Child protection: Council and Parliament strike a deal on a law to make toys safer

The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on a regulation updating the safety requirements for toys sold on the EU single market. The agreement reached today on the toy safety regulation reinforces the already stringent safety rules, aligns the obligations of economic operators (both from the EU and third countries) to existing EU legislation, clarifies the rules for the EU digital product passport, and bans or restricts the chemicals products that can be dangerous for children if present in toys.

Children’s safety must always come first. While the EU’s toy safety rules are among the strictest in the world, we must remain vigilant, adapt the rules to emerging risks and ensure that safety standards are met for all toys – whether made in Europe or abroad. The agreed regulation is an example of a modern and balanced legislative approach that shows that the safety of children, the interests of consumers and the competitiveness of the European market can and should be pursued together.

Krzysztof Paszyk, Polish Minister for Economic Development and Technology

Safer toys

The new rules are covering in particular new harmful chemical products. The regulation expands the ban on carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction chemicals (CMRs) to include other hazardous substances like endocrine disruptors. The agreement forbids skin sensitisers and toys treated with biocidal products (except for toys intended to be always kept outdoors). Biocidal products are substances used to control unwanted organisms that are harmful to health or the environment, or that can cause damage to human activities.

The agreement also limits the use of preservatives and prohibits the use of fragrance allergens in toys intended for use by children under the age of three or in other toys intended to be placed in the mouth of children.

The text introduces also a limited ban on the intentional use of PFAS in toys (with exemptions for toy components necessary for electronic or electric functions of the toy where the substance or mixture is fully inaccessible to children). PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are chemicals used in many products. Some PFAS have been classified as carcinogenic and/or as endocrine disruptors.

The regulation grants the Commission the authority to remove toys from the market if new risks emerge.

Digital product passport

The agreement strengthens the enforcement of toy safety rules, especially for imported toys, by introducing a digital product passport containing safety information that can be scanned by border control authorities using a new IT system. A digital product passport will allow easier access to key information for both consumers and customs and surveillance authorities, without compromising business confidentiality.

Obligations for economic operators

The provisional agreement reached today aligns the obligations of economic operators present in toys value chain – from manufacturers to distributors or sellers (including on-line marketplaces) – with those stemming from new legislative framework and imposed by the EU legislation applicable to toys. Likewise, the digital product passport has been aligned with the eco-design regulation (ESPR), and the warning signs on toys will be clearer and more visible.

Transition periods

Bearing in mind the need to give entrepreneurs time to adapt to the new rules transition, the agreement establishes a period of 4,5 years to enable the industry to implement the new requirements effectively.

Next steps

The provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament now needs to be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions.

Background

Until now, toy safety has been regulated by Directive 2009/48/EC, which establishes the safety requirements that toys – whether EU-made or imported – must meet to be placed and sold on the EU market.

The new regulation was presented by the Commission in July 2023 in response to the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, which calls for the strengthening of the protection of consumers and vulnerable groups from the most harmful chemicals. The Council has adopted its position (negotiating mandate) on 15 May 2024.

Council negotiation mandate (press release, 15 May 2024)
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Commission proposal