Commission wants 'extremely high' toy safety standards

EU consumer commissioner Meglena Kuneva told MEPs during a plenary session in Strasbourg that she would not hesitate to act if toys imported from China do not meet EU safety standards.

But she stressed that "the first preference of the EU is to deepen our partnership with China" and that the EU should try to "step up technical assistance, information exchange and training" and improve the existing EU-China rapid alert system for dangerous non-food items.

She also expressed the belief that the current legal framework is "fundamentally sound" and added that manufacturers should act more responsibly and that national authorities should carry out more effective monitoring.

EU industry commissioner Guenter Verheugen said that Brussels is overhauling the current toys directive and wants to replace it with a new and tougher one, which should be ready by the end of the year.

"[Toys] are a product aimed at the most vulnerable group of consumers and therefore (...) we should set standards extremely high," he said. For instance, there would be a new rule concerning chemical substances, and mandatory testing and certification of certain types of toys.

Call for a ban

For their part, MEPs urged more action taken against dangerous toys, and criticised the lack of stricter European legislation.

Arlene McCarthy, MEP and head of the parliament's consumer protection committee, asked the European Commission to establish an independent accreditation and testing agency.

Currently, manufacturers are responsible for testing and labelling their products on European safety standards.

She also said that if China fails to comply with European safety standards, an EU-wide ban on Chinese toy imports should be imposed.

"We cannot afford to do too little too late on this issue," she said. "[We] need swift action to ensure that toys under the Christmas tree are safe and not dangerous to children's health."