The Basics of Product Safety Unit at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin, BAuA) has been active since the beginning of the 2000s as the National Contact Point for the European Safety Gate rapid alert system (formerly RAPEX). As the connecting link between the national and European market surveillance authorities and the European Commission, it advises authorities, businesses, and consumers about questions relating to the rapid alert system and the associated portals. Above all, the Contact Point is tasked with verifying notifications about dangerous non-food products.
When the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR) and the relevant implementing regulations entered into force on 13 December 2024, all the national contact points took on what were in some cases new duties that are intended to ensure the rapid alert system operates effectively. The European Commission summarized these duties in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2639.
Overview of the EU Safety Gate rapid alert system’s instruments and access requirements
| Instrument | Target group | Description | Login required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety Gate Portal | Consumers, business actors, authorities | Information portal, e.g. on dangerous products |
No |
| Consumer Safety Gateway | Consumers | Platform for notification of accidents with products | EU Login* |
| Safety Business Gateway | Economic operators | Platform for notification of product recalls and accidents with products | EU Login* |
| Online Marketplace Registration Module | Economic operators | Registration module for online marketplaces | EU Login* |
| Safety Gate | Authorities | Communication platform for the Safety Gate network | Access restricted to authorities** |
| Product Safety eSurveillance Webcrawler | Authorities | Search machine for hazardous products | Access restricted to authorities** |
*Users self-register to create an EU Login account
**Administered by the national Safety Gate Contact Point
BAuA’s duties as the National Safety Gate Contact Point in the EU rapid alert system
Safety Gate notifications – upstream
The Contact Point examines the completeness and consistency of notifications from national market surveillance authorities. Only after they have been verified successfully (and been found to be complete and consistent) they are validated and submitted (upstream) to the European Commission pursuant to Article 25 (2) (1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988.
Previously, however, the National Contact Point checks whether the product that is the subject of the notification in question has already been notified in the system. Should that be the case, it will collaborate with the competent market surveillance authority to communicate a follow-up notification pursuant to Article 26 (7) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (reaction), where this is appropriate.
Safety Gate notifications – downstream
At the national level, the Contact Point circulates daily (downstream) the latest notifications from all the Member States that have been validated by the European Commission in the rapid alert system. This enables the national market surveillance authorities to take appropriate follow-up actions.
Notifications are circulated to the competent authorities via the BSCW-Bund document management system. All registered authorities are informed about new notifications daily by email.
Safety Gate notifications – additional information and reactions
The Contact Point can submit additional information about a notification in the rapid alert system that has been supplied to the market surveillance authorities by economic operators or providers of online marketplaces. The Contact Point directly informs the relevant Member State’s contact point about the matter or submits a reaction in Safety Gate, which in turn has to be validated by the European Commission.
Support for authorities
The Contact Point supports the national market surveillance authorities in using the rapid alert system. For this purpose, BAuA offers training above all for authorities that are not able to access Safety Gate directly, but have to submit notifications via the rapid alert system. Inquiries about training courses can be addressed to the Contact Point at any time, and individual assistance and advice can of course be provided in specific cases.
The training on offer can cover the implementation of the guidelines for Safety Gate, fundamental formal requirements concerning the completeness and consistency of information, and in particular the technical use of the ICSMS Safety Gate interface.
Access rights
The Contact Point is responsible for administering national users for the internal area of Safety Gate and grants access for users at the request of the market surveillance authorities. In addition, the Contact Point can activate the interface to Safety Gate in ICSMS.
Furthermore, the National Contact Point is able to grant access for the competent authorities in the BSCW-Bund document management system for downstream national communication.
Product Safety eSurveillance Webcrawler
The Contact Point informs the market surveillance authorities about the option of using the Product Safety eSurveillance Webcrawler and, where applicable, similar instruments. These tools, which have been developed by the European Commission and other actors, can be used to find products that are sold online. The national authorities can take the automated searches they conduct as the basis for follow-up actions and report their outcomes to the national Contact Point.
The Contact Point is responsible in particular for the national registration of users and passes on contacts for users that wish to discuss technical issues or obtain support for the Product Safety eSurveillance Webcrawler.
Safety Business Gateway
The Contact Point advises economic operators about the use of the Safety Business Gateway. They have to use the portal for the Europe-wide notification of product recalls and accidents with products.
Complementing this, the national Contact Point grants access to the competent authorities to a document management system and informs all registered authorities about new notifications daily by email.
Consumer Safety Gateway
The Contact Point advises consumers about the use of the Consumer Safety Gateway. They can use the portal for the Europe-wide notification of dangerous products and accidents with products. The notifications received are validated by the European Commission and forwarded to the national contact points for further circulation. The national contact points inform the national market surveillance authorities.
Online Marketplace Registration Module
Pursuant to Article 22 (1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, providers of online marketplaces are obliged to register with Safety Gate and provide details of their single contact point.
The Contact Point has access to this registration portal and is able to supply the market surveillance authorities with information about registered online marketplaces.
Safety Gate network
The Contact Point at BAuA collaborates closely with the other Safety Gate contact points and the European Commission. At the national level, the Contact Point maintains contacts with the Central Authority of the Federal States for Safety (Zentralstelle der Länder für Sicherheitstechnik, ZLS), the German Market Surveillance Forum (Deutsches Marktüberwachungsforum, DMÜF), the Single Liaison Office (SLO), and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz, BMUV).
For the most part, the information shared is relevant for the operation of Safety Gate and all the associated portals. For example, the Contact Point informs the European Commission about technical problems relating to the operation of the rapid alert system.
Processing of inquiries
The Contact Point responds to inquiries about the operation of the Safety Gate rapid alert system from stakeholders, including economic operators and providers of online marketplaces. Answers to questions about the implementation of the General Product Safety Regulation can be found at https://www.bmuv.de/WS7398 (German).
