Unsafe toys, electrical goods and other products keep reaching European consumers through online marketplaces, and often nobody in the EU answers for them. The European Product Act should change that by making platforms more accountable. The Commission, however, keeps delaying it.

Millions of parcels arrive in the European Union every day, many from online marketplaces outside the bloc. But when a product is dangerous, authorities often struggle to identify who is responsible.

The problem sits at the centre of the European Product Act. Last week, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee discussed it at a public hearing with national authorities, consumer organisations, and businesses. The legislation would update the EU’s product rules dating back to 2008. It would also strengthen safety checks and change the rules for repaired and refurbished goods.

Billions of parcels, nobody to blame

The current framework counts on identifiable manufacturers, importers, and distributors. But today, sellers outside the EU ship products directly to European consumers, making it harder for authorities to check compliance.

Around 6bn low-value parcels entered the EU in 2025, according to the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). The number keeps growing. Consumer organisations say unsafe toys, electrical products, and cosmetics continue to appear, even after authorities take them down.

For Patrycja Gautier, head of consumer rights at BEUC, the greatest difficulty is enforcing existing rules. When authorities identify a dangerous product sold by a company outside the EU, there is no responsible business within the bloc to provide documentation or face penalties.

Ms Gautier pointed to recent safety checks. In only 22 per cent of cases, a designated EU representative confirmed responsibility and complied with obligations. “The European Product Act should close this important gap and ensure that there is always a party who can be held responsible for products that are found unsafe,” she said.

For large companies, low fines risk becoming merely a cost of doing business. — Patrycja Gautier, head of consumer rights at BEUC

“If online marketplaces profit from access to the single market, they might also contribute to protecting it,” Ms Gautier told lawmakers. She also called for stronger investigations and penalties, warning: “For large companies, low fines risk becoming merely a cost of doing business.” She argued that penalties should be linked to a percentage of companies’ turnover.

Brussels considers new powers

The European Commission is considering requiring every imported product to have a responsible operator within the EU. Barbara Bonvissuto, a director in the Commission’s internal market and industry department, said the European Product Act could make online marketplaces check whether products have a valid digital passport and an authorised representative before listing them.

The digital product passport would contain information to help authorities trace products and verify their compliance. A product that breaks the rules could lose its passport.

The Commission is also weighing a more direct enforcement role for itself. “Our idea is that when there is a problem and the national market surveillance authorities are not acting, and the problem is of EU scale, and there is a high risk, then the Commission may be able to carry out an investigation on its own,” Ms Bonvissuto explained.

Inspectors struggle to keep up

For national authorities, the existing system is already under pressure. Fanni Oroszi, deputy state secretary at Hungary’s Ministry for Economy and Energy, warned that the growing number of small parcels makes inspections practically impossible.

She described a Hungarian inspection exercise targeting packages from Temu, Shein, AliExpress, and Amazon. Authorities inspected 300 packages. All 20 suspect products they tested were non-compliant. Some presented choking or electric shock hazards.

Ms Oroszi argued that the European Product Act should establish clearer responsibilities, improve information-sharing between customs and market surveillance authorities, and strengthen digital monitoring. She also called for a system in which online marketplaces automatically verify product compliance information before they offer goods for sale.

Proposal on hold

The Commission initially planned to present the European Product Act in the third quarter of 2026. However, the proposal has slipped. Once the Commission publishes it, Parliament and member states will examine it.