Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2639 of 9 October 2024 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the roles and tasks of the single national contact points of the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 on general product safety, amending Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and the Council, and repealing Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 87/357/EEC (1), and in particular Article 25(2), second subparagraph, thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2023/988 provides that the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System is the rapid alert system for the exchange of information on corrective measures concerning dangerous products. To ensure an efficient information flow and proper functioning of the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System, pursuant to Article 25(2), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, each Member State is to designate a single national contact point for the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System (‘Safety Gate contact point’). Pursuant to Article 25(2), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, the Safety Gate contact point is to be responsible at least for checking the completeness of the notifications submitted to the Commission for validation, and for communicating with the Commission on the tasks provided for in Article 26(1) to (6) of that Regulation. The designation of the Safety Gate National contact point should be without prejudice to Member States’ competence to organise their market surveillance system.

(2) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/417 (2) laid down guidelines for the management of the European Union Rapid Information System (‘RAPEX’) established under the repealed Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3). That Implementing Decision provided for the tasks of the RAPEX National Contact Points, including tasks of organising and steering the work of the relevant national authorities, ensuring that all tasks are performed correctly and, in particular, that all required information is provided to the Commission without delay or coordinating all national activities and initiatives carried out in relation to the system. Given the good experience with the functioning of the RAPEX National Contact Points, the roles and tasks of the Safety Gate contact points should include, in so far as appropriate, the roles and tasks established in Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/417.

(3) To ensure the efficient flow of information between the Safety Gate contact point and the various authorities participating in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System in a given Member State, the Safety Gate contact point should organise and steer the work of their network of national authorities dealing with the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System (‘Safety Gate National Network’).

(4) In line with their existing tasks under Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/417 and to ensure the efficient use of the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System and consistency in the information submitted, Safety Gate contact points should train and assist national authorities in their use of the system.

(5) To avoid duplication of notifications in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System, Safety Gate contact points should check, with the involvement of national authorities if relevant, before submitting a notification, whether a measure concerning the product has already been notified in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System.

(6) The Product Safety eSurveillance Webcrawler, an IT application developed and managed by the Commission, aims at detecting products that have been notified in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System and are still sold or reappear in web shops and online marketplaces. To enhance the effectiveness of market surveillance online, its use should be widely promoted, where applicable together with other similar tools used by the authorities.

(7) The Commission and national authorities act as joint controllers for processing data in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System pursuant to Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5). It is therefore appropriate to specify the roles and responsibilities of each joint controller.

(8) This Regulation should start to apply from the same date as Regulation (EU) 2023/988.

(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the General Product Safety Regulation Committee established under Article 46(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The roles and tasks of the single national contact points under Article 25(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (‘Safety Gate contact points’) shall be to:

(a) verify and validate the completeness of the notification received from other national authorities in their Member State before its transmission to the Commission through the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System pursuant to Article 25(2), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2023/988;

(b) check, before submitting a notification through the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System, whether a product subject to that notification has already been notified in that System, and if this is the case, and where appropriate, in cooperation with the relevant national authority, submit a follow-up notification in accordance with Article 26(7) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 instead;

(c) ensure that the notifications of other Member States, that were validated by the Commission, in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System reach the relevant national authorities, including the authorities in charge of external border controls, in their Member State for appropriate follow-up at national level;

(d) promote the use of the Product Safety eSurveillance Webcrawler, and if relevant other similar tools, within its Member State, and in particular the follow up of its relevant results by the national authorities;

(e) train and assist all national authorities in the use of Safety Gate Rapid Alert System;

(f) facilitate that within their Member State the tasks related to the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System stemming from Regulation (EU) 2023/988 and Commission Delegated Regulation of 27 August 2024 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to rules on access to and operation of the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System, information to be entered in that System, notification requirements and the criteria for assessment of the level of risk (6) are performed and, in particular, that all required information is provided to the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2023/988;

(g) cooperate and exchange information relevant for product safety with other Safety Gate contact points, and participate in discussions between the Safety Gate contact points coordinated by the Commission;

(h) exchange information relevant for product safety at national level with the authority which is a member of the Consumer Safety Network referred to in Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, where it is a different authority than the Safety Gate contact point;

(i) exchange information relevant for product safety at national level with the single liaison office appointed under Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) and Article 23(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, where it is a different authority than the Safety Gate contact point;

(j) inform the Commission without delay of any technical problem with the functioning of the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System;

(k) manage requests for access to applications linked to the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System from users in their Safety Gate National Network, and inform the Commission about any change in staff affecting access rights;

(l) answer requests related to operation of the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System within their Member State from stakeholders, including economic operators and providers of online marketplaces;

(m) where appropriate, liaise with the authority in their Member State that submitted the relevant Safety Gate Rapid Alert System notification, regarding any supplementary information that could be considered to be added to that notification, on requests of economic operators or providers of online marketplaces, in particular when those businesses may be adversely affected by the incomplete nature of a notification in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System.

Article 2

The Commission and the national authorities acting as joint controllers for processing data in the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System pursuant to Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall have the roles and responsibilities set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 3

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 13 December 2024.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 9 October 2024.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 135, 23.5.2023, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/988/oj.

(2) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/417 of 8 November 2018 laying down guidelines for the management of the European Union Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ established under Article 12 of Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety and its notification system (OJ L 73, 15.3.2019, p. 121, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2019/417/oj).

(3) Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety (OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2001/95/oj).

(4) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj).

(5) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj).

(6) Not yet published in the Official Journal.

(7) Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending Directive 2004/42/EC and Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 305/2011 (OJ L 169, 25.6.2019, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1020/oj).