EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2018) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED DECISION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
supplementing Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council with regard to the applicable systems to assess and verify constancy of 
performance of balustrade kits and railing kits intended to be used in construction 
works solely  to prevent falls and not submitted to vertical loads from the structure  
(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  
According to Article 28 of 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, assessment and 
verification of constancy of performance (AVCP) of construction products in relation  to their 
essential characteristics is to be carried out in accordance with the systems set out in Annex V 
to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011.  
Pursuant to Articles 28(2) and 60(h) of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, the Commission is 
delegated the task of establis hing the AVCP systems of construction products, relating to a 
given product, a given product family or a given essential characteristic, taking into account 
the considerations laid down in these provisions.  
For balustrade kits and railing kits intended to be used in construction works solely to prevent 
falls and not submitted to vertical loads from the structure , an appropriate decision for 
establishing  the AVCP systems does not yet exist.  
Pursuant to Article 28(2), the choice of the AVCP systems should aim  at the least onerous 
system for the manufacturers, when account is taken of all the relevant considerations. Under 
the existing circumstances, experience on the behaviour of the products in question during 
their working life, as depicted in the survey car ried out on the reasons for failures of these 
products, has demonstrated that the assessment of their performance regarding all essential 
characteristics, except reaction to fire, should be carried out by the manufacturer before 
placing the product on the market. More onerous systems are not necessary. These aspects 
have led the Commission to choose system 4 as foreseen in Annex V to Regulation (EU) No 
305/2011 in the draft Decision to be applicable for the products in question, for all essential 
characteri stics other than reaction to fire.  
Furthermore, for the reaction to fire performance, the customary choice of systems 1, 3 or 4 
should be considered appropriate also for these products regarding this essential characteristic 
only. Pursuant to Article 28(2 ) of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, the AVCP systems to be 
established can be differentiated only on the basis of the families of construction products or 
concerning certain essential characteristics. To distinguish between situations where system 1, 
system 3 or system 4 is chosen to be applied for reaction to fire, the only manner to proceed is 
thus to make reference to different subfamilies of products. These distinctions should also be 
clear and unambiguous, and they should not exclude any subfamilies of t he whole product 
family covered by the draft Decision, as defined in the Annex.  
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
The draft Decision was discussed in the meeting of the Advisory Group on Construction 
Products (the AG) on 14 June 2016, followed by a written consultation of the experts, and 
again in the meeting of the AG  on 9 December 2016 , with a  written consultation of the 
experts between 25 November 2016 and 16 January 2017. After that, the draft Decision was 
discussed in  the meeting of the AG on 3 October 2017, preceded by a preparatory meeting of 
experts nominated by Member States and other stakeholders on 2 October.  Finally, this draft 
act was  submitted for written consultation of the experts between 3 and 17 October 2017 , with 
a survey carried out simultaneously (until 30 November 2017) on the reasons for failures of 
                                                 
1 OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5.   
EN 2  EN these products . Before these steps, all Member States were presented an opportunity to 
nominate experts to participate. In addition to these experts, als o other external stakeholders 
were consulted. The documents discussed in the AG and relevant to the written consultation 
were transmitted simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council as foreseen in 
the Common Understanding on delegated acts . The observations presented in these contexts 
were taken into account when preparing the final draft version of this act for the inter -service 
consultation.  
It was published for public feedback on the Better Regulation Portal from … to … 2018; 
[wording o n feedback and any follow -up to be included subsequently].  
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
Pursuant to Articles 28(2) and 60(h)  of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 , AVCP systems of  
construction products , as set out in Annex V to Regulation (EU) No 305/20 11, are to be 
established by delegated acts of the Commission , to be applicable  to a given product, a given 
product family or a given essential characteristic, taking into account the considerations laid 
down in these provisions.  
When establishing the AVCP  systems, pursuant to Article 28(2) of Regulation (EU) No 
305/2011, the Commission shall choose the least onerous systems consistent with the 
fulfilment of all basic requirements for construction works. Pursuant to Article 60(h)  of 
Regulation (EU) No 305/2 011, this shall be done in accordance with the impact of the product 
to this fulfilment during its expected working life.  
The draft Decision  conforms to the principle of proportionality. For these reasons, the draft 
Decision is expected to serve the inter ests of the construction sector as a whole.   
EN 3  EN COMMISSION DELEGATED DECISION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
supplementing Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council with regard to the applicable systems to assess and verify constancy of 
performance of balustrade kits and railing kits intended to be used in construction 
works solely to prevent falls and not submitted to vertical loads from the structure  
(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 harmonized conditions for the marketing of 
construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC1, and in particular Article 
28(2)  thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) An appropriate decision for assessment and verification of constancy of performance 
does not exist for balustrade kits and railing kits intend ed to be used in construction 
works solely to prevent falls and not submitted to vertical loads from the structure. It is 
therefore necessary to establish which systems of assessment and verification of 
constancy of performance are applicable to those balu strade kits and railing kits.  
(2) Taking into account the experience on the behaviour of the products in question during 
their working life, as depicted in the survey carried out on the reasons for failures of 
these products, the assessment of their performanc e regarding all essential 
characteristics, except reaction to fire, should be carried out by the manufacturer 
before placing the product on the market. More onerous systems are not necessary. For 
the reaction to fire performance, the choice of systems 1, 3  or 4 should be considered 
appropriate by making reference to different subfamilies of products,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  
Article 1  
This Decision applies to balustrade kits and railing kits intended to be used in construction 
works solely to prevent falls and not submitted to vertical loads from the structure.  
Article 2  
The balustrade kits and railing kits referred to in Article 1 shall be assessed and verified for 
constancy of performance in relation to their essential characteristics in accordance w ith the 
systems specified in the Annex.  
                                                 
1 OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5.   
EN 4  EN Article 3  
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 The President  
 Jean -Claude J uncker