EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2023) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
on the conditions for classification, without testing, of solid wood panelling and cladding 
with regard to their reaction to fire and amending Decision 2006/213/EC  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
This draft has not been adopted or endorsed by the European Commission. Any 
views expressed are the preliminary views of the Commission services and may not 
in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the Commission.    
EN 1  EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM   
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 
2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and 
repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC1 contains an empowerment of the Commission to 
adopt delegated acts to establish classes of performance in relati on to the essential 
characteristics of construction products. The Regulation also provides that the manufacturers 
of construction products should not be subjected to unnecessary administrative burdens or 
costs. Notably, as foreseen in Article 28 of Regulat ion (EU) No 305/2011, the Commission 
should choose the least onerous system for assessment and verification of constancy of 
performance, which still could serve appropriately the needs of health, safety and 
environment.  
When the performance of certain cons truction products has already been sufficiently 
demonstrated by stable test results or other existing data, their manufacturers should be 
permitted, under conditions to be specified, to declare a certain class of performance without 
testing or further test ing these products as foreseen in Article 27(5) and Article 36(1)(a) of 
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011. This simplified procedure further reduces administrative 
burdens and costs for manufacturers.  Commission Decision 2006/213/EC2 already established 
classes of the reaction to fire performance for solid wood panelling and cladding. Table 2 of 
Annex to that Decision presented the necessary conditions for classification without need for 
further testing for these products.  In that table, the p roduct detail referred to is “Wood pieces 
with or without tongue and groove and wi th or without profiled surface” and “Wood pieces  
mounted on a support frame” . Thereby , the current table does not explicitly specify  that the 
proven stable and predictable pe rformance concerning the reaction to fire  of those products  is, 
under the set  conditions,  only guaranteed for untreated wood pieces.   
However, it has been  clarified , as also supported  by the  relevant Technical Committee of 
CEN3 and the Guidance of the Group of Notified Bodies4, that Table 2 of Annex to 
Commission Decision 2006/213/EC  is to be  applied only to untreated5 solid wood panelling 
and cladding . The experience and expertise, as well as expert group consultations carried out, 
have confirmed that , under the set  conditions,  solid wood panelling and cladding  has a stable 
and predictable performance concerning reaction to fire  only when the solid wood pieces are 
untreated.   
For the sake of legal certainty  and uniform applicati on of law, that condition should  be 
explicitly specified in the classification act. Table 2 of Annex to Decision 2006/213/EC 
should thus be  deleted and  Annex to this Regulation  applied instead . 
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
The draft Regulation was discussed firstly in the m eeting of the Advisory Group on  
Construction  Products6 on 21 November 2022  and submitted for a written consultation of 
                                                 
1 OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5.  
2 OJ L 79, 16.3.2006, p. 27 . 
3 CEN/TC175 “Round and sawn timber”  WG 38 .  
4 Group of Notified Bodies – CPR Guidance Base Item 0272 . 
5 Kiln dried wood shall be considered untreated.  
6 Code E01329 in the Register of Commission Expert Groups and Other Similar Entities .  
EN 2  EN experts between 22 November and 28 November  2022 . It was also discussed in the meeting of 
the Ad visory Group on Construction Products 15 February 2023 . Before these steps, all 
Member States were presented an opportunity to nominate experts to participate  in them. In 
addition to these experts, also other external stakeholders were consulted. The documents 
discussed in the A dvisory Group on Construction products , relevant to the written 
consultation, were transmitted simultaneously to the European Parliamen t and to the Council, 
as foreseen in the Common Understanding on delegated acts. The observations presented in 
these contexts have been taken into account when preparing the final draft version of this act 
for the inter -service consultation.   
It was publis hed for public feedback on the Better Regulation Portal from ## April  to ## May 
2023 ; [wording on feedback and any follow -up to be included subsequently ]. 
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
Pursuant to Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, classes  of performance may be 
established in relation to the essential characteristics of construction products. According to 
Article 27(1), this can be done by delegated acts of the Commission, whereas Article 27(2) 
allows for the use of harmonised standards for  this purpose.  
Moreover, in accordance with Article 27(5), the Commission may establish conditions under 
which a construction product shall be deemed to achieve a certain class of performance 
without testing or without further testing, in order to avoid th e unnecessary testing of 
construction products for which performance has already been sufficiently demonstrated by 
stable test results or other existing data.  
These conditions are then to be fulfilled when a manufacturer wishes to replace type -testing 
of his product by these levels or classes of performance, as set out in Article 36(1)(a) of 
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011.  
The European classification system established by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 
2016/3647, regarding the reaction to fire of constru ction products, in particular Table 1 of its 
Annex, is applicable to solid wood panelling and cladding . 
According to the  expertise  and expert group consultations carried out, the reaction to fire 
performance of solid wood panelling and cladding , within the  classification provided for 
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/364, is well established  when the  solid  wood  is untreate d8. 
For this reason, the reaction to fire performance of these products can be deemed, without the 
need for any further testing, to achieve a certain class of performance, as defined in the 
European classification system mentioned above.  
The draft Regulation conforms to the principle of proportionality, since adopting a delegated 
act is the most efficient way to achieve the desired outcome, th e alleviation of administrative 
burdens, while continuing to guarantee legal certainty. It results in alleviating administrative 
obligations for market actors otherwise to be complied with under Regulation (EU) 305/2011, 
concerning the testing of products under its scope.  
                                                 
7 OJ L 68, 15.3.2016, p. 4.  
8 Kiln dried wood shall be considered untreated.   
EN 3  EN COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
on the conditions for classification, without testing, of solid wood panelling and cladding 
with regard to their reaction to fire and amending Decision 2006/213/EC  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union , 
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of  9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of 
construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC1, and in particular Article 
27(5), first subparagraph,  thereof , 
Whereas:  
(1) A system for classifying the performance of const ruction products  with regard to their 
reaction to fire  was adopted in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/3642. 
Solid wood panelling and cladding  are among the construction products to which that 
Delegated Regulation applies.  
(2) Table 2 to the Annex to Commission Decision 200 6/213/EC3 established classes of the 
reaction to fire performance for solid wood panelling and cladding . The conditions set 
out in that Decision for th ose products  need to be clarified  so as to explicitly  limit  its 
application only t o untreated wood . 
(3) Tests have shown  solid  wood panelling and cladding  to have a stable and predictable 
performance in terms of reaction to fire provided that they meet certain conditions 
regarding the minimum mean density of the wood , the minimum thickness of the 
profile and the end-use of the product , and that wood  is not subject to any kind of 
treatment other than kiln drying . 
(4) Solid wood panelling and cladding  should therefore be deemed to satisfy a certain 
class of performance for reaction to fire established in Delegated Regulation (EU) 
2016/364 under  all those conditions without further testing being requir ed.  
(5) For the sake of legal certainty, Table 2 of Ann ex to Decision 2006/213/EC should be 
deleted and replaced by the Annex to this Regulation for  solid  wood panelling and 
cladding , 
                                                 
1 OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5 . 
2 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/364 of 1 July 2015 on the classification of the reaction to 
fire performance of construction products pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 68, 15.3.2016, p. 4) .  
3 Commission Decision 200 6/213/EC of 6 March  2006 establishing the classes of reaction -to-fire 
performance for certain construction products as regards wood flooring and solid wood panelling and 
cladding  (OJ L 79, 16.3.2006, p. 2 7).  
EN 4  EN HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Solid wood panelling and cladding  which  fulfil the conditions set out in the Annex shall  be 
deemed to satisfy the classes of performance indicated in the Annex without testing.  
Article 2  
Table 2, including figures (a) and (b), of the  Annex to Decision 200 6/213/EC is deleted  and 
replaced by the table, and figures (a) and (b), set out in the Annex . 
 
References to Table 2, and figures (a) and (b), of the Annex to Decision 2006/213/EC shall be 
construed as references to the table and figures set out in the Annex.  
Article 3  
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For th e Commission  
 The President  
          Ursula VON DER LEYEN