The article analyzes the current state and future prospects of the European rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products (RAPEX), underlining its fundamental role in creating the necessary framework for the trade with safe products that meet consumers' right to privacy, health and safety. The objectives and functioning of the RAPEX system, based on legislative initiatives geared towards the European consumer safety, converge, aiming at both monitoring the effectiveness and coherence of activities undertaken by the Member States' market surveillance, and promoting compliance with EU requirements on product safety, thus creating a base for actions at EU level sustaining the proper functioning of the internal market.