Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-25-Speech-2-050"
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"en.20070925.5.2-050"2
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"Madam President, I am pleased that there are in fact two commissioners here. This is evidence of a dynamic approach to the recent problem concerning Mattel. This problem is of course twofold, which is now also evidenced by the fact that it is less serious when it relates to China, and by the fact that Mattel too has made an error. As I said, this problem is twofold. I believe, first of all – and here I would like to reiterate Clinton’s words – that politicians must think first and act later. These were the words of President Clinton during an election meeting last year, during which he also said that we must not immediately become stressed when a button is pushed, as in the case of toys. I too am guilty of this on occasion. When something happens, we politicians become stressed and immediately want more stringent measures and stricter regulations. I believe that we must think first, before we take action. Fortunately, this is what we did with our resolution.
This brings me to the second item, that is to say why the Mattel problem also has a positive consequence; in particular, we are going to expressly consider the importance of a CE marking, a quality mark that indicates safety, and the way in which we can improve that mark.
I fully agree with what Commissioner Verheugen says about the fact that 100% safety and security can never be achieved; however – following on now from Mrs Gebhardt – we must nevertheless strive to achieve 100% safety. If a product bears the CE marking, this raises the issue of 100% liability, which is of course of great importance to the consumer. If the CE marking is present, then the consumer knows that if something should go wrong with the product he or she has purchased, he or she will always have recourse to the manufacturer or importer.
The resolution on which we will be voting tomorrow, Madam President, relates to this matter in particular. I feel that we have prepared an excellent resolution; the supervision – and here I am in complete agreement with Commissioner Kuneva, who says that we do not need more legislation, but rather that we must regulate existing legislation more effectively and efficiently – is open to improvement. We cannot leave it to the individual Member States to exercise control in third countries. I believe that a coordinated European approach in cooperation with the Member States is essential in order to achieve this and I hope that the Commission will make efforts to establish this.
Subsequently, Madam President, it must also be clear to consumers which marks exist. We have the CE marking and, in the resolution, we are also calling for a toy safety marking, at the very least as a replacement for all existing national markings. The aim is not to establish a selection of markings, as a result of which the consumer would no longer be able to see the forest for the trees and would therefore no longer be able to make a clear choice, as I feel that by doing so, we would be overshooting the goal. Things must become clearer, with fewer, but improved regulations. I believe that this is of the utmost importance. Subsequently, I hope that we can introduce these markings on a voluntary basis, as the market will enforce it. If we are going to create obligations, we as an authority must carry out monitoring and I think that the market, the consumer, will opt above all for safety and a clear marking. If this were to happen, my group and I would be entirely satisfied with the decision. We look forward to the revision of the Toys Directive, which you have already mentioned."@en1
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