Market surveillance cooperation at European level

1
Market surveillance cooperation at European level
Helmut Bayer
2
Community legislation

• Market surveillance, responsibility of Member
  States
• Defined in horizontal Articles of Directives
• Revision of the New Approach, specific
  requirements to be fulfilled by MSt.
• Set up in horizontal regulation
• Ambitious objections

3
Scope

• Consumer products
• Products of professional use
• Priority for products with high potential risks
• Placing on the market and putting into service

4
Objective of market surveillance

• Products should satisfy community legislation
• Ensure a high level of safety
• Effective action against non compliant products
• Functioning information exchange

5
Need of market surveillance in the pressure
equipment field

• Reduced third party involvement on conformity
  assessment procedures
• Competition of Notified Bodies
• Pressure Equipment as consumer products
• Increased imports from Third Contries

6
Role of Member States

• Responsible for the safety of PE in the sense of
  market surveillance, Art. 2 PED or Art. 2 SPVD
• Responsible for the notification of conformity
  assessment bodies
• Responsible for the installation and the
  operation of PE

7
Tasks of Member States

• Establish a market surveillance system
• Ensure adequate resources
• Empower their authorities to take necessary
  measures
• Draw up market surveillance programmes
• Establish information and cooperation systems

8
Tasks of Member States Authorities

• Perform appropriate checks on the safety of
  pressure equipment
• Take appropriate precautionary measures
• Take appropriate measures to inform parties
  involved
• Take part on European information and
  co-operation systems

9
Role of the Commission

• Performing the procedures of the safeguard clause
  Articles in SPVD and PED
• Monitoring MSt. in regard of free movement of PE
• Set up European co-operation and information on
  market surveillance
• Coordinate common market surveillance projects

10
Task of the Commission

• Set up ADCO groups and take part in their
  activities
• Establish and coordinate market surveillance
  projects
• Set up appropriate programme
• Ensure information exchange
• Develop electronic information systems

11
Role of the Notified bodies

• NB have an essential safety function in a global
  market
• If lower safety levels as the European accepted,
  their role becomes counterproductively
• The importance of the monitoring function of MSt
  authorities will increase

12
The Product safety Directive

• For PE used as consumer products like vessels for
  air compressors, pressure cookers, also the PSD
  applies
• For industrial PE only the relevant Articles of
  SPVD or PED apply

13
Specific problems in the pressure Equipment field

• Identification of defects
• New approach allows different technical solutions
• High potential risks
• Imports from outside Europe
• Consumer products as well as products for
  professional use
• High number of consumer products

14
Overview
15
Incomplete fusion
16
Formal problems

• Formal safeguard procedures take a long time
• MSt. will not trigger the safeguard clause if
  problem is solved internally
• Other MSt. will get information too late or no
  information at all

17
To deal with the problemson Community level

• Sharing of resources by cooperation between MSt.
  Authorities
• Exchange of information between MSt. Authorities
• Set up of electronic information system by the
  Commission
• Organisation and support of market surveillance
  programmes by the Commission
• Taking into account demands of market
  surveillance in the revision of Directives

18
Detection of non compliant pressure equipment

• Use of information tools like ICSMS, RAPEX, CIRCA
• Nat. Authorities provide the systems with
  information
• Appropriate information is offered timely
• Information on test results and possible
  distribution channels

19
Cooperation on European level ADCO Group

• Sectoral group of national Authorities and the
  Commission
• Exchange of expertise
• Development of best practices
• Information on detection of non compliant
  pressure equipment
• Set up and carry out common market surveillance
  programmes
• Cooperation on measures against dangerous products

20
Challenges for Member States

• Market surveillance is a new function
• Manpower shortage in many MSt.
• Safety does not enjoy political priority
• The authority has to assume liability,
• either for an accident because of inactivity or
• for an safeguard measure evaluated as
• unjustified

21
Perspective

• Common understanding of safety
• Economic aspects in the context with safety
• Awareness of safety aspects on side of Commission
  and MSt.

22
Thank you for your attention