The Swedish Chemicals Agency wants to increase efficiency in the enforcement of companies
Better protection for health and the environment and a level playing field for companies on the Swedish market. This is what the Swedish Chemicals Agency wants to achieve with a strengthened and expanded market surveillance in Sweden.
On behalf of the government the Swedish Chemicals Agency has submitted a plan for future efforts that will strengthen and expand market surveillance in the chemical sector in Sweden. At the government's request, the authority also announced that the funds that the government has announced for the Agency's work with market surveillance are not sufficient. More money is needed in order for Sweden to be able to live up to the requirements contained in the EU's new market surveillance regulation, which entered into force in July 2021.
For companies, strengthened and expanded market surveillance can mean a level playing field on the Swedish market.
- Effective market surveillance is a prerequisite for companies to be able to compete on equal terms. Our expectation is that we will be able to find such companies that have previously gone under the radar. Another expectation is that after our inspections, companies will take sufficient measures to minimize the risks of the same deficiency occurring again, says Mariana Pilenvik, project manager at the Swedish Chemicals Agency.
Measures for strengthened and expanded market control
Earlier this year, the Swedish Chemicals Agency was appointed as the central market surveillance authority in the chemicals area in Sweden, while the municipalities are responsible for carrying out certain market surveillance tasks that must be reported to the Swedish Chemicals Agency.
The plan that the Swedish Chemicals Agency presented to the government yesterday is to implement the following measures:
- Increase the number of inspections and thereby also increase the number of analysed articles, chemical products and biocides. In deciding on which checks to perform we will continue to follow a risk-based approach.
- Develop and adapt our guidance on enforcement directed to the municipalities.
- Systematic follow-up checks of companies that have previously shown non-compliance.
- Increase the development of methods and tools used for an efficient market surveillance.
- Focus more on finding companies we have not yet enforced, for example through more cooperation with Swedish Customs.
In addition to these measures, the Swedish Chemicals agency will continue to work preventively with information and communication actions for companies.
- We need to make it easy for companies to comply. Our assessment is that all these measures taken together will lead to stronger legal compliance and thus more safe products on the Swedish market, says Mariana Pilenvik.