'fit for purpose' in a constantly evolving environment.
This project was funded by the European Commission and aimed to provide a review of the future of market surveillance in the area of non-food consumer product safety under the EU’s General Product Safety Directive. In order to reach this goal, the objectives of this project were defined as below:
- To analyse the current market surveillance framework in the EU in the area of non-food consumer product safety;
- To identify future challenges to this framework in view of the changing and evolving environment, in particular regarding market and supply chain conditions;
- To make recommendations on how to improve the market surveillance framework in the EU in view of the identified challenges, and the need to maintain a high level of consumer protection across the EU and a well-functioning internal market.
In order to achieve these goals, the project team set out four main tasks:
- Analyse the current market surveillance and enforcement framework in the EU in the area of non-food consumer product safety.
- Identify future challenges in this area; i.e. which developments will have an impact on the ability of the Member States to ensure an effective and efficient market surveillance of non-food consumer products and how will this impact be felt.
- Identify best practices in market surveillance and enforcement from related areas.
- Make recommendations for how the market surveillance framework can be improved with a view to the identified future challenges and taking into account the current situation.
DS implemented this project in consortium with project partner British Standards Institute (BSI).
For more information about this project, including final report, please visit the website of the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumers:
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/safety/projects/
market_surveillance_enforcement_en.print.htm#study
