MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection want the EU to have stronger rules to protect children from dangerous toys on the EU market.
On Thursday 9 December they unanimously adopted (44 votes in favour) the own-initiative report by Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy) setting out recommendations for the future revision of the Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC) (see EUROPE 12822/14).
For years toys have received the highest number of notifications in the EU Rapid Alert System for dangerous products, or the second highest, according to the 2021 data from the EU Safety Gate system (see EUROPE 12846/7).
MEPs recall that all manufacturers should comply with EU legislation on chemicals and call on the Commission to ensure that endocrine disruptors are banned in toys as soon as they are identified.
It is also to decide whether the current distinction between toys for children under 36 months and those for older children should be abolished and assess whether the directive should include provisions on the labelling of allergenic fragrances and dangerous chemicals.
MEPs also recommend that the institution assess whether the limit value for chemicals such as nitrosamines and nitrosables should be set as the most stringent value in force at national level, and introduce a mechanism to rapidly change limit values for dangerous substances.
They want online marketplaces to be forced to take more responsibility for ensuring the safety and compliance of toys sold on their platforms.
MEPs are in favour of the Commission exploring the use of electronic labelling and artificial intelligence for market surveillance purposes.
To counter the risks of connected toys to children’s privacy and mental health, MEPs want producers to build in safety mechanisms at the design stage. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)