Activities of Katrin LANGENSIEPEN related to 2021/2040(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the Toy Safety Directive (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety of toys (Toy Safety Directive)
Amendments (28)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, commits the Commission stresses the need to intto introduce or reinforce provisions to ensure that consumer products, including for toys, do not contain chemicals that cause cancers, gene mutations, affect the reproductive or reinforce provisions to take into account the combination effects of chemicals, including for toysthe endocrine system, or are persistent and bioaccumulative; in addition, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability commits the Commission to assess modalities and timing for extending the generic approach to risk management, 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;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recognises the key role of standards in allowing for the efficient and agile application of the directive by manufacturers, as well as the role of notified bodies in ensuring compliance when standards are not available or are not applied; Stresses the need to have open, inclusive, sustainable, transparent and high-quality standards, with the highest protection of personal data and privacy. Standards should also be technology neutral and performance based, ensuring equal conditions of competition among economic operators, in particular SMEs;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses the need to develop ambitious standards for adaptive toys, which allow children with disabilities to enjoy and interact with toys they may not be able to otherwise;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Notes that some market surveillance authorities face problems in enforcing the provisions contained in Article 11 of the TSD, that obliges manufacturers to mark warnings on toys in a clearly visible, easily legible, understandable and accurate way. Such problems are caused by the lack of specified requirements and related standards. Therefore, calls on the Commission to introduce specific requirements on the visibility and legibility of warnings on toys, in order to enable Member States to enforce these requirements in a uniform way.
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Is concerned by the fact that impulse noise limits for toys are higher than what is allowed for adults and that levels for close to the ear toys have been increased; calls on the Commission to set the limit for impulse noise to what is allowed for adults in industry according to Directive 2003/10 and to set maximum safety level in decibels for sound-emitting toys duly considering the precautionary principle;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes, however, that inconsistencies that call for an urgent revision of the TSD remain and that risks coming from the use of new technologies need to be addressed;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that spreading out requirements across several pieces of legislation, and providing for different limit values, can be burdensome and can in some cases necessitate duplicate the measuring of substances, as in the case of migration and content limit values; calls on the Commission, therefore, to consider consolidating all applicable limits for toys in one piece of legislation in order to streamline conformity assessment with the aim to converge on the lowest existing limits and to ensure that secondary raw materials do not contain toxic substances which could appear in raw materials not intended for children’s toys;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that the derogation from the prohibition of chemicals that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMRs) set out in the TSD allows for the presence of those chemicals in concentrations that are too high to ensure the protection of children; calls on the Commission urgently to substantially reducto delete the generic limits for derogated CMRs in the TSD; insists that, in line with the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the possibility to derogate from the rules on the presence of CMRs in parts of the toy that are inaccessible to the child should be deleted and adequate provisions to avoid children exposure to dangerous, toxic, harmful, corrosive and irritant substances should be foreseen;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines that lower limit values for chemicals such as nitrosamines and, nitrosatable, lead and barium substances set out at national level compared to those established in the TSD create inconsistencies, even when justified by the Commission; notes, however, that all EU children should enjoy the same high level of protection; acknowledges that this limit value cannot be amended by an implementing act but would require a legislative procedure; calls on the Commission, therefore, to propose adapting the limit values at least for nitrosamines and nitrosatable substances to the strictest value in force at national level in a revision of the TSD; and to consider stricter values also for lead and barium;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to propose a hazard identification procedure for endocrine disruptors, based on the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO)Welcomes the commitment of the Commission to extend the TSD’s preventive approach on CMRs to endocrine disruptors, in line with the precautionary principle, and to apply it in a future revision of the TSD to ensure that endocrine disruptors are banned in toys as soon as they are identified, as well as to consider introducing horizontal legislation with that aim, as repeatedly requested by Parliament and by the Council, also respecting the principle "one substance, one assessment" contained in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability; calls on the Commission to extend this approach to chemicals affecting the immune, neurological or respiratory systems and to chemicals toxic to a specific organ, in order to guarantee a high level of protection against these chemicals as well as to ensure a future- proof regulatory response to their use in toys, consistent with the Commission’s intention to prioritize all uses of these chemicals for REACH restrictions;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is concerned that the stricter provisions for chemicals in toys intended for children aged under 36 months do not take into account the fact that older children remain highly vulnerable to dangerous substances; notes that this distinction can result in manufacturers circumventing the provisions by indicating that the toy is intended for children above 36 months even when it is clearly not the case; stresses that several stakeholders, the Commission and Member States have indicated that this distinction is clearly inadequate and asked for it to be eliminated;limit the Directive’s effectiveness; therefore, calls on the Commission, therefore, to do so in its revision of the TSDo eliminate the age distinction and to set specific limit values for any chemicals in toys;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Calls on the Commission to include in the revision of the TSD specific provisions for limiting children’s combined exposure to chemicals and for considering low-dose effects, in line with the goals of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes that the TSD contains an general obligation for Member States to perform market surveillance under the precautionary principle, test toys on the market and verify manufacturers’ documentation with a view to withdrawing unsafe toys and taking action against those responsible for placing them on the market; is concerned that the effectiveness of market surveillance under the TSD is limited, putting the health and safety of children at risk and undermining the level playing field for economic operators that comply with the legislation, to the benefit of rogue traders, who do not; notes that difficulties are still reported in obtaining information and documentation from economic operators;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, which aims to improve market surveillance by strengthening controls by national authorities to ensure that products entering the single market, including toys, are safe and comply with the rules, and calls on the Member States to implement it fully by making available the necessary human, financial and technical resources to systematically identify, assess, and regulate chemicals in toys;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to continuously explore possibilities for using new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence to facilitate the work of market surveillance authorities by providing easily accessible and structured information on products and their traceability;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Member States to step up coordination of their market surveillance activities; among their market surveillance authorities also with the exchange of best practices and to increase human, financial and technical resources for their market surveillance activities; calls on the Commission to organise and finance joint market surveillance actions on toys;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is concerned by the new vulnerabilities and risks posed by connected toys which may harm not only children’s physical health and safety, but also their privacy and security. Such toys already placed on the European market have been shown to have inadequate security, illegal terms of service, highly intrusive data collection and sharing and manipulative marketing techniques; calls on the Commission to explore different options for action, such as extending the scope of the TSD to include provisions on privacy and on information security orand reinforcing the relevant horizontal legislations, such as the Radio Equipment Directive and the Cybersecurity Act, as well as the GDPR, while keeping Parliament informed of its choices;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the guidance of the Commission on Article 4 of Regulation 2019/1020, which clarifies the tasks of economic operators, in particular with regard to products sold online and placed on the EU market from non-EU countries; stresses however that the new traceability provisions in Regulation 2019/1020 need to be strengthen, in order to solve the issues posed by non-compliant direct imports facilitated by marketplaces; highlights that compliance with EU rules by all economic operators is key to ensuring the safety of children and providing a level playing field for companies, and calls on market surveillance and customs authorities to perform robust enforcement actions to stop rogue traders from exploiting the EU market;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Stresses that online marketplaces should take additional steps to ensure the safety and compliance of toys sold on their platforms and to prevent the reappearance of unsafe toys in their listings; insists in the strongest terms, in this sense, that it is fundamental to ensure effective and predictable enforcement as well as consistency between different instruments such as the Digital Services Act and the future legislative act revising the GPSD when it comes to, the Artificial Intelligence Act, the General Product Safety Regulation and the future legislative act revising the Product Liability Directive, in order to guarantee the highest standards on safety, liability and fundamental rights and to strengthen the responsibility of online marketplaces, under the principle ‘what is illegal offline is illegal online’;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Highlights the added value of the ‘know your business customer’ principle to increase compliance and traceability of toys sold online; regrets that the product safety pledge has shown limited effects so far; calls,supports therefore, the Commission’s proposal for increased responsibilities for online marketplaces to detect and remove unsafe and non- compliant toys from their platforms and prevent their reappearance;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers it essential to provide for a broader scope for amendments in the future revision, including mechanical and physical requirements in particular for children under 36 mo; therefore, calls on the Commission to amend Article 46 of the TSD in order to allow easy and flexible modifications for all kinds of chemicals in toys and for mechanical and physical requiremenths, limit values for nitrosamines and nitrosatable, labelling provisions for allergenic fragrances and CMRs; stresses that requirements for allergenic fragrances need to be considerably strengthened and encourages the Commission to explore how transparency about chemicals in toys could be improved, for example through an obligation to declare the chemical content of toys on product labels;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. CIs concerned by the number of products that can be mistaken for food and therefore consumed as such, with a consequent danger to health; notes that some producers avoid complying with TSD by claiming that their products are not toys, while they are clearly used as such; calls on the Commission to clarify the definition of ‘grey zone’ products in the future revision of the TSD;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Commission to introduce sustainable mandatory labelling for toys, providing the consumer at the time of purchase with clear, immediately visible, easily understandable and comparable information on a toy’s estimated lifetime, the extent to which it is reparable and the availability of spare parts, including, where relevant, the availability of the necessary software, and setting out options for repair; believes that this labelling could take the form of an environmental performance index, taking into account multiple criteria throughout the life cycle of toys and should be developed by involving all relevant stakeholders, centred on harmonised research-based and transparent standards further to impact assessments demonstrating relevance, proportionality and effectiveness in reducing negative environmental impacts and protecting children;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Considers that CE Marking should be removed from the toy or its packaging and relegated to the technical file;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27 b. Calls on the European Commission to introduce a provision to allow independent third-party testing and certification for certain categories of toys, such as: - toys intended for children under three years; - toys which, for functional reasons, cannot be designed to eliminate all risks; - toys which, in case of a failure, can lead to severe health impacts of a child; - toys which have caused severe accidents in the past; - toys which have raised considerable concern in enforcement activities; - connected toys;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Highlights that the lack of consistent EU-wide statistics on toy-related accidents makes it impossible to quantitatively assess the level of protection granted by the TSD; believes that a lack of coordination and funding at EU level is a root cause of the absence of consistent data and calls on the Commission to address this in a future revision through the establishment of a pan-European accident and injury database in order to systematically collect complete and representative information on accidents and injuries that occur because of dangerous toys and to improve traceability along the supply chain, also for toys sold online;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Member States to step up their data collection on the TSD, which is now uneven and incomplete, not representative and incomplete; calls on businesses to step up cooperation with Member States, sharing more data on toy-related accidents, in order to enhance children’s safety and to improve trust on toys placed in the internal market;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Commission to provide itself with the necessary resources to efficiently regulate chemicals in toys and to use the opportunity provided by the TSD revision to introduce indicators to monitor its implementation and effectiveness;