For Christmas, make sure you are not fooled into buying counterfeit and potentially dangerous toys.

 

Designed to defraud and deceive, counterfeit products such as fake toys pose a threat both to Europesn citizens and the European economy. Counterfeits’ inferior quality raises significant health and safety concerns, and their fraudulent business model puts thousands of jobs in jeopardy. To highlight the dangers of counterfeit goods, today in a toy shop in Rome, Vice President Antonio Tajani, European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry will present the EU Stop Fakes campaign.

Eu rules for toys impose the highest safety requirements in the world. To ensure these laws are correctly implemented and effective we need to ensure they are applied in practice by reliable and trustworthy toy manufacturers and retailers: backed up by efficient market surveillance by Member States’ authorities and, importantly, that consumers know what to look for when they buy toys for children. If one or more of these elements is missing, dangerous toys may still reach our children.

As part of on-going “European Toy Safety” campaign, the European Commission created a video informing consumers how to both buy safe toys and use them safety.

ThHere some safety tips to be kept in mind when buying toys and playing with them:

• Never buy toys without the CE mark
• Watch out for counterfeit toys
• Do not buy toys with small detachable parts for children under 3 years of age
• Read all warnings and instructions

  For more advice on toys safety check: ec.europa.eu/enterprise/toys-tips