COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States (89/106/EEC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

 

In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),

 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),

 

Whereas Member States are responsible for ensuring that building and civil engineering works on their territory are designed and executed in a way that does not endanger the safety of persons, domestic animals and property, while respecting other essential requirements in the interests of general well-being;

 

Whereas Member States have provisions, including requirements, relating not only to building safety but also to health, durability, energy economy, protection of the environment, aspects of economy, and other aspects important in the public interest;

 

Whereas these requirements, which are often the subject of national provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action, have a direct influence on the nature of construction products employed and are reflected in national product standards, technical approvals and other technical specifications and provisions which, by their disparity, hinder trade within the Community;

 

Whereas paragraph 71 of the White Paper on completing the internal market, approved by the European Council in June 1985, states that, within the general policy, particular emphasis will be placed on certain sectors, including construction; whereas the removal of technical barriers in the construction field, to the extent that they cannot be removed by mutual recognition of equivalence among all the Member States, should follow the new approach set out in the Council resolution of 7 May 1985 (4) which calls for the definition of essential requirements on safety and other aspects which are important for the general well-being, without reducing the existing and justified levels of protection in the Member States;

 

Whereas the essential requirements constitute both the general and specific criteria with which construction works must comply; whereas such requirements are to be understood as requiring that the said works conform with an appropriate degree of reliability with one, some or all of these requirements when and where this is laid down in regulations;

 

Whereas, as a basis for the harmonized standards or other technical specifications at European level and for the drawing up or granting of European technical approval, interpretative documents will be established in order to give concrete form to the essential requirements at a technical level;

 

Whereas these essential requirements provide the basis for the preparation of harmonized standards at European level for construction products; whereas, in order to achieve the greatest possible advantage for a single internal market,to afford access to that market for as many mannifacturers as possible, to ensure the greatest possible degree of market transparency and to create the conditions for a harmonized system of general rules in the construction industry, harmonized standards should be established as far as, and as quickly as, possible; whereas these standards are drawn up by private bodies and must remain non-mandatory texts; whereas, for that purpose, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec) are recognized as the competent bodies for the adoption of harmonized standards in accordance with the general guidelines for cooperation between the Commission and those two bodies signed on 13 November 1984; whereas, for the purposes of this Directive, a harmonized standard is a technical specification (European standard or harmonized document) adopted by one or both of those bodies upon a mandate given by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (5);

 

Whereas the special nature of construction products requires the precise formulation of these harmonized standards; whereas it is therefore necessary to draw up interpretative documents in order to establish links between mandates for standards and the essential requirements; whereas harmonized standards, expressed as far as possible in terms.

 

of product performance, take account of these interpretative documents, which shall be drawn up in cooperation with the Member States;

 

Whereas performance levels and requirements to be fulfilled by products in future in the Member States shall be laid down in classes in the interpretative documents and in the harmonized technical specifications in order to take account of different levels of essential requirements for certain works and of different conditions prevailing in the Member States;

 

Whereas harmonized standards should include classifications that allow construction products which meet the essential requirements and which are produced and used lawfully in accordance with technical traditions warranted by local climatological and other conditions to continue to be placed on the market;

 

Whereas a product is presumed fit for use if it conforms to a harmonized standard, a European technical approval or a non-harmonized technical specification recognized at Community level; whereas, in cases where products are of little importance with respect to the essential requirements and where they deviate from existing technical specifications, their fitness for use can be certified by recourse to an approved body;

 

Whereas products thus considered fit for use are easily recognizable by the EC mark; whereas they must be allowed free movement and free use for their intended purpose throughout the Community;

 

Whereas, in the case of products where European standards cannot be produced or foreseen within a reasonable period of time or of products which deviate substantially from a standard, the fitness for use of such products may be proved by recourse to European technical approvals on the basis of common guidelines; whereas the common guidelines for the granting of European technical approvals will be adopted on the basis of the interpretative documents;

 

Whereas, in the absence of harmonized standards and European technical approvals, national or other non-harmonized technical specifications may be recognized as providing a suitable basis for a presumption that the essential requirements are met;

 

Whereas it is necessary to ensure the conformity of products with harmonized standards and with non-harmonized technical specifications recognized at European level by means of procedures of production control by manufacturers and of supervision, testing assessment and certification by independent qualified third parties, or by the manufacturer himself;

 

Whereas a special procedure should be provided as an interim measure for products where standards or technical approvals recognized at European level do not yet exist; whereas this procedure should facilitate recognition of the results of tests performed in another Member State according to the technical requirements of the Member State of destination;

 

Whereas a Standing Committee on Construction should be set up comprising experts designated by Member States to assist the Commission on questions arising from the implementation and practical application of this Directive;

 

Whereas the responsibility of Member States for safety, health and other matters covered by the essential requirements on their territory should be recognized in a safeguard clause providing for appropriate protective measures,

 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
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