On Wednesday, Parliament approved its position on revamped EU rules on toy safety with 603 votes in favour, 5 against and 15 abstentions. The text responds to a number of new challenges, mainly stemming from digital toys and online shopping, and converts the existing directive into a directly applicable regulation.

Ban on harmful chemicals

Focusing on children’s health and development, the proposal strengthens the requirements and bans on certain chemical substances in toys. The existing prohibition on carcinogenic and mutagenic substances or substances toxic for reproduction (CRM) is extended to chemicals that are particularly harmful to children, such as endocrine disruptors or chemicals affecting the respiratory system. The rules also target chemicals that are toxic to specific organs or are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. Toys should not contain any per- and polyfluorinated alkil substances (PFASs) either.

Strengthening checks

All toys sold in the EU will have to…