Rapid Exchange of Information System

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The Rapid Exchange of Information System (RAPEX) is an EU rapid alert system for consumer protection . RAPEX is used to exchange information from the member states on dangerous or potentially dangerous consumer goods (with the exception of food , pharmaceutical products and medicines ). This includes, for example, products such as clothing , shoes , cosmetics , jewelry or children's toys with components or properties that are harmful to health, or products with technical defects such as motor vehicles or electrical appliances that pose a risk of electric shock or fire.

RAPEX also aims to enable a rapid EU-wide exchange of information on follow-up measures such as return or recall campaigns , regardless of whether they are mandatory measures by national authorities or voluntary measures by manufacturers and distributors. To monitor the measures, appropriate delivery lists are sent across Europe to the locally and materially competent authorities, for example the food control.

The basis for the establishment of RAPEX is Directive 2001/95 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 3, 2001 on general product safety, the so-called GPSD product safety directive , which is regularly abbreviated in EU texts and which came into force on January 15, 2004 is: "With Article 12 of Directive 2001/95 / EC a community system for the rapid exchange of information on the dangers of the use of consumer goods (Community system for the rapid exchange of information on dangers arising from the use of consumer products," RAPEX '), on the basis of which information on measures and actions taken against products that pose a health and safety risk to consumers can be quickly exchanged between the Member States and the Commission. ”Reporting is a serious risk , a confidential one Treatment can be requested. The follow-up measures must also be reported, and the local market surveillance authorities must, in particular, check whether the products have actually been taken off the market and are not being sold online.

The Directorate-General for Health and Consumers of the European Commission publishes a weekly report on current RAPEX alerts. Summaries of the RAPEX notifications have been available on the Internet via their so-called "Safety Gate" since 2019. In Germany, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) prepares reports to RAPEX, which can also be called up via the product safety database it maintains , often with more detailed information on the manufacturer, for example on the Internet.

In addition to the rapid alert system RAPEX, the internet-based information and communication system for the European market surveillance of technical products ( ICSMS for "internet-supported information and communication system for the pan-European market surveillance of technical products") continues to be operated Authorities and also contains information on counterfeit products. In addition to a further tool for researching warnings about a dangerous technical product (unlike RAPEX), it also provides consumers with the option of finding the right authority for expressly intended "black sheep" reports.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quotation after para. 1 of the considerations of the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/417 of 8 November 2018 laying down guidelines for the management of the Community system for the rapid exchange of information "RAPEX", including the risk assessment up to the notification and the consequences of the notifications the follow-up measures Annex Part II no. 3.4.6.3
  2. ↑ Annex to Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/417 of the Commission, Annex Part II No. 3.4.5.1
  3. ↑ Description of the BAuA with links to the partly German-language website and the Europ search portals. Commission; there also (English) the explanation of the meaning " Doing battle against the" black sheep " "