2001/665/EC: Commission Decision of 21 August 2001 prolonging for the seventh time the validity of Decision 1999/815/EC concerning measures prohibiting the placing on the market of toys and childcare articles intended to be placed in the mouth by children under three years of age made of soft PVC containing certain phthalates (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2001) 2567)
Date: 2001-08-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: early childhood, plastics, product safety, public health, toxic substance, toy industry

31.8.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 233/51

COMMISSION DECISION

of 21 August 2001

prolonging for the seventh time the validity of Decision 1999/815/EC concerning measures
prohibiting the placing on the market of toys and childcare articles intended to be placed in the
mouth by children under three years of age made of soft PVC containing certain phthalates

(notified under document number C(2001) 2567)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2001/665/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992
on general product safety (1), and in particular Article 9 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

On 7 December 1999,
the Commission adopted
Decision 1999/815/EC (2) based on Article 9 of
Directive 92/59/EEC requiring the Member States to
prohibit the placing on the market of toys and childcare
articles intended to be placed in the mouth by children
under three years of age, made of soft PVC containing
one or more of the substances di-iso-nonyl phthalate
(DINP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phtha-
late (DBP), di-iso-decyl phthalate (DIDP), di-n-octyl
phthalate (DNOP), and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP).

The validity of Decision 1999/815/EC was limited to
in accordance with the provision of
three months,
Article 11(2) of Directive 92/59/EEC,
the
validity of the Decision was to expire on 8 March 2000.

therefore,

the
Article 11(2) of Directive 92/59/EEC states that
validity of the measures adopted on the basis of Article
9 of the said Directive is limited to three months, but
may be prolonged under the same procedure foreseen
for the adoption of these measures.

(4) When adopting Decision 1999/815/EC it was foreseen
to prolong its validity if necessary. The validity of the
measures adopted under Decision 1999/815/EC on the
basis of Article 9 of Article 92/59/EEC was prolonged
under Commission Decisions 2000/217/EC (3), 2000/
381/EC (4), 2000/535/EC (5), 2000/769/EC (6), 2001/
195/EC (7) and 2001/467/EC (8) for an additional period
of
in accordance with the
provision of Article 11(2) of the said Directive; therefore
the validity of the Decision is to expire on 6 September
2001.

three months each time,

(1) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992, p. 24.
(2) OJ L 315, 9.12.1999, p. 46.
(3) OJ L 68, 16.3.2000, p. 62.
(4) OJ L 139, 10.6.2000, p. 40.
(5) OJ L 226, 6.9.2000, p. 27.
(6) OJ L 306, 7.12.2000, p. 37.
(7) OJ L 69, 10.3.2001, p. 37.
(8) OJ L 163, 20.6.2001, p. 30.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Some relevant developments have taken place recently
concerning the validation of phthalates migration test
methods. However,
further work in this area is still
necessary to try to solve some crucial outstanding diffi-
culties.

The reasons which motivated Decision 1999/815/EC
and its prolongation under Decisions 2000/217/EC,
2000/381/EC, 2000/535/EC, 200/769/EC, 2001/195/EC
and 2001/467/EC are still valid and it is therefore neces-
sary to maintain the prohibition of the placing on the
market of the products considered.

Certain Member States have implemented Decision
1999/815/EC as modified by Decisions 2000/217/EC,
2000/381/EC,
2001/
195/EC and 2001/467/EC by measures applicable until
6 September 2001. Therefore it is necessary to ensure
that the validity of these measures is prolonged.

2000/769/EC,

2000/535/EC,

It
is therefore necessary to prolong the validity of
Decision 1999/815/EC for a seventh time in order to
ensure that all the Member States maintain the prohibi-
tion provided for by that Decision. According to Article
11(2) of Directive 92/59/EEC the validity may be
prolonged for a period of three months.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Emergencies
Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

In Article 5 of Decision 1999/815/EC the words ‘6 September
2001’ are replaced by the words ‘21 November 2001’.

Article 2

Member States shall take the measures necessary to comply
with this Decision within less than 10 days of its notification.
They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

L 233/52

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

31.8.2001

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 3

Done at Brussels, 21 August 2001.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission