17 thousand of controlled products, among which almost 800 did not meet the essential requirements - these are the effects of the first year of operation of the market control system in Poland. This is one of the basic issues of the international conference CE marking - facts and myths, organised by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection

The CE marking is the producer’s declaration that the marketed products meet the essential requirements specified in relevant regulations - the Act on compliance system and the regulations (implementing so-called ‘new approach’ directives to Polish law). They refer to about 30 groups of products - for instance electrical devices (including electronic and household appliances), toys, personal care products, construction materials, machines and lifts. Those products (and only those), for which there are essential requirements specified in relevant regulations, should have the CE marking. It should be stressed that it is not a commercial quality mark, or it does not confirm the origin of the products. The CE label is neither a safety certificate since its meaning is broader - it signifies compliance with essential requirements, which refer also for instance to noise emission or energy consumption. In this way, a consumer buying a CE-marked product in any EU country is assured that the product may be used safely and without problems in her/his home country.

The market surveillance system is to assure that only products meeting the essential requirements and correctly CE-marked are labelled. In Poland the system is monitored by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which co-operates with specialised bodies (authorised to control products and initiate proceedings with respect to products that do not meet the fundamental requirements). Those are for instance: Trade Inspection, Office of Telecommunications and Post Regulation, maritime and customs authorities.

Since accession to the European Union, when the system of market surveillance started to function in Poland, over 8,000 controls have been conducted, during which about 17,000 products were controlled. Almost 800 of those rose suspicion, that they did not meet the essential requirements. In this connection, administrative proceedings were initiated, some preliminary steps have been taken against some enterprises (demand to remove the irregularities, ban on selling products). It should be stressed that the controls covered exclusively products that have been marketed after 1 May 2004.

The controls covered for example toys - out of over 4,200 toys controlled, 141 were questioned as they had e.g. sharp edges, small elements, did not have the necessary warnings. One third of 543 controlled personal care products sold in shops (e.g. helmets, skier’s goggles, spectacles, gloves, etc.) did not meet the essential requirements. A much lower number of irregularities (27 out of 2,000 analysed products) were found among household appliances and other electrical devices.

Correctly functioning market surveillance system is beneficial not only to consumers, but also to enterprises. Homogeneous requirements concerning marketed products are a foundation of the Common Market and thus enable to abolish trading barriers. Manufacturers whose products comply the essential requirements face no restrictions in marketing their products in the European market. Products, which meet all the requirements can freely circulate in the Common Market and no Member State can introduce ban on marketing them.

The conference CE marking - facts and myths will be devoted to issues relating to the CE marking and functioning of the market surveillance system. The conference will be attended by representatives of UOKiK, General Directorate of the European Commission on Enterprises and Industry, Ministry of Economy and Labour as well as specialised bodies, scientific circles and organisations grouping consumers and enterprises. Panels and discussions will be devoted to main issues relating to the role of the CE marking in the free flow of goods within the Common Market, duties of producers resulting from evaluation of compliance and steps taken by market surveillance bodies.

The fact that in Poland there is an effective control system, detecting and eliminating products that are dangerous and do not meet the essential requirements, is of key importance to the policy of consumer protection carried out by UOKiK. - That is why it is necessary to strengthen the specialised bodies and actions in favour of improving their co-operation with UOKiK and to continue the educational process of enterprises and consumers with respect to the law, including the role of the CE marking - says the President of UOKiK Cezary Banasiński. The Office has prepared a series of publications addressed to readers of different ages: children (colouring books), teenagers (comic book and CD) and adults (information leaflets on products that have to be marked with CE label). Also one episode of the TV-series Consumer broadcast on Channel Two of Polish Television plus a cycle of twelve programmes on the Polish Radio were devoted to the subject.

Additional information:
Elżbieta Anders, Spokesperson of UOKiK
International Relations and Communication Department
Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Ph.: (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 314
E-mail: [SCODE]ZWFuZGVyc0B1b2tpay5nb3YucGw=[ECODE]