Directive (EU) 2024/2853 lays down common rules on the liability of economic operators for damage suffered by natural persons and caused by defective products, and on compensation for such damage (Article 1). The liability is strict: the injured person must prove the defectiveness, the damage and the causal link, but not fault (Article 10). A product is defective where it does not provide the safety that a person is entitled to expect or that is required under Union or national law (Article 7), and defectiveness is presumed, among other cases, where the product does not comply with mandatory product safety requirements intended to protect against the risk of the damage, or where the defendant fails to disclose relevant evidence.
The definitions are wider than in the 1985 directive. A product means all movables, even if integrated into another movable or an immovable, and includes electricity, digital manufacturing files, raw materials and software (Article 4). Article 8 lists who is liable: the manufacturer of the product or of a defective component; where the manufacturer is established outside the Union, the importer, the authorised representative and, failing both, the fulfilment service provider; any person that substantially modifies a product; and each distributor, and online platforms acting like distributors, that fails within one month to identify an EU-established economic operator or its own supplier.
The directive entered into force on 8 December 2024. Member States must transpose it by 9 December 2026 and it applies to products placed on the market or put into service from that date (Articles 2, 21 and 22; Article 2(1) as corrected in 2026). For manufacturers and importers the connection to compliance work is direct: non-compliance with product safety law now creates a presumption of defect, and the technical documentation is the evidence a court may order disclosed.