CHAPTER 5

UNION MARKET SURVEILLANCE, CONTROL OF PRODUCTS, SAFEGUARD PROVISIONS

Procedure for dealing with marine equipment presenting a risk at national level
Article 26
1
Where the market surveillance authorities of a Member State have sufficient reason to believe that marine equipment covered by this Directive presents a risk to maritime safety, to health or to the environment, they shall carry out an evaluation in relation to the marine equipment concerned covering all the requirements laid down in this Directive. The relevant economic operators shall cooperate as necessary with the market surveillance authorities.
Where, in the course of that evaluation, the market surveillance authorities find that the marine equipment does not comply with the requirements laid down in this Directive, they shall without delay require the relevant economic operator to take all appropriate corrective actions to bring the marine equipment into compliance with those requirements, to withdraw the marine equipment from the market, or to recall it within such reasonable period, commensurate with the nature of the risk, as they may prescribe.
The market surveillance authorities shall inform the relevant notified body accordingly.
Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 shall apply to the measures referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph.
2
Where the market surveillance authorities consider that non-compliance is not restricted to their national territory or to ships flying their flag, they shall inform the Commission and the other Member States, by means of the information system made available by the Commission for market surveillance purposes, of the results of the evaluation carried out under paragraph 1 and of the actions which they have required the economic operator to take.
3
The economic operator shall ensure that all appropriate corrective action is taken in respect of all the products concerned that it has made available on the market throughout the Union or, as the case may be, placed or delivered to be placed on board EU ships.
4
Where the relevant economic operator does not take adequate corrective action within the period prescribed by the market surveillance authorities in accordance with the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, or otherwise fails to meet its obligations under this Directive, the market surveillance authorities shall take all appropriate provisional measures to prohibit or restrict the marine equipment being made available on their national market or placed on board ships flying their flag, to withdraw the product from that market or to recall it.
The market surveillance authorities shall inform the Commission and the other Member States, without delay, of those measures.
5
The information on the measures taken by the market surveillance authorities referred to in paragraph 4 shall include all available details, in particular the data necessary for the identification of the non-compliant marine equipment, the origin of the product, the nature of the alleged non-compliance and the risk involved, the nature and duration of the national measures taken and the arguments put forward by the economic operator concerned. In particular, the market surveillance authorities shall indicate whether the non-compliance is due to either:
a
failure of the marine equipment to comply with the applicable design, construction and performance requirements as laid down pursuant to Article 4;
b
non-compliance with the testing standards referred to in Article 4 during the conformity assessment procedure;
c
shortcomings in those testing standards.
6
Member States other than the Member State initiating the procedure shall without delay inform the Commission and the other Member States of any measures adopted and of any additional information at their disposal relating to the non-compliance of the marine equipment concerned, and, in the event of disagreement with the notified national measure, of their objections.
7
Where, within four months of receipt of the information concerning the measures taken by the market surveillance authorities, as referred to in paragraph 4, no objection has been raised by a Member State or by the Commission in respect of a provisional measure taken by a Member State, that measure shall be deemed justified.
8
Member States shall ensure that appropriate restrictive measures in respect of the marine equipment concerned, such as withdrawal of the product from their market, are taken without delay.