EU Rapid Alert System used to remove dangerous products
Εducation programme for 230,000 refugee children in Turkey
The EU in 2016: General Report of the activities of the European Union
National authorities use Rapid Alert System to remove more dangerous products from stores, and Commission works to tackle unsafe products sold online.
Today, the European Commission presented its latest report on the Rapid Alert System for dangerous products. In 2016, national authorities removed more dangerous products from stores. As more and more dangerous products are sold online, the Commission has stepped up its cooperation with Amazon, Ebay and Alibaba to tackle potentially unsafe or non-compliant products on their websites.
Since 2003, the Rapid Alert system ensures that information about dangerous non-food products withdrawn from the market and/or recalled anywhere in Europe is quickly circulated between Member States and the European Commission.
The cooperation between EU countries has intensified and they increasingly use the Rapid Alert System to ensure that dangerous products are quickly removed everywhere in Europe. In 2016, national authorities followed up more closely on alerts, taking the necessary measures to make the market a safer place for consumers. The European Commission has also worked with national authorities to make the system even more user-friendly and the public website has been modernised to encourage its use by companies and consumers.
In 2016, toys were the most notified product category (26%), followed by motor vehicles (18%), and clothing, textiles and fashion items (13%). The majority of dangerous products notified in the system came from outside the EU. China was the country of origin for 53% of notified products, representing a 9% drop compared to 2015. Dangerous products of European origin accounted for 23% of the notifications, 5% came from the United States and 2.6% came from Turkey.
The European Commission has an established, regular cooperation with the Chinese authorities on product safety issues. This cooperation includes, since 2006, a systematic exchange called "RAPEX-China" with the Chinese authorities on information related to notifications concerning dangerous products of Chinese origin detected by EU Member States. Since June 2016 this cooperation has been reinforced on product safety matters, with particular emphasis on the safety of products sold online.
The EC launched its largest ever humanitarian programme for education in emergencies to encourage 230,000 refugee children to attend school in Turkey.
The European Commission has today launched its largest ever humanitarian programme for education in emergencies to encourage some 230,000 refugee children to attend school in Turkey.
Turkey is currently host to more than three million refugees, almost half of whom are children. Education for school-age children is a key challenge, with 500,000 children enrolled in formal education across the country (in Turkish schools and Temporary Education Centres), while an estimated 370,000 remain out of school.
The €34 million 'Conditional Cash Transfer for Education' project will provide bimonthly cash-transfers as of May 2017 to vulnerable refugee families whose children regularly attend school. The project will be implemented in partnership with UNICEF and its partner, the Turkish Red Crescent in support of the Government of Turkey.
The contract with UNICEF comes on top of €517 million already contracted for humanitarian aid and increases the total amount contracted for humanitarian and non-humanitarian actions under the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey to €1.5 billion. Out of this, €777 million has been disbursed to date.
The General Report of the activities of the European Union provides an insight into the major EU events, initiatives and decisions of 2016.
Do you want to know what progress the EU made in delivering on its priorities in 2016? And how the EU citizens benefited from the Union?
Today the European Commission published the 2016 edition of the General Report on the activities of the European Union.
The General Report complements the White Paper on the future of Europe, providing an insight into the major EU events, initiatives and decisions of 2016.The Report and a separate shorter summary of it present the EU's activities in a citizen-friendly way and are intended to be interesting and accessible not only for those familiar with EU affairs, but also for the general public, including those who know little about the EU's activities.
The publication of the General Report is a Treaty obligation, set out in Article 249(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The Report is available in all EU official languages.