. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/Notif.98.469
22 September 1998
(98-3625)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  BELGIUM
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):           
2. Agency responsible:  Office of the State Secretary for Security, Integration and the
Environment
Rue Royale 180
B – 1000 Brussels
Tel:  +32 2 210 19 11
Fax:  +32 2 217 33 28
Agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be
indicated if different from above:
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:           
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  This framework law applies
to all products, including packaging.
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  New Note Replacing
Notification 96/253 B.  Draft Law on Product Standards to Promote Sustainable Models of
Production and Consumption and to Protect the Public Living Environment and PublicHealth.
6. Description of content:  The purpose of the Law is to establish a comprehensive and
coordinated legal framework for the developmen t of product standards to ensure that the
manufacture, the intended use and the elimination of the products concerned do not affect
public health and contribute as little as possible to increasing the quantity and harmfulness
of waste or to creating any other form of pollution (see Article 3.1(a) of
Directive 91/156/EEC).
This Law, as a framework law, contains no technical standards for specific
products, but is intended to create a legal basis for the future development of technical
standards through the adoption of decrees subject to separate notification each time they
enter into force as provided for in Directive 83/189/EEC.  The only legal provisions
imposing direct obligations on persons marketing such products are Article 4, concerningthe general liability of the producer, and the provisions for the implementation of the
"essential requirements" for packaging as defined in Directive 94/62/EC (Articles 10 to 13).
Under this Framework Law, the King is empowered to adopt implementation
decrees to prohibit the marketing of certain products, to introduce a prior authorization or
notification requirement, to regulate the properties of certain products, to encourage reuseG/TBT/Notif.98.469
Page 2
Description of content (cont'd):
and recycling, to establish compulsory analyses or tests, to impose an information
requirement, etc. (Article 5, paragraphs 1 and 2).
The draft does not provide any legal basis for voluntary sectoral agreements with
the representatives of industry (Article 6).
As regards the implementation of directives 67/548/EEC, 94/62EC and 98/8/EC,
the draft does not contain any articles concerning substances, packaging and biocides
(Articles 8 and 14).
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  Belgium
does not have any "horizontal" legal framewor k for the development of product standards in
the light of the purposes mentioned above with respect to protection of the living
environment and public health.  This Law will help to speed up the implementation of the
EC harmonization directives.
8. Relevant documents:  -
9. Proposed date of adoption:
Proposed date of entry into force: }60 days
10. Final date for comments:
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [X] or address, e-mail and telefax number of
the other body:  CIBELNOR