Strengthening supervision of the children’s toys market
Today, the Government approved the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation's (EIMIN) initiative to update Lithuania's toy safety system in line with the latest European Union requirements. This will further strengthen protection against unsafe children’s toys.
'In view of the rapid development of digital technologies, and to ensure a higher level of protection for children’s safety and health, as well as to achieve harmonised toy safety requirements across the EU, supervision of the toy safety market in Lithuania is being updated. This will reflect today's technological realities and enable us to prevent dangerous toys from entering the Lithuanian market more effectively. With stricter supervision, unsafe and non-compliant toys will not reach the market,' said Waldemar Urban, Vice Minister for the Economy and Innovation.
In implementing the EU Regulation on toy safety, EIMIN will perform the functions of a notifying authority, which is responsible for designating conformity assessment bodies. The Lithuanian Accreditation and Standardisation Agency (LASA) will assess and monitor notified bodies (independent assessment), while the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority (VVTAT) will be responsible for toy market surveillance. The notified body will provide the Ministry with information on unsafe toys on the market.
The EU Regulation on toy safety came into force on 1 January this year, while most of its provisions will apply from 1 August 2030. This provides businesses with a transition period to prepare for the new requirements whilst enabling EU Member States to strengthen their market surveillance mechanisms.
Lithuania will be required to inform the European Commission of the designated authorities in the field of toy safety.