17.4.2025 Annual report on product safety

The annual report on product safety in the EU is out. As usual, the information on dangerous products detected and the actions taken by the control authorities is a major focus of attention. As many as 20% more dangerous products were withdrawn from the market than in 2023, and even more can be expected in 2025 as new requirements on General product safety came into force on 13.12.2024.

We have already provided our first customers with the appropriate risk assessments for general purpose products (office products, classroom accessories, etc.), due diligence of the product portfolio, and have identified the mandatory compliance control measures and, of course, helped them to register with Safety Gate.

Not sure if your products fall under General Product Safety?

Not sure whether your page is meeting requirements from the regulation?

Find out more at info@projekt-k3.si.

Safety_Gate_2024_report_EN

15.4.2025 Regulatory relief in relation to sustainability reporting

The EU Parliament has just given final approval to the regulatory reliefs originally envisaged by the EU Commission for the vast majority of companies, relating to the so-called “green transition” reporting, with the urgent adoption of the Omnibus package of legislation.

All the “reporting” directives (CBAM on cross-border adjustment mechanism, CSRD sustainability reporting and CS3D on due diligence) have significantly reduced the scope of obliged parties (optional for less than 1,000 employees) and the scope of reporting, shifted some obligations to a voluntary level, and deferred obligations for at least 2 years.

However, the technical requirements for the transition to a circular economy remain, and more: just today, a work plan for the development of eco-design guidelines for priority product groups (textiles, furniture, rubber, steel and aluminium) in the framework of ECODESIGN 1781/2024/EU has been released.

The reassurances were thus overwhelmingly welcomed by SMEs, which have long warned of increasing administartive burdens with low direct impact of reporting on actual sustainability progress, a decline in competitiveness in a turbulent geopolitical and economic situation, and questionable real environmental impacts, and consequent large-scale EU investments and financial mechanisms addressing some aspects of the “green transition”, as already noted by the EU Court of Auditors in its Report 14/2024.

Despite the relief, we recommend that manufacturing companies in particular continue to make technical and technological improvements in the area of the green transition.

Where sustainability reporting requirements are still present in the supply chain, we recommend at least considering voluntary reporting under the simplified VSME standard, which is suitable for SMEs. For more information on how to proceed, please contact our partners at Surehub Institute, as the changes need to be implemented in a holistic way (info@surehub.si).

27.9.2024 INVITATION TO PROJECT COOPERATION

Due to a renewed increase in the volume of work and enquiries in the field of industrial equipment, we are inviting specialists in process safety and reliability (HAZOP, RAMS, IEC 62061 or ISO 13849-1), cyber security (IEC 62443) and process automation and robotics (upgrades of existing lines) to join our project collaboration. Applications and more info at: info@projekt-k3.si.

16.7.2024  NEW ECODESIGN REGULATION

On June 28 2024, the new Ecodesign Regulation 2024/1781 was published, repealing the Ecodesign Directive from 2009.

It provides the framework for future product-related delegated acts coming as early as mid-2025 that will activate obligations for specific product groups, in particular iron, steel, aluminum, textiles, furniture, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants, chemicals, information and communication technology products and of course, energy-related products.

However, the scope of the new regulation now extends to almost all physical products. The regulation introduces 16 criteria requirements for sustainable design of these products to make them more durable, reliable, reusable, upgradeable, repairable, easy to maintain, repair and recycle as well as more energy and resource efficient.

29.6.2023

New Machinery Regulation 2023/1230/EU is published

A new Machinery Regulation 1230/2023/EU has just been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, repealing the existing Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. The new Regulation will enter into force in mid-January 2027.

Watch our related content page as we delve deeper into the changes and challenges…👁

23.5.2023

The new General Product Safety Regulation 2023/988/EU is published

The new Regulation of 13.12.2024 replaces the previous General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC and updates the measures to protect the public interest in the use of products in the light of the new reality.

It introduces, among other things, a precautionary principle for the use of new technologies, extends the requirements to the extended life cycle of products, regulates the relationship between online sales of products and strengthens the requirements for market surveillance.

The new regulation will have a significant impact on the activities of economic operators as it will increase the requirement for prompt cooperation with market surveillance authorities, including for on-line sales of products from third countries.

The EU Commission plans to extend the Ecodesign Regulation from energy-using products (ErP) requiring an energy label to a number of new consumer product groups. While the Regulation is still in waiting line for the approval, standards for eco-design evaluation (functional and material evaluation) have already been developed for this purpose.

The Czech EU Presidency announces that the new Machinery Products Regulation (MPR) under its auspices should be approved by the end of this year. If this is the case, it will replace the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC after 16 long years. The finalization of the Regulation is also being closely monitored by Projekt K3.