The European Union plans to tighten controls over "very dangerous" goods sold on online platforms, including Chinese marketplaces Shein and Alibaba, EU Justice Commissioner Mike McGrath said on Tuesday, according to the European Commission. Financial Times.
He said the bloc was not sufficiently protecting its citizens from the growing flow of dangerous goods shipped directly from China to buyers' homes.
"I am very concerned about the volume of dangerous products entering the European Union. I believe that we have an obligation to better protect EU citizens, and we also have an obligation to ensure a level playing field for European businesses," McGrath said.
He said that national authorities annually identify products that are "very dangerous, have serious consequences for people's lives" and can "even lead to death."
Customs and law enforcement officials were overwhelmed, and, as McGrath admitted, only “a small fraction of the dangerous products entering the European Union were stopped. The Commissioner believes that this is not enough.
He said that in 2024, around 4,6 billion low-value parcels arrived in the EU, a number that is doubling every two years. The commissioner said that around 90% of them come from China.
The FT writes that McGrath's plan involves transferring the powers to investigate the most serious cross-border cases to the European Commission in order to reduce the burden on national authorities, which are underfunded.
He will also propose updating consumer protection and market surveillance rules.
"The current system is not fit for purpose," — said the commissioner.
McGrath reported that when unsafe products were discovered, very often, thanks to consumer organizations, platforms were usually able to remove them from sale with impunity.
"I think stronger deterrent measures are needed," — McGrath summed up.
The Financial Times notes that among the most commonly identified dangerous goods are cosmetics and toys.
Under EU technical rules, marketplaces are classified as platforms, not retailers. They are therefore not liable for goods purchased through their sites that come directly from retailers, usually outside the EU.
At the same time, platforms are required to cooperate with authorities and remove problematic products from sale upon detection.
