C 342/102
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
6.9.2022
Wednesday 16 February 2022
— having regard to the Commission communication of 13 November 2020 entitled ‘New Consumer Agenda — Strengthening consumer resilience for sustainable recovery’ (COM(2020)0696),
— having regard to the Commission communication of 24 March 2021 on an EU strategy on the rights of the child (COM(2021)0142),
— having regard to Council conclusions of 15 March 2021 entitled ‘Sustainable Chemicals Strategy of the Union: Time to Deliver’,
— having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as Article 1(1)(e) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports,
— having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A9-0349/2021),
A. whereas the Toy Safety Directive (TSD) was adopted in 2009 to ensure a high level of health and safety for children and improve the functioning of the internal market for toys by removing barriers to trade in toys between Member States;
B. whereas the EU’s strict toy safety framework is designed to ensure children enjoy the safest play experience possible and is widely regarded as a global benchmark;
C. whereas play is recognised as every child’s right by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which all EU Member States are signatories; whereas playing contributes to children’s development, health and wellbeing and is an essential part of growing up; whereas studies show that toys can enrich play and keep children playing for longer;
D. whereas the TSD is a maximum harmonisation directive, meaning that Member States are not allowed to adopt any different requirements than those provided in it; whereas the rules and requirements for toys are, in many cases, stricter than those for other products owing to the vulnerability of the consumers for whom they are designed;
E. whereas the effectiveness of the EU’s TSD is too often undermined by the actions of rogue traders and by online sales of non-compliant products;
F. whereas, despite the lack of comprehensive data on its full impact, the TSD is still largely effective in guaranteeing the free movement of toys in the single market and whereas the number of companies operating in the market since the full application of the TSD increased by 10 % from 2013 to 2017, while the turnover of the EU toy industry has constantly increased since its entry into force; whereas 99 % of companies in the sector are SMEs and the majority of these companies are micro-enterprises;
G. whereas the TSD requires that toys made available on the EU market are safe and ensures a high level of protection of children against hazards caused by chemical substances in toys; whereas quick adaptation of specific requirements and standards might be needed if the scientific and technological developments show the emergence of previously unknown risks and challenges related to toys;
H. whereas in the chemicals strategy for sustainability, the Commission stressed the need to introduce or reinforce provisions to take into account the combination effects of chemicals, including for toys, and to extend the generic approach to risk management to ensure that consumer products, including toys, do not contain chemicals that cause cancers or gene mutations, affect the reproductive or the endocrine system, or are persistent and bioaccumulative; whereas the chemicals strategy for sustainability in addition commits the Commission to assessing the modalities and timing for an extension of the same generic approach, with regard to consumer products, to further harmful chemicals, including those affecting the immune, neurological or respiratory systems and chemicals toxic to a specific organ;