SG 88/23
The European Union has published the Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on General Product Safety in the Official Journal of May 23, 2023. The new regulation replaces and repeals the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC and 87/357/EEC; and it amends Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 and Directive 2020/1828.
The General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC has been revised to update and modernize the general framework for safety in non-food consumer products, preserving its role as a safety net for consumers and ensuring a level-playing field for businesses.
The new publication is a regulation, no longer a directive. It imposes clear and detailed rules without risks of divergent transposition by Member States.
The General Product Safety Directive has been key to ensuring the safety of consumer products. However, it has been noted that too many products that do not comply with the current safety requirements are still circulating on the EU market. In addition to essential safety problems, this has proved to be costly for consumers and society. Expenditures are linked to health expenditure related product-related accidents and additional costs relating to the circulation of dangerous products.
The following concerns needed to be addressed:
And problems were expected to increase over time, due to increasing globalization and digitalization.
The new regulation applies to products placed or made available on the European market, whether new, used, repaired or reconditioned, insofar as there are no specific provisions with the same objective of safety under Union law.
The newly published General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) introduces the following novelties:
The GPSR was published on May 23, 2023, in the Official Journal of the European Union. It entered in force on the twentieth day following its publication, June 13, 2023.
There will be an 18-month transition period before the new regulation begins to apply, December 13, 2024.
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