The Council of the European Union has adopted the general product safety regulation (GPSR), which reinforces the safety rules for products sold both offline and online. The regulation will reinforce market surveillance for unsafe products and consumer rights for anyone who has been sold an unsafe product. It should be noted that the GSPR only applies for products where there is no specific legislation, meaning companies in the recreational boating industry (i.e suppliers) will have to comply the GSPR in products such as for Recreational Craft or Personal Protective Equipment.

The new approved GPSR makes it easier for consumers to repair, return or replace unsafe products:

• online marketplaces will have to co-operate with market surveillance authorities and must establish a single point of contact in charge of product safety.
• market surveillance authorities will be able to order online marketplaces to remove dangerous products from their platforms or to disable their access.
• a single market surveillance regime will apply to all products.
• if a product has proven to be unsafe, economic operators must immediately adopt corrective measures and inform market surveillance authorities and consumers.
• consumers will be entitled to choose either to have it repaired or replaced or to be refunded if a product has to be recalled.
• economic operators should have a responsible for products sold online and offline (independently of the product’s origin), who will ensure the availability of technical documentation, instructions, and safety information

Following the approval by the Council of the EU and European Parliament, the legislative act has been  adopted. Member States will have 18 months to apply the new rules on general product safety.

The approved general product safety regulation can be found here.