CONSUMER PROTECTION

On 30 March 2020, the Commission published guidance documents to help increase the production of safe medical supplies during the time of the coronavirus outbreak. This guidance comes in the form of questions and answers concerning information on conformity assessment and relevant legislation applicable to assist manufacturers to boost the production of essential medical equipment in three primary areas. More

The European Commission website states as part of its “Guidance on Customs issues related to the Covid-19 emergency” that it is working on plans to “ensure that the temporary admission of items for disaster victims of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis becomes free of customs duties and VAT”. More

On 7 January 2020, new EU rules for consumer protection, as part of the New Deal for Consumers, entered into force. The new rules aim to better enforce and modernise the current EU consumer protection rules, in line with digital developments. In this connection, 20 days earlier, on 18 December 2019, Directive 2019/2161 was published, laying down the provisions for the better enforcement and modernisation of EU consumer protection rules. More

According to the European Environmental Bureau (“EEB”), which is a large network of environmental NGOs, tests of imported toys revealed a high level of toxic chemicals in 248 toy models in 2019. Chemical pollution has been linked to health, developmental and environmental issues and is responsible for collapsing insect, bird and aquatic life populations. More