Market surveillance under the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Erik Hansson European Commission DG Health and Consumer Protection
The General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Applies to consumer products Waives for requirements on same aspects in specific legislation
Business-obligations Produce and sell only safe products Monitor and follow up safety – trace, take actions and notify Co-operate with authorities
Member-States obligations Control: market surveillance and enforcement Reporting Co-operation
European Commission obligations Monitor Support Recognise standards Rapid EU decisions
Ensuring the safety of consumer products Pre-market (preventive) Conformity assessment requirements for many products falling under sectoral legislation Post-market (reparative) Monitoring and safety management requirements in GPSD
Organisation of Market Surveillance in Member States Geographical National Regional Local Type of product
The essential market surveillance requirements of the GPSD Somebody to do the job Defined tasks and organisation Investigation powers Encourage voluntary actions Powers to require corrective actions Sanctions
The Essential operational requirements of the GPSD Surveillance programmes Cooperation arrangements Scientific and technical knowledge Complaints and notification procedures Evaluation and review
Transparency Citizens right to know Except Professional secrecy Investigation secrets
Commission support Networking Information exchange Tracing and recall Exchange of expertise and best practices
Commission support Joint surveillance projects Specific products Communication systems (ICSMS) Injury data registration Best practice in market surveillance (PROSAFE)
Commission control Continuos Regular Commission reports Information exchange, RAPEX, complaints, etc. Regular Commission reports In depth assessment
Excludes: foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices. Rapid Alerts (RAPEX) Notifications from Member States on measures ordered by authorities or voluntary measures by business concerning consumer products causing a serious risk Excludes: foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices. Link: Overviews of RAPEX notifications: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/dgs/health_consumer/dyna/rapex/rapex_archives.cfm
Contact points in Member States Authority A Authority B Contact points in Member States Authority D Authority C DG B DG A DG Health and Consumer Protection DG C DG D
International co-operation USA – CPSC China - AQSIQ ICPSC International standardisation – ISO/COPOLCO
Guidance documents: Borderline to sectoral directives Business notification duty RAPEX operation Recall guideline http://ec.europa.eu/comm/consumers/ Consumer safety: Products and services