Compliance intelligence for the General Product Safety Regulation — marketplace obligations, recall procedures, Safety Gate notifications, and online selling.
Certean Signals tracks 5 verified regulatory signals on EU Product Safety Regulation, most often involving CE Marking, EU Machinery Regulation, EU EMC Directive, EU Radio Equipment Directive and affecting European Union, Germany, France, Netherlands. Coverage runs from 5 May 2026 to 7 October 2026; each signal cites its official source and carries key dates and a confidence level.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, has applied directly in all 27 Member States since 12 August 2026, replacing Directive 94/62/EC. It covers all packaging regardless of material and binds manufacturers, importers, distributors and producers through conformity assessment, EU declarations of conformity, Annex VII technical documentation, Annex V single-use format bans and PFAS restrictions in food-contact packaging. Member States must have penalty frameworks in place by 12 February 2027.
EU harmonisation legislation requires manufacturers to compile a technical file before placing a product on the EU market and to retain it for 10 years from the date of market placement. The requirement applies across CE marking categories including machinery, low voltage and radio equipment. The file must contain design specifications, risk assessments, test reports and the Declaration of Conformity, and must be available to market surveillance authorities on request.
The European Commission's Blue Guide on EU Product Rules (Official Journal C 247, 27.4.2022) confirms that only notified bodies may issue valid certificates for harmonised products, and only within their designated notification scope. Voluntary certificates from non-notified bodies have no legal value during market surveillance or customs checks. The clarification applies immediately across all EU member states and affects manufacturers in machinery, EMC, radio equipment and personal protective equipment sectors.
European market surveillance authorities reported 961 dangerous products through the EU Safety Gate rapid alert system in Q1 2026. Cosmetics accounted for 26.1% of alerts (251 reports), toys 17.66% and electrical articles 15.3%, with 446 products (46.4%) originating from China. Recalls were ordered for 335 products (35%). Manufacturers and importers selling into the EU face coordinated bans across up to 13 countries, with the next deadline the Packaging Regulation on 12 August 2026.
Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 sets the accreditation and market surveillance framework for products placed on the EU market, replacing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93. Manufacturers inside and outside the EU carry identical obligations: identify applicable requirements, determine whether CE marking applies, complete the conformity assessment, draw up technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity, and retain both for 10 years after the product is placed on the market.
