Draft law amending the Act on Conformity Assessment of Products (533 SE) – First Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
Date: 2024-12-12 12:04
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 36
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 22m
AI Summaries: 36/36 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu debated the first reading of bill 533 amending the Product Conformity Act. Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo presented the bill, which has two main objectives: to align the law with the European Union’s new general product safety regulation and to clarify the pricing of services provided by the Estonian Accreditation Centre. Changes in EU law are due to digitalisation and globalized supply chains, requiring the designation of a responsible person for products imported from third countries (outside the EU), who must be located within EU jurisdiction. This is an important step in controlling dangerous and non-conforming products entering the internal market via online commerce. The second change concerns the Estonian Accreditation Centre's transition to service-based pricing to ensure fairer cost recovery and avoid sharing costs among all clients. The debate focused on the legal responsibility of the responsible person and what happens to non-conforming goods seized by customs. The leading committee proposed concluding the first reading.
Decisions Made 2
Bill 533 has concluded its first reading.
The deadline for submitting amendments was set for December 31st at 1:15 PM.
Most Active Speaker
Rene Kokk was the most active questioner, repeatedly asking about the fate of goods not meeting requirements ordered from third countries (return, destruction, refund of money) and the costs associated with it. (other)
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The first item on the agenda is the first reading of Draft Law No. 533, initiated by the Government of the Republic, on amendments to the Product Conformity Act; the presenter is Erkki Keldo, Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
The briefing informs that the draft brings the Product Compliance Act into alignment with EU law, including the implementation of the new General Product Safety Regulation and the establishment of the obligation for the person responsible for products from third countries, and at the same time the pricing of the Estonian Accreditation Centre's assessment services is changed to service-based pricing, where each accreditation application covers its own review costs.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller notes that there are questions, and asks for Urve Tiiduse's help.
Urve Tiidus
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Urve Tiidus asks how, when bringing goods from third countries to the EU market, the importer bears responsibility and on what principle this is based, considering the magnitude of risk and the benefits arising from cooperation with third countries.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
They stated that a company importing from a third country must have a responsible person in the European Union or in our jurisdiction; otherwise, consumer protection and supervisory authorities will have a hard time solving problems.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller asks Rene Kokkil to take the floor.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk provides an example in which an Estonian orders goods from China via Temu; the goods arrive in Estonia but do not meet the European Union's product requirements, and the person has paid but cannot receive the goods, although there are some return options.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
The speech contained only one word: "Just".
AI Summary
They raise the question that a large portion of the goods remains unreturned and sits somewhere, and they ask whether the consumer can get their money back and what will be done with these goods going forward—whether they will be destroyed or something else will be done.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
The new regulation has two objectives: consumer protection and ensuring fair competition within the European Union, which means that online shops must offer a 14-day free return, display the contact details of a designated responsible individual and the option to claim damages, if the product is defective or the seller lacks an EU representative, and it emphasizes a transition period and the need for the buyer's online platform to clearly list all essential information, which helps prevent suspicious purchases and ensures better market oversight.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The speech opens with a prayer for Jüri Jaanson to step onto the stage.
Jüri Jaanson
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Jüri Jaanson said that the law is necessary and welcome and will come into force next year, but the supervisory authority has estimated that as a result two new posts will need to be created at a cost of up to 100,000 euros per year, and he asked whether this cost has already been accounted for in the next state budget.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
Erkki Keldo said that TTJA confirmed that no additional staff would be hired, the existing resource would be used more efficiently, and the state must become more efficient and deal with control mechanisms and the risk matrix.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Arvo Aller asked Lauri Laatsi to come forward.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They thank the chair of the meeting and the minister, and say that they watched the TV program 'Pealtnägija' yesterday and ask whether the minister managed to see it.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
Erkki Keldo answered briefly: "Unfortunately not."
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats discusses the law on conformity with product requirements and the problem of honey counterfeiting and mislabeling, noting that laboratory tests may show that honey’s DNA does not match honey’s identifying characteristics, and he asks whether the law regulates such a situation.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
Economy and Industry Minister Erkki Keldo said that deceiving consumers by presenting goods under a name that is not actually what they are is prohibited; although customs only conduct risk-based checks on a portion of products and do not always know whether the product is genuine, deceiving the consumer and providing false information about a product are punishable.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller requests that Mart Maastik be invited to speak.
Mart Maastik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Maastik asks what the legal form of the liability of the person responsible for the online store should be, and what the contract should look like, what his liability is, and whether the liability must be secured by personal assets or should belong to a company in order to avoid a situation where there is no liability.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
Keldo said that the first step is to physically establish this here within this jurisdiction, the matter being overseen by the Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, and he promised to specify later under which paragraph and under which procedure it will fall.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Arvo Aller invited Rene Kokk to give a speech.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk notes that goods that cannot be returned must either be recycled or directed to waste management, and he asks how large a portion is recyclable, what goes to storage or to a landfill, and how the costs associated with this will be, what the actual plan is when the law takes effect, and what happens if the goods are already on site.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
Economy and Industry Minister Erkki Keldo said that the customs authorities do not have enough resources to inspect all goods; a risk assessment is carried out and about 1% of goods are checked. If a defect is found, an initial opportunity to remedy it is provided, and the product is returned or destroyed only as a last resort. And if the product does not meet the requirements, the customer always has the right to demand a refund, and repeated violations will lead to additional measures.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller invites Mart Maastik to speak.
Mart Maastik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Maastik notes that when buying from an online store it is often impossible to find contacts to obtain customer support, and asks whether there must be a responsible person and contact details in Estonia, and what the working hours are to help the customer.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
On the online store's page, the contact details of the person responsible designated within the European Union must be provided, so that concerns can be resolved, and if fines or sanctions arise later, the producer still bears the responsibility.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman turned to Urve Tiiduse and asked her to take the floor.
Urve Tiidus
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They emphasize that e-commerce is very popular and growing, and they ask where an Estonian shopper can obtain the best information about their rights when dealing with an e-commerce company, once this mechanism starts operating.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
The Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) is responsible for consumer protection in Estonia, and you can get help on their website, but consumers should prefer Estonian-made and local small producers so that the domestic market would be more competitive and the same conditions would apply to companies from third countries as well.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman ends the Q&A session and invites Anti Haugas to speak.
Anti Haugas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Anti Haugas posed an intriguing question as to whether it would be theoretically possible to offer our e-residency platform to third-country companies so that they could establish legal entities here.
Majandus- ja tööstusminister Erkki Keldo
AI Summary
If they are legally registered and establish a company here through the e-residency program, they will have the same legal rights and obligations, but the exact answer will be provided by the ministry.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller concludes the question period, and Mihkel Lees, a member of the Economic Committee, provides an overview of the discussion that took place in the lead committee.
Mihkel Lees
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The Economic Committee prepared the draft bill for its first reading, answered questions about the services of the NGO Standardisation and Accreditation Center and about the context of cybersecurity (for example, an Internet connection to a refrigerator), and the accreditation fees were explained (about 300 euros for the initial assessment, about 100 euros for modification), and by consensus it was decided to put the draft on the agenda of this Riigikogu session and to conclude the first reading.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chair Arvo Aller announced that the negotiations were open and then closed, and that the first reading of Draft Bill No. 533 has been completed, and that the deadline for amendment proposals is 31 December this year at 13:15.