European product safety, internal market policy and the new approach to technical harmonisation and standards

Abstract

This Working Paper forms part of a series of five volumes dealing with the "Europeanisation" of product safety law. They are the result of a study carried out on behalf of the Commission of the EC which has so far been published only in German*. The publication of this English version has been made possible by a grant from Directorate General XI. The five volumes of this series of Working Papers should thus be read in context. Volume 1 (Chapter I) aims to show why product safety law has given rise to extremely diverse regulation patterns and to provide an overview of the most important instruments for action. Volumes 2 and 3 (Chapter II) are concerned with recent developments in the relevant legislation of the economically most important Community Member States and of the United States. Volume 2 (Chapter II, Parts 1 and 2) contains reports on France and the United Kingdom, Volume 3 (Chapter II parts 3 and 4) deals with the Federal Republic of Germany and the US Consumer Product Safety Act 1972, which is of crucial importance in the international debate. Volume 4 (Chapters III and IV) analyses the development of the "traditional" policy of approximation of law and of efforts at a "horizontal" European product safety policy. In both policy areas it proved impossible to realise the Community's programmatic goals. As far as policy on achieving the internal market is concerned, the Commission itself has pointed out the reasons and called for, and implemented, a fundamental revision of traditional legal approximation policy. This reorientation of Community policy is dealt with in Chapters IV; it describes the most important precursors of the new internal market policy, namely ECJ case law on Articles 30 and 36 EEC since the Cassis de Dijon judgment, and regulatory technique for the Low Voltage Directive and then analyses the new approach to technical harmonisation and standards, whereby the Community will restrict itself in its directives to setting "essential safety requirements", leaving it to European and national standardisation bodies to convert these safety requirements into technical specifications. Volume 5 (Chapters V and VI) evaluates the effects of the Community's new approach to technical harmonisation and standards on product safety policy. Chapter V diagnoses a new need for action in the area of product safety policy, including in particular the internal organisation of the standardisation process, and participation by consumer associations in European standardisation. Chapter VI continues a comprehensive discussion of alternatives open for co-ordinating internal market and product safety policy. It argues that a policy of "deregulating" Member States' product safety legislation would not be feasible, and opts for a "positive" supplementation of the new approach by a horizontal Community product safety policy. This option is elaborated in a number of recommendations.