How does the European Union want to make toys safe for children?

euronews (in English)

Supported by most political forces, the EU institutions advanced a proposal to ban toxic chemicals from toys sold in European markets. Those chemicals could pose considerable health risks for kids.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Stefan Grobe. Dinosaur, dragons or dolls? Chemicals that pose risks to children's health

00:22and development will now be banned from toys sold in the European Union. The European Parliament

00:27and the Council struck a provisional agreement on stricter safety requirements for manufacturers

00:33and sellers, including those operating on online platforms. The ban will hit chemicals

00:38that can cause cancer, alter DNA or harm reproductive organs.

00:44Dangerous products are nearly everywhere in our daily lives. Most of them are found in

00:49cosmetics – 36% according to the European Commission. But strikingly, toys are the second

00:56largest product category found to be the most hazardous. And the hazards were most often

01:02related to chemicals. In the list of dangerous products, toys are followed by electrical appliances

01:08and cars. One in five products flagged as dangerous and withdrawn from the EU market is a toy. That's

01:15why before introducing a toy to the market, manufacturers will now be required to carry

01:20out safety assessments covering all potential risks. The toys now need a digital product

01:27passport in the form of a QR code showing they meet safety standards. That, of course,

01:32begs the question, have people been aware of the inherent danger in toys?

01:37I think the rules are already pretty strict, so I think they should maybe be more strict

01:44on TEMU and the Chinese webshops.

01:47But I think that it should be like food or other products. Even in the mode, we try to

01:52more reduce the provenance or even the composition. So I think that it should be the same for

01:59children, even more if it's for children.

02:02In any case, the parents always comprise, that the toys don't have anything that can

02:07start, that they can carry out, that they can carry out, that they can carry out.

02:10I think that in general, they are sure that they are safe.

02:12It might be like a type of material that can be made, if not as soon as possible, but

02:17for 10 years later, it won't cause any problems, such problems, such problems, such problems,

02:22such problems, such problems, such problems, such problems, such problems.

02:26Let's bring in Gerardo Fortuna now, who has covered this story for Euronews. Gerardo,

02:41good to see you. What is the backstory of these rules right now?

02:46These are the kind of EU rules that need a refresher from time to time. The Toy Safety Directive

02:53actually dates back to 2009, and since then, science has moved on quite a bit,

02:59particularly in understanding unsafe chemicals. For instance, all the rules didn't cover things

03:06like endocrine disruptors, which are affecting hormones, or also PFAS, the so-called forever

03:13chemicals, and now they're both banned.

03:15This ban on toxic chemicals, was there any resistance?

03:19Not really on the substance, because in the end we're talking about the safety of products

03:24that are intended to children, even newborn, so there's enough consensus about tightening the

03:30rules. The real issue was more on the enforcement. Consumer groups made it very clear. It's not how

03:39strict the rules will be, but how you can enforce them, and particularly with the rise of online

03:45marketplaces. It's very difficult for market surveillance authorities to check on every toy

03:52entering the EU market. So I think that the challenge lies more on enforcement.

03:58That's a good point. Many of the hazardous toys come from China and are sold on Chinese marketplaces,

04:06platforms like Teemu. How are these toys going to be monitored?

04:11This is indeed the key part of the new rules. All these toys will need a digital product passport,

04:20which essentially consists into digital record that travels together with the document. So this would

04:27make it easier for customs or market inspectors to check on the toys. And at the same time, the rules

04:34make sure that this big platform complies with the EU broader laws, such as the digital

04:41service act, the DSA, so that even big platform will comply with the same rules as everyone else.

04:49But even the best safety legislation cannot prevent some from selling illicit toys, which is why Europol

04:56has issued guidelines on how to recognize fake toys. If the price is too good to be true, if mandatory

05:05labels are missing, if the toy is sold in a clear plastic bag instead of regular packaging,

05:11or if the brand name or instructions contain spelling mistakes, then don't buy it.

05:16Joining me now is Marion Waldsmann, Vice Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee in the European

05:22Parliament and the lead negotiator on the toy safety file. Welcome to the program. So,

05:29zunächst einmal gab es in dieser Sache eine breite politische Unterstützung und Zustimmung?

05:34Ja, es gab eine breite politische Zustimmung zu der Gesetzgebung, sowohl zu dem Kompromissvorschlag,

05:43auch zu der Tatsache, dass man jetzt eine Verordnung verabschiedet hat. Und es war breiter Konsens,

05:51dass die bisherige Regelung, die aus dem Jahr 2009 stammt, absolut überarbeitungsbedürftig ist. Und auch die

05:57Veränderung von der Richtlinie zur Verordnung war allgemein konsensfähig. Was steht hinter der Einführung eines

06:04digitalen Produktpasses? Der digitale Produktpass wird es zukünftig viel, viel leichter machen,

06:11nachzuvollziehen, ob Spielzeug auch gesetzeskonform hergestellt wurde und sowohl für die Verbraucher einen

06:19Mehrwert bieten, die Informationen über Bestandteile, Inhaltsstoffe und anderes erhalten, aber auch die

06:27Kontrollbehörden, die Marktüberwachungsbehörden natürlich einfacher auch nachvollziehen können, ob der

06:33Hersteller sich an die Qualitätsvorgaben gehalten hat. Sie haben die Hersteller angesprochen. Wie viel

06:39Zeit bekommen die Unternehmen, um ihre Produktion anzupassen? Uns war es sehr, sehr wichtig, dass diese

06:46Verordnung dann auch ordentlich umsetzbar ist und dazu braucht man eben eine Übergangszeit von 54 Monaten,

06:53das heißt viereinhalb Jahre, um alle technischen Anpassungsprozesse vornehmen zu können. Ich

07:00wollte es nochmal ansprechen. Wie sehen jetzt die nächsten gesetzlichen Schritte aus? Also der nächste

07:05Schritt ist, dass noch einige technische Nachbesserungen, Formulierungen gemacht werden müssen. Dann wird

07:12der Binnenmarktausschuss nochmal sein Einverständnis geben mit einer Abstimmung. Dann geht es im Oktober in das

07:17Plenum und da kommt es zur finalen Abstimmung und dann eben die Veröffentlichung im Amtsblatt der

07:25Europäischen Union und ab dann tritt es in Kraft und dann entfaltet es Wirkungs ab 2029.

07:32Mit den Revisen Regeln, die Europäische Union ist, die safesten Toys möglich sind.

07:39Kinder werden besser protected gegen invisible dangers, such as harmful chemicals,

07:44including Endocrine Disruptors und PFAS, also known as Forever Chemicals,

07:51und deren Eltern werden alle Informationen sie brauchen, über jede einzelne Toys.

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