Kids deserve safe toys

The EPP Group welcomes the positive outcome of negotiations between the European Parliament and EU Member States on new rules to prevent unsafe toys in the EU single market. The new legislation updates existing rules to protect children from potential risks posed by toys while ensuring the free movement of toys within the internal market.

“With today's agreement, the EPP Group is sending a strong signal: for children's safety, consumer protection, and Europe's attractiveness as a place to do business. We are reducing risks from hazardous chemicals and ensuring clearer labelling requirements, including for online trade,” says Marion Walsmann MEP, the Parliament’s lead negotiator on this file.

Eighty per cent of toys in the EU are imported from China. With the introduction of a digital product passport, manufacturers will be required to provide information on whether toys comply with the new legislation and all other EU legislation applicable to toys.

“The digital product passport will make key information more easily accessible to consumers and authorities. It will also give businesses the certainty that their trade secrets will remain confidential,” Walsmann explains.

The EU's toy industry provides over 50,000 jobs, most of them in small and medium-sized enterprises. One of the EPP Group's priorities was to find a balance between children’s safety and placing undue burdens on businesses. To give manufacturers and other economic operators sufficient time to comply, the EPP Group successfully negotiated a transitional period that allows the toy industry to adjust to the new rules without undue pressure.

“Fair transitional periods will give the industry planning certainty and enable the smooth implementation of the new rules,” Walsmann adds.

“Overall, we agreed on a modern toy safety law that serves the interests of all stakeholders and shows that child safety, competitiveness, and consumer protection are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they go hand in hand,” Walsmann concludes.