PROSAFE has published a call for expressions of interest to provide consultancy services. The call can be downloaded here.  

ANEC and Orgalime call for better market surveillance
ANEC and ORGALIME have called for a better European structure to oversee market surveillance. Under the heading, “Who watches the watchers?” the groups said the EU needs “the infrastructure and resources necessary to ensure that market surveillance and enforcement activities … are strengthened to the benefit of consumers and manufacturers alike.”

Recommendations they have directed at the different stakeholders include:

Member States
Dedicate resources to tracing products and companies, ensure checks and controls of EU laws and standards, fund information campaign, and improve local market surveillance.

“Commit to a coordinated approach to market surveillance, based on available harmonised European standards, for evaluating the risks to the safety of consumers and other users, to the environment or to another core community interest specified in European legislation.”

Create a peer-assessment system for national surveillance authorities.

Create “cross-policy approach” that recognized that noncompliance with one set of rules, such as REACH, could point to noncompliance with another, such as the GPSD.

Use the European ICSMS market surveillance system.

“Improve ... the scope, reliability and relevance of the EU Injury Database.”

Strengthen criminal laws related to dangerous or noncompliant products.

European Commission
“Facilitate the implementation of the New Legislative Framework by clarifying as soon as possible the relationship between Regulation 765/2008/EC and both the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC and sectoral product legislation, such as the Low Voltage Directive and the Machinery Directive, that apply to a large number of consumer products. In particular, the qualification of ‘serious risk’ for rapid alert (RAPEX) notifications should be clarified too.”

“Adopt a single set of Risk Assessment Guidelines for use by enforcement authorities. The Risk assessment guidelines which have been developed for the enforcement of the GPSD need to take into consideration the manufacturer’s risk assessment which is often documented in standards.”

European Parliament
Look at “the possibility of financial support [for] Member States whose geographic or economic conditions place them in weaker position to fight against illegal trade and unlawful imports.”

The press release can be downloaded from the ANEC web-site and the position paper from the Orgalime web-site.

Action being taken on dangerous cords and drawstrings on children's clothing
European Market surveillance authorities continue to receive notifications of accidents where
cords or drawstrings on children’s garments had become entangled in, bicycles, doors, car
doors or playground apparatus. These types of incidents can lead to severe injury and in the
most tragic cases, to the death of the child.  Member States have prioritized the market
surveillance of these products to ensure that cords or drawstrings on outer garments for
children under 14 years, meet the necessary safety requirements. More information on this issue can be found in this press release.

Eighth Newsletter published
Our eighth newsletter has just been published and can be downloaded from the link on the right. This edition focuses on the final conference of the first EMARS project. The next edition will present the new project EMARS II and reflect on the recent Launch Event in Vienna. More information about the Lanch Event can be found here.

Annual Report for 2008 published
The Annual report of the EMARS project for 2008 has just been published and can be downloaded from the link to the right. Please note that we are required to prepare a Final Implementation Report covering all three years of the project which formally ended on 31st December last year. This is currently being prepared and will be forwarded to the European Commission at the end of March.

First Anniversary of ban of non child resistant lighters and novelty lighters
Market surveillance authorities in the European Member States are busy increasing the safety of the consumer. Preliminary results show that more than 600 lighter models have been removed from the European market celebrating a 1st year anniversary of the ban against non-child-resistant lighters and novelty lighters. Read the press release for further details.

EMARS II Launch Event Vienna 17th March
The new project EMARS II officially got underway on the first of November. We are however hold a Launch Event to bring together the project's participants and stakeholders. Many of the individual Task groups will have already met before the 17th so the audience will hear the latest thinking on the implementation of the project and the realisation of the broad aims and objectives. More informaiton is available here.

Final EMARS Conference
The final results of the EMARS project were  presented at a conference held in Brussels on the 20th of November as part of the International Product Safety Week. The presentations are now available here. The programme for the conference can be downloaded here.