EU consumer protection: Product safety notifications can save lives

In the policy area of consumer protection, there is now a consolidated version, updated per 1 January 2010, of the EU’s General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) 2001/95:



DIRECTIVE 2001/95/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 December 2001 on general product safety; (Text with EEA relevance); 2001L0095


Serious risks

Article 12 of Directive 2001/95/EC established a Community Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ for the rapid exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission on measures and action taken in relation to products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.


Non-serious risks

The notification procedure established under Article 11 of Directive 2001/95/EC provides for an exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission on measures adopted in relation to products posing a non-serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.


Information and notifications

The European Commission has now replaced its Decision on product safety information and notifications by new guidelines:






COMMISSION DECISION of 16 December 2009 laying down guidelines for the management of the Community Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ established under Article 12 and of the notification procedure established under Article 11 of Directive 2001/95/EC (the General Product Safety Directive); published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 26.1.2010 L 22/1


Consumer protection is an area where the European Union can literally help to save life and limb.




Ralf Grahn





P.S. Christian Engström, Pirate MEP, challenges established interests and business models by presenting the views of the Pirate Party on reforming the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). The blog posts are in Swedish or English.


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