Internal Market MEPs strike a deal with Council on a set of product safety rules
Manufactures of life jackets, bicycle helmets or other personal protective equipment will face less red tape, while dishwashing gloves or umbrellas will not need to be subject to EU safety rules, thanks to a new rules provisionally agreed by internal market MEPs and the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council on Tuesday. The updates to gas appliances and cableway installations rules were also a part of the provisional deal.
"After many months of technical discussions, I am pleased that we were able to reach an agreement today which will ensure consumers and professionals are protected by the equipment they use, wherever it was manufactured. I'm also glad that the Council and Commission saw sense and recognised that artisanal products for private use, dishwashing gloves and certain types of sportswear should not be covered by the regulation", said Internal market and consumer protections committee chair and rapporteur for the personal protective equipment rules Vicky Ford (ECR, UK).
Three draft regulations, which were the focus of the trialogue negotiations, lay down common rules for placing on the market personal protective equipment (such as life jackets, bicycle helmets or sunglasses), gas appliances (such as portable cookers or boilers) and cableway installations (such as funiculars, gondolas or aerial tramways). The rules were amended to use standard EU product law wording on the obligations of economic operators and of “notified bodies” chosen by member states to check compliance with safety standards.
Dishwashing gloves and umbrellas excluded
MEPs managed to secure that such products as decorative and dishwashing gloves, umbrellas or clothes with reflective elements, which are used for reasons of design and not protection, are kept from the scope of new rules.
MEPs argued that the administrative burden imposed by these rules should match the safety risk, so products that are made to protect people in non-extreme conditions should remain excluded.
Less red tape
Before personal protective equipment is placed on the market the manufactures have to carry out its conformity assessments and get EU certificate, hinting consumers that those products meet essential health and safety requirement. MEPs ensured that manufactures will be able to opt for simplified procedure to renew certificate before its expiry if there was no change in technical specifications of a product thus saving time and money.
More uniform application
MEPs supported Commission proposal to change current rules from directive to regulation. It would ensure uniform implementation throughout the Union, bringing clearer regulatory environment for economic operators and avoiding unnecessary transposition costs.
Withdrawing unsafe products from the market
As draft general rules on surveillance to keep unsafe goods off the EU market are still stuck in the Council of Ministers, MEPs secured specific provisions on market surveillance. These would entitle market surveillance authorities to withdraw an unsafe product from the market, if it presents a risk to health and safety of persons.
Cableway installations and gas appliances
New rules on cableway installations (rapporteur Antonio López-Istúriz White (EPP, ES)) and gas appliances (rapporteur Catherine Stihler (S&D, UK)) were also a part of the deal. With regard to the latter MEPs clarified the scope of draft regulation, which will now exclude historic, cultural or heritage installations. It means that the safety requirements for these cableway installations will be set by national rules.
EP negotiators managed to put a stronger emphasize on carbon monoxide (CO) prevention in draft gas appliances rules, which instruct the manufactures to design these products in such a way that they do not cause a concentration of CO or other substances harmful to health. In addition member states are encouraged to ensure that the public is made aware of health and safety risks associated with these appliances and the need for proper precautionary safety measures, inter alia, in relation to emissions of carbon monoxide, the deal says.
Next steps
The provisionally agreed texts still needs be formally approved by the Council's Committee of Permanent Representatives and Parliament's Internal Market Committee.
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