A meeting of the European Union Product Compliance Network (EUPCN) and The Consumer Safety Network (CSN)

A joint meeting of The European Union Product Compliance Network (EUPCN) and The Consumer Safety Network (CSN) was held in Brussels, on 26th November 2024. The meeting was attended by the representatives of market surveillance authorities and the single liaison offices of the European Union member states, the European Commission, Administrative Cooperation Groups (AdCos), other bodies and institutions from Europe and a representative of Market Surveillance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The participants were presented with information about the new General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, which shall apply from 13^th December 2024. The presentation included information on the scope of ​​application, the obligations of economic operators and their roles in the supply chain, the relation between the Regulation and other harmonized legislation of the European Union, with an emphasis on Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and the provisions related to market surveillance.

The presentation also included information on the activities and experiences of the European Union member states in implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, with a focus on market surveillance of products sold online, including sampling of products under a secret identity for the purposes of laboratory testing. Also, the latest information about the web crawler application eSurveillance, which is used to detect unsafe products sold online, that have already been published on the Safety Gate platform, was presented.

Information on cooperation between the European Union and China on product safety as part of the SPEAC project (Safe non-food consumer Products in the EU and China) was also presented. The goal of this project is to raise public awareness and provide training on EU regulations in ​​product safety and consumer protection for manufacturers and other economic operators from China.

The latest information on the status of joint market surveillance actions in the European Union, as well as information on future projects that should be implemented in 2025 and 2026, were presented.

The meeting provided a good opportunity to exchange information and experiences in the field of market surveillance, information about the new General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, joint activities and market surveillance practices in the European Union.