News item | 26-05-2023 | 08:45
Consumers will receive better protection against products that are flammable, harmful to health or endangering children. For each product, either the manufacturer itself or a person responsible for product safety must be established in the EU. Otherwise, a product may not be offered in Europe and the Netherlands. These rules apply to products that are for sale in physical stores and on online platforms. If a specific product has been designated as unsafe by a supervisor, online platforms in the EU must also remove all identical products at the request of that authority.
The stricter requirements are necessary because the same rules for product safety or consumer protection do not apply in countries outside the EU. Online platforms have increasingly started selling products from Asia and America directly to European consumers in recent years. This has not only led to unfair competition for Dutch entrepreneurs, but also to more unsafe or illegal products that are not available or permitted in the EU. In the event of defects or insecurity, consumers often find it difficult to contact sellers from countries outside the EU.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate): “You cannot go far enough to get unsafe products off the market and to protect consumers. We must also exclude defective products from non-EU countries on online platforms via so-called direct import. That has been the Dutch effort in the EU, which has now led to new rules against unsafe products that can cause injury, for example. In addition, it is easier for you as a consumer to enforce your rights. We also tackle unfair competition in this way. That is good for Dutch entrepreneurs who do comply with safety rules for products.”
More rights for recalls of unsafe products
Consumers are also given more rights in the situation where a purchased product is unsafe and the seller has to take it back. The seller must then always offer at least two of the following three options: a safe replacement product of the same original value, repair the product in such a way that it is safe or return the full purchase price to the consumer.
New EU General Product Safety Regulation
These and other rules are part of the new EU General Product Safety Regulation, which replaces a directive from 2001 and which also applies to all products for which there are no specific safety rules yet. After a transitional period, the regulations will apply everywhere in the EU from 13 December 2024 and will be included in the Commodities Act in the Netherlands. As a supervisor, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) will enforce the legal rules in the Netherlands and will work together with national supervisors in other EU countries.