The European Parliament called in Strasbourg Wednesday in a resolution on the European Commission and member states to take necessary legislative and administrative action to ensure that consumer goods marketed within the bloc meet EU standards.
The resolution on the safety of products, particularly toys, was passed with 660 votes in favor, 18 against and 7 abstentions at its plenary meeting.
It urged the European Commission, the executive body of the EU,to improve the enforcement measures of the toys directive, including effective sanctions for non-compliance and to present the planned revision of the Toys directive by the end of this year,making sure efficient and effective requirements for product safety be included.
The parliament said that 24 percent of all detected unsafe products are children's toys in 2006.
Parliament member David Martin from Britain proposed "courses of action."
"Firstly, we have to push manufacturers to take a greater interest in their supply chain and, if necessary, apply penalties to those who do not take that interest. Secondly, we need the Commission to bring together the Member States to ensure tougher inspections in Europe, to ensure adequate customs control and to ensure the application of the existing European Union laws," he said.
Parliament members also called on the Commission to ensure that the CE marking is a guarantee of compliance with EU technical legislation, stressing that the CE marking, given its self-regulatory character, was never intended to be an EU-wide safety mark.
It urged the Commission to assess the added value of creating a common European Consumer Safety Label, complementary to the CE marking, for all economic operators to help consumers to make an informed choice between products.
The misuse of other voluntary marks should be made subject to penalties as well, it added.
The document called on the Commission to clarify the procedure on import bans on a case-by-case basis when safety standards are regularly not met and use its powers to ban consumer goods from the EU market if they are found unsafe.
As for EU member states, the resolution asked them to ensure strict enforcement of product laws, to step up efforts to improve market surveillance and especially national inspections and to make available sufficient resources to be able to undertake comprehensive and effective controls.