How safe are the electrical products on the market?

                                                                                                                                                                                       

The European Single Market with the EU and EFTA member countries, has
developed over more than 40 years through various regulations and practices. In 2008, the New Legislative Framework was introduced to further operationalize the principle of free movement of goods with guarantee of only safe products on the market.

However, with the rapidly evolving trade environment, compliance issues have arisen and a significant percentage of products are failing to meet the requirements. In 2017, a market analysis by the European Commission showed that as much as 32% of toys, 58% of electronics, 47% of construction products, and 40% of personal protective equipment were not meeting the requirements mandated in the law.

Recently, in 2022, the TIC Council did likewise conduct a market study to assess the compliance of consumer electrical products with basic safety requirements.
120 samples were sourced from seven different European countries and tested to relevant safety standards in accredited laboratories. The samples were electrical consumer products which had CE-marking but no other certification mark (i.e. only self-assessed by their manufacturers, without the involvement of a third-party conformity assessment body). Alarmingly, the results showed that 85 out of the 120 tested products purchased in Europe were not in compliance with the relevant standards.  
Also, between 2012 and 2017, the TIC Council carried out several such studies. When now comparing, they found that the 2022 results actually showed an increase of 15% in the total number of non-conformities and that share of dangerous non-conformities had increased from 17% to 23%.  

Likewise, the pan-European reporting system RAPEX  shows a high number of non-compliant products on the market, leading to frequent injuries.
As a result, several parties are now advocating for a revision of the New Legislative Framework.

Summary of TIC Council’s report may be seen in full at this link

(Article is based on TIC Council Market Study Report 2022 edited by T.Sollie)