The Commission adopted new measures aimed at enhancing toy safety on 25 January.
The proposed directive introduces new and more stringent safety requirements to address consumers' concerns over recently identified chemical hazards and reduce toy-related accidents and health scares.
Moreover, it seeks to strengthen the responsibility of manufacturers and importers in ensuring that the toys they market are safe, and aims to enhance the market surveillance obligations of member states.
The main provisions of the legislation, which Commission Vice-President responsible for industry Günter Verheugen insists incorporate the "newest health and safety standards" and "improve the effectiveness and enforcement of the EU legal framework", are as follows:
- Bans on the use of chemical substances that are believed to provoke cancer (so called CMR, or carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction substances), as well as allergenic fragrances.
- A reduction in the legal limits of dangerous substances such as lead or mercury.
- An obligation for toy manufacturers to establish comprehensive technical information for their products, allowing market surveillance authorities to check toy design and manufacture.
- The creation of independent laboratories to test toys for which no standards yet exist, such as those which use magnets.
Moreover, the legislation obliges member states to strengthen market surveillance and controls both on the spot and at EU borders and forces them to impose penalties if toy manufacturers or importers to not respect the requirements of the directive.
It also enhances the visibility of the CE mark and strengthens rules related to small parts.
