The free movement of goods in Europe is at the heart of the EU project. While product safety is thus the responsibility of companies, common market surveillance was nonetheless introduced in 2010 in the form of a Europe-wide directive. Over 35 European directives have been enacted since 1987 with the aim of harmonising the legal regulations applying in member states. In Germany, the powers of public authorities are set down in the overarching Geräte- und Produktsicherheitsgesetz [Equipment and Product Safety Act]. These powers extend from the performance of investigations through to the destruction of dangerous products. The authorities are empowered to warn the general public in the event that other equally effective measures, including warnings issued by the manufacturer in particular, are not taken or not taken in good time.

The Information and Communication System for Market Surveillance (ICSMS) is playing an increasingly important role in monitoring the market. The system was developed by Germany and its European partners under the lead management of Baden-Württemberg’s former Ministry of Environment with financial support from the EU. This fast information and communication platform is now accessed by over 1,800 users from 400 public authorities. The public authority part of the system currently documents more than 31,000 products. The public part at www.icsms.org is available for use by consumers. Alongside product information users can also use an integrated search function to find the market surveillance authorities (refer also to “Occupational health and safety / Industrial inspection”).

Another project initiated by Baden-Württemberg to help business meet safety requirements is the CE Coach learning application. These modules, which are available on the internet, can be used in the university education of engineers as well as by individual companies for further training purposes (www.cecoach.de).