EU: New General Product Safety Regulation in Force

Jan 31, 2025 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The new EU General Product Safety Regulation has come into force on 13 December 2024 and is a further development of the existing law on product safety. When products are offered on the Internet, new comprehensive information requirements will apply. The aim of the regulation is to bring product safety legislation into line with developments in the field of digitalisation.

There must be no risk to health from products intended for or likely to be used by consumers. Defective or unsafe products are prevented from reaching the market through a comprehensive network of measures.

The safety of a product is first and foremost the responsibility of the manufacturers, the retailers, and the importers. They are in charge of ensuring that only safe products are placed on the market. They are also responsible for their products and must make every effort to ensure that only safe products are placed on the market. Market surveillance authorities will enforce the safety requirements.

The scope of application of the Regulation is very broad. It applies regardless of whether the products are sold offline or online. It applies to all consumer products placed on the EU market. Unless they are subject to specific EU harmonisation rules, the Regulation applies to new, used, repaired, or reconditioned products. It should be noted that only non-food consumer products are covered. This means: Food products are expressly excluded.

Among other things, the new regulation requires consumers to be better informed when a dangerous product is recalled. In the event of a product recall, consumers will have to be informed immediately via the contact details provided at the time of purchase of the product. In addition, online marketplace operators must set up a single point of contact to allow consumers to communicate directly and quickly with the online marketplace.

The Regulation is directly applicable in all EU Member States.

Press release of the German Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection (12 December 2009)