Lead story

World Consumer Rights' Day 2019

On 15 March, ANEC joined the global consumer movement to celebrate World Consumer Rights’ Day, this year dedicated to raising awareness of Smart Products, their potential benefits and their challenges to consumers.

ANEC is working on standards and best practices for a #BetterDigitalWorld, one where consumers can enjoy the benefits of connected products without having to worry about their safety or security. To mark the day, we released a Factsheet where we present the issues revolving around connected products, and the work we are doing to help develop standards for products and services which consumers will be able to trust.

ANEC is participating in the new CEN-CENELEC/JTC 13 ‘Cybersecurity and data protection’ which is drafting standards for the security and privacy of consumer connected products. We joined CEN-CENELEC in developing a short video which was also released during World Consumer Rights’ Day.

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EESC Opinion on AUWP 2019

In March, the European Economic & Social Committee (EESC) approved an Opinion on European standardisation, drafted by Elżbieta Szadzińska. Elżbieta is also Polish member of the ANEC General Assembly. The Opinion was made in the context of the Annual Union Work Programme 2019 and the European Commission’s Communication of 22 November 2018 on Harmonised Standards.

ANEC welcomes the Opinion, as it is in line with our goals and priorities. We particularly welcome its call for inclusiveness of the European Standardisation System to be monitored. We believe the provisions on inclusiveness required by Regulation (EU) 1025/2012, and the need for European standards to reflect the expectations of business and society, should give European business advantage in global markets, as well as raise levels of welfare and protection for Europe’s citizens.

For more information, you can find the Opinion available here in 23 languages.

ANEC-BEUC publish position on conformity assessment

On 18 January, the European Commission (EC) recommended to open negotiations on a horizontal agreement with the USA on conformity assessment. The motivation is related to ongoing discussion of the current duplication of conformity assessment procedures, and the objective is to allow US conformity assessment bodies to certify that US goods meet EU legal requirements and vice versa.

BEUC and ANEC have published a position paper on this topic, and will follow the process closely as it hold implications for consumer safety. We believe that conformity assessment is only one piece of a complex infrastructure to protect consumers, which also comprises legal requirements, standards & market surveillance. To change one element of the system in isolation could unbalance the whole infrastructure, and care must be taken in assessing the equivalence of rules and procedures on conformity assessment. We met in the past weeks with the EC (DG TRADE & DG GROW) to present our views and concerns.

The paper has been published on the ANEC website, here.

Child Safety

ANEC Child Safety WG members meet in London

This year, the ANEC Child Safety WG meeting was held on 13-14 March at BSI, London. The focus of the meeting was on standardisation work related to child care articles, toys, and playground & recreational equipment. Members also welcomed the report of the ANEC technical study on safe sleeping conditions for young children, concluded in December 2018 (see further details in the article below).

ANEC expresses its thanks to WG co-Chairs, Anne Smith and Helen Amundsen, and to all our volunteer experts, for their contributions and continued commitment to make products safer for children.

Special thanks to BSI-CPIN for hosting the meeting.  

Sadie Homer, Consumer & Public Policy Executive at BSI, giving a presentation on building consumer trust through standards.

Safe Sleeping Conditions for Children

An ANEC Technical Study has examined whether standards for several sleep products, mainly for babies, facilitate recognised safe sleeping practices. The report, Investigating Safe Sleeping Conditions for Children, presents the results of the analysis.

The analysis found there are inconsistencies among the standards for products that offer similar functions. The report also presents a review of the potential hazards associated with products that are not covered by standards, and makes recommendations on whether ANEC should seek the development of new standards. It recommends that standards be developed for bed nests (as they present soft, padded areas close to the baby’s face); cot beds, especially covering the transition from cot to bed and the bed function; and cots and travel cots supplied with accessories, such as changing tables and bassinets. 

The product analysis methodology used in the study could be employed in consideration of standardisation requests (mandates), as it uses a systematic assessment of hazards and risks, and defines key issues related to the development of new standards.

Spring forward, don't fall back!

The better weather that accompanies the start of spring often sees children admitted to hospital with injuries resulting from use of garden trampolines. The latest version of the CEN standard, EN 71-14 ‘Safety of Toys - Trampolines for domestic use’ now also specifies safety requirements for "inground" trampolines, i.e. trampolines installed at ground level. ANEC and experts from the DIN Consumer Council played a leading role in the revision of the European standard.

Stephen Russell, ANEC Secretary-General, commented:

“Many children find trampolines fun. Nevertheless, trampolines must be maintained and used with care if the risk of accident is to be lessened. We advise consumers to replace damaged or faded safety nets, and to ensure the nets are closed when the trampoline is used. Last but not least, garden trampolines are designed to be used by only one child at a time. Accidents happen when two or more children use the trampoline simultaneously”.

More information: https://bit.ly/2JSLPNE

ISO standard to improve safety of activity toys

ANEC welcomes adoption of ISO 8124-4:2014 FDAM 2 ‘Safety of toys - Part 4: Swings, slides and similar activity toys for indoor and outdoor family domestic use’. The standard was prepared by ISO/TC 181 ‘Safety of toys’ and defines additional safety requirements that will offer further protection to children in their use of the toys.

More information: https://bit.ly/2JGLn4R 

Accessibility

EC decides to reject EN 81-70 as a Harmonised Standard

The EC has rejected EN 81-70 as a Harmonised Standard, due to its non-compliance with Mandate M/549 and certain non-compliances with the drafting rules for standards.

In 2017, ANEC appealed against ratification of EN 81-70 'Safety rules for the construction and installation of lifts. Accessibility to lifts for persons including persons with disability'.

Nevertheless, CEN decided to offer EN 81-70 for citation in the Official Journal of the EU as a Harmonised Standard, providing presumption of conformity to Directive 2014/33/EU on lifts. In response, ANEC raised its concerns with the EC, and stressed that we did not believe EN 81-70 meets the essential health & safety requirements of the Lifts Directive. Our view was supported by the European Blind Union and European Disability Forum.

EP approves European Accessibility Act

For many years, ANEC and the disability movement have been lobbying for adoption of a Directive on the accessibility requirements for products & services (the so-called European Accessibility Act or EAA).

On 13 March, the plenary of the European Parliament (EP) approved the final version of the EAA (613 MEPs in favour, out of 672). Although a great step forward, as the Directive will improve the accessibility of a set of products and services for persons with disabilities, more still needs to be done. Regrettably, the EAA excludes many essential areas, such as transport, the built environment, and household appliances.

The Council now needs to give its formal approval, after which the Act will be published in the Official Journal. Member States will then have three years to transpose the Directive into legislation. The EC will issue a standardisation request for Harmonised Standards to implement the EAA.

For more information, please find the adopted text here.

Sustainability

Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference

On 4 March, the EC adopted a comprehensive report on the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan. That same week, a Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference took place in Brussels, which ANEC attended. During this event, the Circular Economy Action Plan’s achievements were presented and discussed. Several topics specifically important to consumers included a break out session on ‘Fair Circular Economy for Consumers: How to inform, Empower and Protect Citizens’, as well as a workshop called ‘Consumer Insights for the Circular Economy’. The conclusions confirmed there is a need to enable consumers not to make the wrong choices. In this context, a right to information on durability and repairability will empower consumers.

Standards in the Circular Economy

ANEC joined the G7 Alliance Workshop in Paris on 20-21 March, entitled, ‘Tools making value chains more circular and resource efficient Voluntary agreements, standardisation and non-financial reporting’. A key part of this conference was a session on standardisation and its importance to the Circular Economy. Discussion focused on how the standardisation of environmental information can be used along the supply chain, as well the application of standards by business.

It was concluded that international standardisation is relevant in making value chains more circular and resource efficient, by developing standards on resource and material efficiency as well as streamlining the different approaches. It was agreed that it is crucial to integrate resource efficiency and circular economy objectives explicitly in development of standards at both the European and international levels.

Certifying sustainable cocoa

The standard ISO 34101-4:2019 ‘Sustainable and traceable cocoa - Part 4: Requirements for certification schemes’ has been adopted in parallel by ISO and CEN. The publication of all parts of the ISO 34101 series is now under preparation and is expected within a few months.

ANEC participated in the work and supported the approval of ISO 34101-4:2019. We trust the ISO 34101 series will help farmers produce cocoa beans sustainably, and encourage the industry to move towards sustainable cocoa.

Digital Society

ANEC Digital Society WG meets

On 21-22 March, the Digital Society WG gathered in Brussels at the Test-Achats premises for its annual meeting. This year, among other topics, the WG discussed the Cybersecurity Act, with the welcome participation of Aristotelis Tzafalias (DG CONNECT). It was also an occasion for Chiara Giovannini to update members on the work of the High-level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, of which she is a member, and CEN-CENELEC Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence. ANEC also welcomed BEUC’s participation in the discussion.

We must thank Test-Achats for hosting the event, our experts for their continued support and collaboration, and not least, new WG Chair, John Ketchell.

Traffic & Mobility

DIN study on electric bicycles

The DIN Consumer Council has examined the normative requirements for electric city and trekking bicycles. The results of its study show that the requirements for the bicycle frame need to be strengthened, as do those for the seat post.

The current requirements do not meet the necessary loads for daily operation, which can lead to early component failure. This is applicable to EN 15194 ‘Cycles - Electrically Power Assisted Cycles - EPAC Bicycles’ as well as ISO 4210-10 ‘Cycles - Safety requirements for bicycles - Part 10: Safety requirements for electrically power assisted cycles (EPACs)’. In summary, the study shows EN 15194 needs to be revised. ANEC participates in the drafting of standards related to EPACs.

For more information, please contact us. General information can be found on the DIN website (www.din.de).

News from ANEC member countries

EU-Safety 2019

On 3-4 October 2019, the European Association for Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion (EuroSafe), and the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), will host the 9th European Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (EU-Safety 2019).

EU-Safety 2019 will highlight the achievements in injury prevention, review progress made in injury surveillance & research, and showcase safety promotion programmes across Europe. It will also aim to demonstrate good practices in prevention, including key priority areas, such as consumer product safety.

For more information on the Conference: https://bit.ly/2FM5hGb.

For comments or if you wish to write an article for the ANEC Newsletter, please contact: Ieva GALKYTÉ (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).