The Commission notes with satisfaction that the common position of the Council broadly reflects the substance and spirit of its proposal. It notes that the Council supports the central objective of the proposal, namely to enhance consumer safety through greater transparency, more active market surveillance, better cooperation between Member States, more clearly defined responsibilities of producers and distributors, tighter criteria for assessing the safety if products and more effective rules for the Community-wide withdrawal from the market of dangerous products presenting serious risks and for prohibiting the export of such products withdrawn from the market at Community level. The proposal also strengthens the Community rapid information system (RAPEX). The Commission considers that there is a solid basis for a final decision to be taken in 2001 and supports the text.
It should also be noted that the Commission asked for statements concerning the publishing of a guide to facilitate the implementation of the Directive on general product safety, the devising of criteria for facilitating application of the definition of serious risk, identification of needs, possibilities and priorities for Community action in respect of the safety of services and the responsibilty of service providers and the facilitating of the European networking of authorities reponsible for product safety, to be inserted when the common position is adopted.�