Market surveillance for products ensures that products on the market are in conformity with the applicable law. This helps foster trust from consumers buying products or financial services. It also ensures consumers or professionals do not get injured or worse from non-compliant products. It helps companies which comply to stay in business and not lose market share to rogue traders.
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In Europe
In the European Union, Member States are responsible for market surveillance. Their action is done under the hat of The European Commission regulations about product safety for consumer products and other regulations for professional products. Regulation 765-2008 applies for consumer products and Regulation 882-2004 applies for food products. For medicines studies are carried out. Toys At European Union level three Directorates General are in charge: Health and consumers, Enterprise and Customs. EFTA is also putting efforts in market surveillance.
Prosafe is an organisation that helps European Market Surveillance authorities cooperate better. The European Commission financially supports its activities. Prosafe is active in training, better communication between Member States and also does Joint Actions (JA) that bring together some Member States to control the same products at the same period, like lighters, lawnmowers or sunbeds.
For consumer goods an information system about dangerous goods has been set up, which is called RAPEX. Every week, one can see which products were voluntarily recalled or which were retrieved from the market by the authorities. RAPEX is one element of the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) which ensures high level of protection of consumers by stating key elements for the safety of the products.
ADCO stand for Administrative Cooperation Group. Representatives of Member States meet to exchange information and discuss about issues regarding the implementation of the directive(s) followed by the working group. The European Commission is also present. ADCO groups discuss about specific laws like PED or EMC Electro Magnetic Compatibility and also LVD.
The European industry is now asking for more market surveillance, be it from companies or the industry associations. Market surveillance and border controls are essential to fulfil policy goals such as health and safety of end-users, protection of the environment and establishment of a fair level playing field among economic operators.
If market surveillance fails to fulfil its function, non compliant products circulate freely in the internal market, posing risk to end-users. Moreover, lawful manufacturers face unfair competition from rogue traders who simply do not invest in product compliance and traceability, who add between 2% to 25% on product costs (depending on the product category). It is also estimated that a high percentage of cases of non-compliance in certain product categories discredit the image of all the products of this kind, even the compliant ones.
An Industry Support platform was launched in 2011 - The web-platform is designed to serve as a resource database of technical documents from European machinery industries. Information is available by sector and will be made available in several languages. In addition, the website is enriched with testimonials from industrialists and any other relevant information market surveillance.
European machinery industries which link up in this initiative show firm commitment to help improve market surveillance for capital goods in the EU. This voluntary initiative should be seen as complementary to governmental efforts under the EU’s New Legislative Framework for marketing of products. It testifies to the commitment of industry to help maintain high levels of health, safety and environmental standards and ensure a level playing field in the single market.
The European customs are now more involved in market surveillance and with the Regulation 768/2008 are drafting guidelines to check in a more efficient manner products entering the European market.
Lack of market surveillance
Market surveillance is key to a level playing field competition for companies and is vital for consumer safety. The lack of market surveillance has been pointed out by many players in Europe, especially in France by a member of the Parliament. At the European Parliament voices are also heard about the risk posed to the single market by the lack of market surveillance Some articles conformity is easy to check like clothes but some industrial products are difficult to check due to lack of time or lack of knowledge from market surveillance authorities. The amount of products arriving each day for example in Europe is extremely high.