BAKGRUNN (fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1) Under Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, if information on a product safety recall is provided to consumers in written form, it should take the form of a recall notice. Pursuant to Article 35(4) of that Regulation, when not all of the consumers affected by a recall can be directly contacted, economic operators and providers of online marketplaces, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, shall disseminate a clear and visible recall notice.

(2) To ensure that consumers react to product safety recalls, the recall notice should be clear, transparent, and clearly describe the hazard at stake. Regulation (EU) 2023/988 sets out the mandatory information that a recall notice should contain.

(3) To facilitate and promote a consistent approach and uniform practices across the EU in relation to recall notices, it is necessary to lay down a template for product safety recall notices. A single, standardised template for product safety recalls should facilitate consumers in identifying and understanding recall notices, and it should ensure easier and more uniform compliance with the requirements set out in Article 35 and 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 for economic operators and providers of online marketplaces.

(4) Regulation (EU) 2023/988 requires the Commission to set out the template for a recall notice taking into account scientific and market developments, and to make it available in a format that enables economic operators to easily create a recall notice. The most technically appropriate solution for making this template available would be for the Commission to publish it on its website.

(5) Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 requires that the recall notice should be in accessible formats for people with disabilities. This implies for instance that when a recall notice is shared online, it takes into account standards and best practices for web accessibility. In particular, if important information about the recalled product or the identification of the products concerned by the recall is contained in a picture, it is essential that such information is spelled out in order to be machine-readable. 

(6) Consumers should be clearly informed about the safety precautions and actions they have to take as part of the recall. In particular, the recall notice should mention that the consumer should immediately stop using the recalled product. Experience shows that in certain cases this instruction may not be applicable, for instance where a car is still capable of a temporary limited operation and it is possible for the consumer to drive it to a repair shop under certain conditions; in such cases the recall notice should clearly specify under which conditions the product can still be used.

(7) To provide economic operators with sufficient time to adapt their internal processes in relation to a recall notice, this Regulation should enter into application on the same date as Regulation (EU) 2023/988,