CHAPTER IVSpecific obligations and powers of the Member States

Article 8

1.

For the purposes of this Directive, and in particular of Article 6 thereof, the competent authorities of the Member States shall be entitled to take, inter alia, the measures in (a) and in (b) to (f) below, where appropriate:

(a)

for any product:

  1. (i)

    to organise, even after its being placed on the market as being safe, appropriate checks on its safety properties, on an adequate scale, up to the final stage of use or consumption;

  2. (ii)

    to require all necessary information from the parties concerned;

  3. (iii)

    to take samples of products and subject them to safety checks;

(b)

for any product that could pose risks in certain conditions:

  1. (i)

    to require that it be marked with suitable, clearly worded and easily comprehensible warnings, in the official languages of the Member State in which the product is marketed, on the risks it may present;

  2. (ii)

    to make its marketing subject to prior conditions so as to make it safe;

(c)

for any product that could pose risks for certain persons:

  • to order that they be given warning of the risk in good time and in an appropriate form, including the publication of special warnings;

(d)

for any product that could be dangerous:

  • for the period needed for the various safety evaluations, checks and controls, temporarily to ban its supply, the offer to supply it or its display;

(e)

for any dangerous product:

  • to ban its marketing and introduce the accompanying measures required to ensure the ban is complied with;

(f)

for any dangerous product already on the market:

  1. (i)

    to order or organise its actual and immediate withdrawal, and alert consumers to the risks it presents;

  2. (ii)

    to order or coordinate or, if appropriate, to organise together with producers and distributors its recall from consumers and its destruction in suitable conditions.

2.

When the competent authorities of the Member States take measures such as those provided for in paragraph 1, in particular those referred to in (d) to (f), they shall act in accordance with the Treaty, and in particular Articles 28 and 30 thereof, in such a way as to implement the measures in a manner proportional to the seriousness of the risk, and taking due account of the precautionary principle.

In this context, they shall encourage and promote voluntary action by producers and distributors, in accordance with the obligations incumbent on them under this Directive, and in particular Chapter III thereof, including where applicable by the development of codes of good practice.

If necessary, they shall organise or order the measures provided for in paragraph 1(f) if the action undertaken by the producers and distributors in fulfilment of their obligations is unsatisfactory or insufficient. Recall shall take place as a last resort. It may be effected within the framework of codes of good practice on the matter in the Member State concerned, where such codes exist.

F13.

In the case of products posing a serious risk, the competent authorities shall with due dispatch take the appropriate measures referred to in paragraph 1(b) to (f). The existence of a serious risk shall be determined by the Member States, assessing each individual case on its merits and taking into account the guidelines referred to in point 8 of Annex II.

4.

The measures to be taken by the competent authorities under this Article shall be addressed, as appropriate, to:

(a)

the producer;

(b)

within the limits of their respective activities, distributors and in particular the party responsible for the first stage of distribution on the national market;

(c)

any other person, where necessary, with a view to cooperation in action taken to avoid risks arising from a product.