The Safety Gate (Rapex) System
To ensure more effective corrective measures for products posing a risk beyond the territory of a single Member State, the RAPEX system needed to be modernized, leading to the creation of the new “Safety Gate” system.
Safety Gate comprises four elements: the Safety Gate rapid alert system, the Safety Gate portal, the Safety Business Gateway, and an interoperable interface for online marketplace providers
1. an early warning system for hazardous non-food products, through which national authorities and the Commission can exchange information on such products (the Safety Gate early warning system);
2. an internet portal that will inform the public and allow them to file complaints (the Safety Gate portal);
3. an internet portal enabling businesses to fulfill their obligation to inform authorities
and consumers about dangerous products and incidents (Safety Business Gateway); 4. an interoperable interface of the Safety Gate portal for online marketplace providers - (EU)2024/1459. There is
an interface between these elements of Safety Gate. The Safety Gate early warning system is an internal system through which authorities and the Commission exchange information on measures concerning dangerous products and which may contain confidential information. Information is then published on the Safety Gate portal to alert the public about dangerous products. The Safety Business Gateway is an online portal through which businesses notify market surveillance authorities in Member States about dangerous products and incidents. The interoperability interface allows online marketplace providers to connect their interfaces to the Safety Gate portal.
The Safety Business Gateway portal enables economic operators to fulfill their obligations to inform market surveillance authorities and consumers about dangerous products they have placed on the market. This portal serves to facilitate the rapid and effective exchange of information between economic operators and national authorities and to facilitate the transmission of information from economic operators to consumers.
Member States should report, through the Safety Gate rapid alert system, both mandatory and voluntary corrective measures that prevent, restrict, or subject the placing of a product on the market to specific conditions due to a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers, or in the case of products covered by Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. Member States and the Commission should make information on risks to consumer health and safety posed by products available to the public. All such information must be available in the official language or languages of the Member State where the consumer resides and must be formulated clearly and comprehensibly. Member States are encouraged to report all corrective actions concerning products posing a risk to consumer health and safety through the Safety Gate early warning system. The Safety Gate database and website should be easily accessible to persons with disabilities.
Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/2748, sets out the obligations for specific economic operators:
- Obligations of manufacturers, see Article 9
- Obligations of authorized representatives: see Article 10
- Obligations of importers, see Article 11
- Obligations of distributors, see Article 12
- Cases where the obligations of the manufacturer apply to other persons, see Article 13
- Obligations of economic operators in the case of distance selling, see Article 19
- Obligations of economic operators in the event of accidents related to product safety, see Article 20
- Specific obligations of online marketplace providers regarding product safety, see Article 22
Link to Safety Gate: Safety Gate: the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products
