In 2016 there were 2,044 alerts on dangerous non-food products flagged up through the EU’s Rapid Alert System. This figure has remained stable and these alerts led to 3,824 follow up actions being taken by the national authorities. According to the EU Rapid Alert System annual report 2016 published on Thursday 16 March by the European Commission, this is a 40% increase in figures for 2015.
It was therefore after notification through the EU’s Rapid Alert System that the Samsung Galaxy smartphone that exploded, was swiftly withdrawn from the market. Vera Jourova, Commissioner for Justice and Consumers said, "This shows that national authorities are following up more closely on alerts and taking all necessary measures to make the market a safer place for consumers”. She also informed the European press on Thursday that the Commission was making efforts to improve efficiency of this "successful” system, which will focus next year on strengthening the cooperation begun with the major online companies.
She explained that “the Commission has stepped up its cooperation with Amazon, Ebay and Alibaba”, which have set up single contact points that are more swiftly accessible. She also said that they would be stepping out this cooperation next year with other online platforms and that all consumers had to feel safe whenever they were making purchases in the high street or online.
In 2016, toys were in the most notified product category (26%), followed by motor vehicles (18%), and clothing, textiles and fashion items (13%) and electrical and children’s goods.
As far as risks are concerned, in 2016, the risk most often notified was injury (25%), followed by the chemical risk (23%), which was at the top of the list in 2015.
The majority of dangerous products notified in the system still came China 53% (as opposed to 62% in 2015 and 64% in 2014). The Commissioner said that, “This shows that our cooperation with China and our persistence to demand high standards is paying off.”
BEUC is getting impatient
Over 2,000 dangerous non-food consumer products were reported, which the European Consumer Organisation believes is still too high. It pointed out that notification can cover thousands of faulty products but that a lot of products can get through the net. In a press release, BEUC indicated that this figure again demonstrated the need for a more efficient monitoring system. It also said that one are the ways of achieving a better system is to beef up the directive on general product safety. Similarly, to last year, the BEUC is getting impatient with the legislative package of 2013 on product safety still being blocked at the Council (EUROPE 11539).
“The safety of products that consumers use every day is covered by an outdated legislation. Rules need to keep up with the pace of developments, such as the digitalisation of our society. The EU and Member States need more competences and resources to properly monitor the market. It is time political talks move forward, consumers’ safety cannot wait”, explained, Monique Goyens, the director general of BEUC. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)