ETRMA welcomes EC package
The European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association has welcomed the European Commission’s publication of the Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package, its proposed new rules to improve the safety of consumer products circulating in the EU and to step-up market surveillance concerning all non-food products, including those imported from outside the region.
In a statement, the association wrote that “ETRMA has since long asked for a solid market surveillance system that would put on an equal footing all competitors in Europe, not only to protect consumers from illegal and unsafe products, but also to protect those companies that are heavily investing in compliance with EU regulations. This need was also recognised by the High Level Group of CARS 21, which voiced the concerns of the European automotive industry to protect its competitiveness.”
The package includes two Regulations: one on Consumer Products Safety and one on Market Surveillance for Products. It also includes a Communication on Safer and compliant products for Europe, which sets out a multi-annual plan for market surveillance. Finally, it includes a report on the implementation of Regulation 765/2008.
The proposed text for a Regulation on Market Surveillance includes clear obligations for the Market Surveillance Authorities of the Member States. These are aimed not only at ensuring the safety of the products, but also checking that they comply with EU Regulations.
“This is particularly important for the tyre industry as recent testing campaign showed that about ten per cent of all tyres checked were non-compliant with REACH regulations on PAHs content. Other campaigns showed that 20 per cent of checked motorcycles were fitted with non homologated tyres,” the ETRMA statement continued.
According to the ETRMA, these two examples alone make the need for proper market surveillance particularly urgent as well as show the need to involve the industry in carrying out compliance tests. The manufacturers’ association says it also “strongly supports” other initiatives included in the package such as the establishment European Market Surveillance Forum to share information and run operations and the possibility for Market Surveillance Authorities to charge fines on non-compliant economic operators. Furthermore, the ETRMA welcomes the wish to allocate more financial support to existing informal cooperation groups (ADCOs), like the one recently created for tyre labelling.
“The Regulation on Market Surveillance takes the first necessary steps to make sure that game changing Regulations are respected by all players on the European market,” shared ETRMA secretary general Fazilet Cinaralp. “It is now our hope that the European Institutions will move fast on turning into legislation the 20 Actions for safer and compliant products for Europe and particularly those concerning products entering the EU. Today, the EU industry’s competitiveness is increasingly being undermined due to market distortion arising when non-compliant products are placed on the EU market.”
The ETRMA statement concluded with the opinion that “the tyre sector is one of the most heavily regulated in Europe and all players in Europe should be bound to respect these rules to ensure a level playing field for the industry and safety for European consumers.”
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