MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
19.9.2007
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Evelyne Gebhardt, Erika Mann, Reino Paasilinna and Guido Sacconi
on behalf of the PSE Group
on dangerous toys
B6‑0354/2007
European Parliament resolution on dangerous toys
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Directive 88/378/EEC[1] on the safety of toys,
– having regard to Directive 2001/95/EC[2] on general product safety,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas in August and September this year a series of large-scale voluntary recall campaigns relating to toys that are unsafe and dangerous to health raised public concern in the EU, necessitating urgent remedial action,
B. whereas the responsibility for a high level of consumer protection is a political and social priority, and rests with the legislator, who must ensure product safety throughout the chain of economic operators (suppliers, manufacturers, importers),
C. whereas in 2006 48% of all detected unsafe products had their origin in China and 17% were of unidentified origin,
D. whereas in 2006 24% of all detected unsafe products were children’s toys,
1. Calls on the Commission to present the planned revision of Directive 88/378//EC (the Toy Safety Directive – TSD) by the end of this year, making sure that truly effective standards are in place, with tight requirement in relation to the safety of products. As public health and consumer protection considerations play an important part in the Toys Directive, much more detailed provisions are needed to ensure the safety of products and to give consumers confidence that such products can be safely used;
2. Calls on the Commission to include an obligation for Member States to lay down penalties for non-compliance in the proposal for a revised Toy Safety Directive;
3. Calls on the Commission to propose a ban on all class 1, 2 and 3 CMRs and other toxic substances of similar high concern, such as endocrine disrupters;
4. Calls on the Commission in the revision of the TSD to follow an approach in which specific implementing measures for the key requirements are to be adopted in comitology under the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, thus allowing Parliament a certain level of control over the implementation of toy safety provisions, to be complemented by clear prohibitions of certain hazardous chemicals;
5. Urges the Commission and the Member States to establish strong credibility for the CE mark through implementation of legislative proposals for stronger obligatory control and surveillance of the market and proper customs surveillance and enforcement mechanisms;
6. Urges the Commission to assess the possibility of creating a common Europe-wide Product Safety Label complementary to the CE mark and national safety marks and obligatory for all economic operators;
7. Urges the Commission and the Member States to defend consumer rights and expectations through strict enforcement of product safety laws, particularly toy safety laws, and to step up efforts to improve market surveillance, national inspections and bans on dangerous products of unidentified origin, and to prevent non-compliant and unsafe products from being placed on the market or to ensure that they are withdrawn or recalled from the market, including when there is evidence of deceptive behaviour and/or use of fraudulent or misleading origin markings by foreign producers and importers;
8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ascertain the costs and liability that should be borne by economic operators who have up to now failed in the voluntary system or misused it;
9. Acknowledges the proposal of the Commission for a decision on a common framework for the marketing of products and the proposal for a regulation setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products;
10. Calls on the Commission to clarify the procedure on import bans on a case-by-case basis when safety standards are regularly not met;
11. Calls on the Commission to clarify its current trade policy covering potentially dangerous products in general, and toys and textiles in particular, and how it intends to ensure consistency between the restrictive application of current rules and the imperative necessity to guarantee European citizens’ right to healthy products;
12. Calls on the Commission to clarify existing safeguard measures, for example on textiles, and how they relate to non-compliance with safety standards;
13. Calls on the Commission to set up monitoring mechanisms to see how these health and safety standards are observed in the context of the negotiations on the next generation of Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and Free Trade Agreements;
14. Calls on Member States actively to cooperate with the US and other partners in market surveillance and product safety;
China
15. Encourages the Commission to insist on the Chinese authorities’ taking appropriate action in raising production standards, market surveillance and enforcement, so as to guarantee product safety throughout the production chain, and banning dangerous manufacturers and importers from the market;
16. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to reinforce cooperation with the Chinese authorities, and in particular with the Chinese General Administration of Quality supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), providing technical assistance in order to implement health and safety rules and improve customs cooperation;
17. Calls on the Commission to increase the effectiveness of the RAPEX system to ensure detection and withdrawal of a maximum number of unsafe products from China and other third countries reaching the EU market;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.