1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B DIRECTIVE 98/34/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 22 June 1998
►M1 aying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards
and regulations and of rules on Information Society services; ◄
(OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20
July 1998L 217 18 5.8.1998
Amended by:
►A1 Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia,the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of
Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak
Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the EuropeanUnion is foundedL 236 33 23.9.2003
▼B
DIRECTIVE 98/34/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 22 June 1998
►M1 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in
the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on
Information Society services; ◄
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Articles 100a, 213 and 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of
the Treaty (3),
(1) Whereas 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 (4) has been variously
and substantially amended; whereas for reasons of clarity andrationality the said Directive should be consolidated;
(2) Whereas the internal market comprises an area without internalfrontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, servicesand capital is ensured; whereas, therefore, the prohibition ofquantitative restrictions on the movement of goods and ofmeasures having an equivalent effect is one of the basic princi-ples of the Community;
(3) Whereas in order to promote the smooth functioning of theinternal market, as much transparency as possible should beensured as regards national initiatives for the establishment oftechnical standards or regulations;
(4) Whereas barriers to trade resulting from technical regulationsrelating to products may be allowed only where they are neces-sary in order to meet essential requirements and have anobjective in the public interest of which they constitute themain guarantee;
(5) Whereas it is essential for the Commission to have the necessaryinformation at its disposal before the adoption of technical provi-sions; whereas, consequently, the Member States which arerequired to facilitate the achievement of its task pursuant to
Article 5 of the Treaty must notify it of their projects in the field
of technical regulations;
(6) Whereas all the Member States must also be informed of thetechnical regulations contemplated by any one Member State;
(7) Whereas the aim of the internal market is to create an environ-ment that is conducive to the competitiveness of undertakings;whereas increased provision of information is one way ofhelping undertakings to make more of the advantages inherentin this market; whereas it is therefore necessary to enable
economic operators to give their assessment of the impact of
the national technical regulations proposed by other MemberStates, by providing for the regular publication of the titles of1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 78, 12. 3. 1997, p. 4.
(2) OJ C 133, 28. 4. 1997, p. 5.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 September 1997 (OJ C 304, 6.
10. 1997, p. 79), Council Common Position of 23 February 1998 (OJ C
110, 8. 4. 1998, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 30 April
1998 (OJ C 152, 18. 5. 1998). Decision of the Council of 28 May 1998.
(4) OJ L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8. Directive as last amended by Commission Deci-
sion 96/139/EC (OJ L 32, 10. 2. 1996, p. 31).
▼B
notified drafts and by means of the provisions relating to the
confidentiality of such drafts;
(8) Whereas it is appropriate, in the interests of legal certainty, thatMember States publicly announce that a national technical regu-lation has been adopted in accordance with the formalities laiddown in this Directive;
(9) Whereas, as far as technical regulations for products areconcerned, the measures designed to ensure the proper func-tioning or the continued development of the market include
greater transparency of national intentions and a broadening of
the criteria and conditions for assessing the potential effect ofthe proposed regulations on the market;
(10) Whereas it is therefore necessary to assess all the requirementslaid down in respect of a product and to take account of devel-opments in national practices for the regulation of products;
(11) Whereas requirements, other than technical specifications, refer-ring to the life cycle of a product after it has been placed on themarket are liable to affect the free movement of that product orto create obstacles to the proper functioning of the internalmarket;
(12) Whereas it is necessary to clarify the concept of a de facto tech-nical regulation; whereas, in particular, the provisions by whichthe public authority refers to technical specifications or otherrequirements, or encourages the observance thereof, and the
provisions referring to products with which the public authority
is associated, in the public interest, have the effect of conferringon such requirements or specifications a more binding value thanthey would otherwise have by virtue of their private origin;
(13) Whereas the Commission and the Member States must also beallowed sufficient time in which to propose amendments to acontemplated measure, in order to remove or reduce any barrierswhich it might create to the free movement of goods;
(14) Whereas the Member State concerned must take account of theseamendments when formulating the definitive text of the measureenvisaged;
(15) Whereas it is inherent in the internal market that, in particularwhere the principle of mutual recognition cannot be imple-mented by the Member States, the Commission adopts orproposes the adoption of binding Community acts; whereas a
specific temporary standstill period has been established in order
to prevent the introduction of national measures from compro-mising the adoption of binding Community acts by the Councilor the Commission in the same field;
(16) Whereas the Member State in question must, pursuant to thegeneral obligations laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty, deferimplementation of the contemplated measure for a period suffi-cient to allow either a joint examination of the proposedamendments or the preparation of a proposal for a binding act
of the Council or the adoption of a binding act of the Commis-
sion; whereas the time limits laid down in the Agreement of therepresentatives of the Governments of the Member Statesmeeting within the Council of 28 May 1969 providing for stand-still and notification to the Commission (
1), as amended by the
Agreement of 5 March 1973 (2), have proved inadequate in the
cases concerned and should accordingly be extended;
(17) Whereas the procedure concerning the standstill arrangement and
notification of the Commission contained in the abovementioned
agreement of 28 May 1969 remains applicable to products
subject to that procedure which are not covered by this Direc-tive;1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 3
(1) OJ C 76, 17. 6. 1969, p. 9.
(2) OJ C 9, 15. 3. 1973, p. 3.
▼B
(18) Whereas, with a view to facilitating the adoption of Community
measures by the Council, Member States should refrain from
adopting technical regulations once the Council has adopted acommon position on a Commission proposal concerning thatsector;
(19) Whereas, in practice, national technical standards may have thesame effects on the free movement of goods as technical regula-tions;
(20) Whereas it would therefore appear necessary to inform theCommission of draft standards under similar conditions to thosewhich apply to technical regulations; whereas, pursuant toArticle 213 of the Treaty, the Commission may, within the limits
and under the conditions laid down by the Council in accordance
with the provisions of the Treaty, collect any information andcarry out any checks required for the performance of the tasksentrusted to it;
(21) Whereas it is also necessary for the Member States and the stan-dards institutions to be informed of standards contemplated bystandards institutions in the other Member States;
(22) Whereas systematic notification is actually necessary only in thecase of new subjects for standardisation and in so far as thetreatment of these subjects at national level may give rise todifferences in national standards which are liable to disturb thefunctioning of the market as a result; whereas any subsequent
notification or communication relating to the progress of national
activities must depend on the interest in such activities expressedby those to whom this new subject has already been communi-cated;
(23) Whereas the Commission must nevertheless be able to requestthe communication of all or part of the national standardisationprogrammes so that it can review the development of standardi-sation activity in particular economic sectors;
(24) Whereas the European standardisation system must be organisedby and for the parties concerned, on a basis of coherence, trans-parency, openness, consensus, independence of special interests,
efficiency and decision-making based on national representation;
(25) Whereas the functioning of standardisation in the Communitymust be based on fundamental rights for the national standardisa-
tion bodies, such as the possibility of obtaining draft standards,being informed of the action taken in response to commentssubmitted, being associated with national standardisation activ-ities or requesting the preparation of European standards inplace of national standards; whereas it is for the Member States
to take the appropriate measures in their power to ensure that
their standardisation bodies observe these rights;
(26) Whereas the provisions concerning the standstill arrangements
applicable to national standardisation bodies when a European
standard is in preparation must be brought into line with the rele-vant provisions adopted by the standardisation bodies within theframework of the European standardisation bodies;
(27) Whereas it is necessary to set up a Standing Committee, themembers of which will be appointed by the Member Stateswith the task of helping the Commission to examine draftnational standards and cooperating in its efforts to lessen any
adverse effects thereof on the free movement of goods;
(28) Whereas the Standing Committee should be consulted on the
draft standardisation requests referred to in this Directive;
(29) Whereas this Directive must not affect the obligations of theMember States concerning the deadlines for transposition of theDirectives set out in Annex III, Part B,1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 4
▼B
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Directive, the following meanings shall apply:
1. ‘product’, any industrially manufactured product and any agricul-
tural product, including fish products;
2. ‘service’, any Information Society service, that is to say, any
service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by elec-tronic means and at the individual request of a recipient ofservices.
For the purposes of this definition:— ‘at a distance’ means that the service is provided without the
parties being simultaneously present,
— ‘by electronic means’ means that the service is sent initially
and received at its destination by means of electronic equip-
ment for the processing (including digital compression) andstorage of data, and entirely transmitted, conveyed and receivedby wire, by radio, by optical means or by other electromagneticmeans,
— ‘at the individual request of a recipient of services’ means that
the service is provided through the transmission of data on indi-vidual request.
An indicative list of services not covered by this definition is set
out in Annex V.
This Directive shall not apply to:— radio broadcasting services,
— television broadcasting services covered by point (a) of Article
1 of Directive 89/552/EEC (
1)
►M1 3.◄ ‘technical specification’, a specification contained in a
document which lays down the characteristics required of a product
such as levels of quality, performance, safety or dimensions,
including the requirements applicable to the product as regards thename under which the product is sold, terminology, symbols,testing and test methods, packaging, marking or labelling andconformity assessment procedures.
The term ‘technical specification’ also covers production methods
and processes used in respect of agricultural products as referred
to Article 38(1) of the Treaty, products intended for human and
animal consumption, and medicinal products as defined in Article1 of Directive 65/65/EEC (
2), as well as production methods and
processes relating to other products, where these have an effect ontheir characteristics;
►
M1 4.◄ ‘other requirements’, a requirement, other than a tech-
nical specification, imposed on a product for the purpose ofprotecting, in particular, consumers or the environment, and which
affects its life cycle after it has been placed on the market, such as
conditions of use, recycling, reuse or disposal, where such condi-tions can significantly influence the composition or nature of theproduct or its marketing;
5. ‘rule on services’, requirement of a general nature relating to the
taking-up and pursuit of service activities within the meaning ofpoint 2, in particular provisions concerning the service provider,1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 298, 17. 10. 1989, p. 23. Directive as last amended by Directive 97/36/
EC (OJ L 202, 30. 7. 1997, p. 1).
(2) Council Directive 65/65/EEC of 26 January 1965 on the approximation of
provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action relating to
medicinal products (OJ 22, 9. 2. 1965, p. 369/65), Directive as last amended
by Directive 93/39/EEC (OJ L 214, 24. 8. 1993, p. 22).▼M1
▼B
▼M1
▼M1
the services and the recipient of services, excluding any rules
which are not specifically aimed at the services defined in thatpoint.
This Directive shall not apply to rules relating to matters which are
covered by Community legislation in the field of telecommunica-tions services, as defined by Directive 90/387/EEC (
1).
This Directive shall not apply to rules relating to matters which are
covered by Community legislation in the field of financial services,as listed non-exhaustively in Annex VI to this Directive.
With the exception of Article 8(3), this Directive shall not apply to
rules enacted by or for regulated markets within the meaning ofDirective 93/22/EEC or by or for other markets or bodies carrying
out clearing or settlement functions for those markets.
For the purposes of this definition:
— a rule shall be considered to be specifically aimed at Informa-
tion Society services where, having regard to its statement ofreasons and its operative part, the specific aim and object ofall or some of its individual provisions is to regulate such
services in an explicit and targeted manner,
— a rule shall not be considered to be specifically aimed at Infor-
mation Society services if it affects such services only in animplicit or incidental manner.
►
M1 6.◄ ‘standard’, a technical specification approved by a recog-
nised standardisation body for repeated or continuous application,with which compliance is not compulsory and which is one of the
following:
— international standard: a standard adopted by an international
standardisation organisation and made available to the public,
— European standard: a standard adopted by a European standar-
disation body and made available to the public,
— national standard: a standard adopted by a national standardisa-
tion body and made available to the public;
►
M1 7.◄ ‘standards programme’, a work programme of a recog-
nised standardisation body listing the subjects on which
standardisation work is being carried out;
►M1 8.◄ ‘draft standard’, document containing the text of the tech-
nical specifications concerning a given subject, which is being
considered for adoption in accordance with the national standardsprocedure, as that document stands after the preparatory work andas circulated for public comment or scrutiny;
►
M1 9.◄ ‘European standardisation body’, a body referred to in
Annex I;
►M1 10.◄ ‘national standardisation body’, a body referred to in
Annex II;
11. ‘technical regulation’, technical specifications and other require-
ments or rules on services, including the relevant administrativeprovisions, the observance of which is compulsory, de jure or defacto, in the case of marketing, provision of a service, establish-
ment of a service operator or use in a Member State or a major
part thereof, as well as laws, regulations or administrative provi-sions of Member States, except those provided for in Article 10,prohibiting the manufacture, importation, marketing or use of aproduct or prohibiting the provision or use of a service, or estab-lishment as a service provider.
De facto technical regulations include:— laws, regulations or administrative provisions of a Member
State which refer either to technical specifications or to other1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 6
(1) OJ L 192, 24. 7. 1990, p. 1. Directive as amended by Directive 97/51/EC OJ
L 295, 29. 10. 1997, p. 23).▼B
▼M1
▼M1
requirements or to rules on services, or to professional codes or
codes of practice which in turn refer to technical specificationsor to other requirements or to rules on services, compliance
with which confers a presumption of conformity with the obli-
gations imposed by the aforementioned laws, regulations oradministrative provisions,
— voluntary agreements to which a public authority is a
contracting party and which provide, in the general interest,for compliance with technical specifications or other require-ments or rules on services, excluding public procurement
tender specifications,
— technical specifications or other requirements or rules on
services which are linked to fiscal or financial measures
affecting the consumption of products or services by encoura-ging compliance with such technical specifications or otherrequirements or rules on services; technical specifications orother requirements or rules on services linked to national socialsecurity systems are not included.
This comprises technical regulations imposed by the authorities
designated by the Member States and appearing on a list to be
drawn up by the Commission before 5 August 1999 (*), in the
framework of the Committee referred to in Article 5.
The same procedure shall be used for amending this list;
12. ‘draft technical regulation’, the text of a technical specification or
other requirement or of a rule on services, including administrativeprovisions, formulated with the aim of enacting it or of ultimatelyhaving it enacted as a technical regulation, the text being at a stage
of preparation at which substantial amendments can still be made;
This Directive shall not apply to those measures Member States
consider necessary under the Treaty for the protection of persons, in
particular workers, when products are used, provided that suchmeasures do not affect the products.
Article 2
1. The Commission and the standardisation bodies referred to in
Annexes I and II shall be informed of the new subjects for which thenational bodies referred to in Annex II have decided, by including themin their standards programme, to prepare or amend a standard, unless it
is an identical or equivalent transposition of an international or
European standard.
2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall indicate, in parti-
cular, whether the standard concerned:
— will transpose an international standard without being the equiva-
lent,
— will be a new national standard, or
— will amend a national standard.
After consulting the Committee referred to in Article 5, the Commis-
sion may draw up rules for the consolidated presentation of this
information and a plan and criteria governing the presentation of this
information in order to facilitate its evaluation.
3. The Commission may ask for all or part of the standards
programmes to be communicated to it.
It shall make this information available to the Member States in a form
which allows the different programmes to be assessed and compared.
4. Where appropriate, the Commission shall amend Annex II on the
basis of communications from the Member States.
5. The Council shall decide, on the basis of a proposal from the
Commission, on any amendment to Annex I.1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 7
▼B
▼B
Article 3
The standardisation bodies referred to in Annexes I and II, and the
Commission, shall be sent all draft standards on request; they shall bekept informed by the body concerned of the action taken on anycomments they have made relating to drafts.
Article 4
1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that their
standardisation bodies:
— communicate information in accordance with Articles 2 and 3,
— publish the draft standards in such a way that comments may also
be obtained from parties established in other Member States,
— grant the other bodies referred to in Annex II the right to be
involved passively or actively (by sending an observer) in the
planned activities,
— do not object to a subject for standardisation in their work
programme being discussed at European level in accordance withthe rules laid down by the European standardisation bodies andundertake no action which may prejudice a decision in this regard.
2. Member States shall refrain in particular from any act of recogni-
tion, approval or use by reference to a national standard adopted inbreach of Articles 2 and 3 and of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 5
A Standing Committee shall be set up consisting of representatives
appointed by the Member States who may call on the assistance of
experts or advisers; its chairman shall be a representative of theCommission.
The Committee shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
Article 6
1. The Committee shall meet at least twice a year with the represen-
tatives of the standards institutions referred to in Annexes I and II.
The Committee shall meet in a specific composition to examine ques-
tions concerning Information Society services.
2. The Commission shall submit to the Committee a report on the
implementation and application of the procedures set out in this Direc-
tive, and shall present proposals aimed at eliminating existing orforeseeable barriers to trade.
3. The Committee shall express its opinion on the communications
and proposals referred to in paragraph 2 and may in this connectionpropose, in particular, that the Commission:
— request the European standards institutions to draw up a European
standard within a given time limit,
— ensure where necessary, in order to avoid the risk of barriers to
trade, that initially the Member States concerned decide amongst
themselves on appropriate measures,
— take all appropriate measures,— identify the areas where harmonisation appears necessary, and,
should the case arise, undertake appropriate harmonisation in a
given sector.
4. The Committee must be consulted by the Commission:
(a) before any amendment is made to the lists in Annexes I and II
(Article 2(1));
(b) when drawing up the rules for the consolidated presentation of
information and the plan and criteria for the presentation of stan-dards programmes (Article 2(2));1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 8
▼M1
▼B
▼B
(c) when deciding on the actual system whereby the exchange of infor-
mation provided for in this Directive is to be effected and on anychange to it;
(d) when reviewing the operation of the system set up by this Direc-
tive;
(e) on the requests to the standards institutions referred to in the first
indent of paragraph 3.
5. The Committee may be consulted by the Commission on any
preliminary draft technical regulation received by the latter.
6. Any question regarding the implementation of this Directive may
be submitted to the Committee at the request of its chairman or of aMember State.
7. The proceedings of the Committee and the information to be
submitted to it shall be confidential.
However, the Committee and the national authorities may, provided
that the necessary precautions are taken, consult, for an expert opinion,
natural or legal persons, including persons in the private sector.
8. With respect to rules on services, the Commission and the
Committee may consult natural or legal persons from industry or
academia, and where possible representative bodies, capable of deli-
vering an expert opinion on the social and societal aims andconsequences of any draft rule on services, and take notice of theiradvice whenever requested to do so.
Article 7
1. Member States shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that,
during the preparation of a European standard referred to in the firstindent of Article 6(3) or after its approval, their standardisation bodies
do not take any action which could prejudice the harmonisation
intended and, in particular, that they do not publish in the field in ques-tion a new or revised national standard which is not completely in linewith an existing European standard.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the work of standards institutions
undertaken at the request of the public authorities to draw up technical
specifications or a standard for specific products for the purpose ofenacting a technical regulation for such products.
Member States shall communicate all requests of the kind referred to in
the preceding subparagraph to the Commission as draft technical regu-
lations, in accordance with Article 8(1), and shall state the grounds for
their enactment.
Article 8
1. Subject to Article 10, Member States shall immediately commu-
nicate to the Commission any draft technical regulation, except where
it merely transposes the full text of an international or European stan-
dard, in which case information regarding the relevant standard shallsuffice; they shall also let the Commission have a statement of thegrounds which make the enactment of such a technical regulationnecessary, where these have not already been made clear in the draft.
Where appropriate, and unless it has already been sent with a prior
communication, Member States shall simultaneously communicate thetext of the basic legislative or regulatory provisions principally anddirectly concerned, should knowledge of such text be necessary toassess the implications of the draft technical regulation.
Member States shall communicate the draft again under the above
conditions if they make changes to the draft that have the effect ofsignificantly altering its scope, shortening the timetable originally envi-saged for implementation, adding specifications or requirements, ormaking the latter more restrictive.1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 9
▼M1
▼B
▼B
Where, in particular, the draft seeks to limit the marketing or use of a
chemical substance, preparation or product on grounds of public healthor of the protection of consumers or the environment, Member States
shall also forward either a summary or the references of all relevant
data relating to the substance, preparation or product concerned and toknown and available substitutes, where such information may be avail-able, and communicate the anticipated effects of the measure on publichealth and the protection of the consumer and the environment,
together with an analysis of the risk carried out as appropriate in accor-
dance with the general principles for the risk evaluation of chemicalsubstances as referred to in Article 10(4) of Regulation (EEC) No793/93 (
1) in the case of an existing substance or in Article 3(2) of
Directive 67/548/EEC (2), in the case of a new substance.
The Commission shall immediately notify the other Member States of
the draft and all documents which have been forwarded to it; it mayalso refer this draft, for an opinion, to the Committee referred to in
Article 5 and, where appropriate, to the committee responsible for the
field in question.
With respect to the technical specifications or other requirements or
rules on services referred to in the third indent of the second subpara-
graph of point 11 of Article 1, the comments or detailed opinions ofthe Commission or Member States may concern only aspects whichmay hinder trade or, in respect of rules on services, the free movementof services or the freedom of establishment of service operators and not
the fiscal or financial aspects of the measure.
2. The Commission and the Member States may make comments to
the Member State which has forwarded a draft technical regulation;
that Member State shall take such comments into account as far as
possible in the subsequent preparation of the technical regulation.
3. Member States shall communicate the definitive text of a tech-
nical regulation to the Commission without delay.
4. Information supplied under this Article shall not be confidential
except at the express request of the notifying Member State. Any such
request shall be supported by reasons.
In cases of this kind, if necessary precautions are taken, the Committee
referred to in Article 5 and the national authorities may seek expertadvice from physical or legal persons in the private sector.
5. When draft technical regulations form part of measures which are
required to be communicated to the Commission at the draft stageunder another Community act, Member States may make a communi-cation within the meaning of paragraph 1 under that other act, providedthat they formally indicate that the said communication also constitutes
a communication for the purposes of this Directive.
The absence of a reaction from the Commission under this Directive to
a draft technical regulation shall not prejudice any decision which
might be taken under other Community acts.
Article 9
1. Member States shall postpone the adoption of a draft technical
regulation for three months from the date of receipt by the Commissionof the communication referred to in Article 8(1).1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 10
(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 of 23 March 1993 on the evaluation
and control of the risks of existing substances (OJ L 84, 5. 4. 1993, p. 1).
(2) Council Directive 67/548/EEC of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of the
laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification,
packaging and labelling of dangerous substances (OJ L 196, 16. 8. 1967, p.
1). Directive, as amended by Directive 92/32/EEC (OJ L 154, 5. 6. 1992, p.
1).▼M1
▼B
▼M1
2. Member States shall postpone:
— for four months the adoption of a draft technical regulation in the
form of a voluntary agreement within the meaning of the secondindent of the second subparagraph of point 11 of Article 1,
— without prejudice to paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, for six months the adop-
tion of any other draft technical regulation (except for draft rules on
services),
from the date of receipt by the Commission of the communication
referred to in Article 8(1) if the Commission or another Member Statedelivers a detailed opinion, within three months of that date, to theeffect that the measure envisaged may create obstacles to the freemovement of goods within the internal market;
— without prejudice to paragraphs 4 and 5, for four months the adop-
tion of any draft rule on services, from the date of receipt by theCommission of the communication referred to in Article 8(1) if
the Commission or another Member State delivers a detailed
opinion, within three months of that date, to the effect that themeasure envisaged may create obstacles to the free movement ofservices or to the freedom of establishment of service operatorswithin the internal market.
With regard to draft rules on services, detailed opinions from the
Commission or Member States may not affect any cultural policymeasures, in particular in the audiovisual sphere, which Member Statesmight adopt in accordance with Community law, taking account oftheir linguistic diversity, their specific national and regional character-
istics and their cultural heritage.
The Member State concerned shall report to the Commission on the
action it proposes to take on such detailed opinions. The Commissionshall comment on this reaction.
With respect to rules on services, the Member State concerned shall
indicate, where appropriate, the reasons why the detailed opinions
cannot be taken into account.
3. With the exclusion of draft rules relating to services, Member
States shall postpone the adoption of a draft technical regulation fortwelve months from the date of receipt by the Commission of the
communication referred to in Article 8(1) if, within three months of
that date, the Commission announces its intention of proposing oradopting a directive, regulation or decision on the matter in accordancewith Article 189 of the Treaty.
4. Member States shall postpone the adoption of a draft technical
regulation for 12 months from the date of receipt by the Commissionof the communication referred to in Article 8(1) if, within the threemonths following that date, the Commission announces its finding thatthe draft technical regulation concerns a matter which is covered by a
proposal for a directive, regulation or decision presented to the Council
in accordance with Article 189 of the Treaty.
5. If the Council adopts a common position during the standstill
period referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, that period shall, subject toparagraph 6, be extended to 18 months.
6. The obligations referred to in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 shall lapse:
— when the Commission informs the Member States that it no longer
intends to propose or adopt a binding Community act,
— when the Commission informs the Member States of the withdrawal
of its draft or proposal,
— when the Commission or the Council has adopted a binding
Community act.
7. Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not apply in cases where:
— for urgent reasons, occasioned by serious and unforeseeable circum-
stances relating to the protection of public health or safety, the1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 11
▼B
▼M1
▼M1
protection of animals or the preservation of plants, and for rules on
services, also for public policy, notably the protection of minors, aMember State is obliged to prepare technical regulations in a very
short space of time in order to enact and introduce them immedi-
ately without any consultations being possible or
— for urgent reasons occasioned by serious circumstances relating to
the protection of the security and the integrity of the financialsystem, notably the protection of depositors, investors and insuredpersons, a Member State is obliged to enact and implement rules
on financial services immediately.
In the communication referred to in Article 8, the Member State shall
give reasons for the urgency of the measures taken. The Commissionshall give its views on the communication as soon as possible. It shall
take appropriate action in cases where improper use is made of this
procedure. The European Parliament shall be kept informed by theCommission.
Article 10
1. Articles 8 and 9 shall not apply to those laws, regulations and
administrative provisions of the Member States or voluntary agree-ments by means of which Member States:
— comply with binding Community acts which result in the adoption
of technical specifications or rules on services,
— fulfil the obligations arising out of international agreements which
result in the adoption of common technical specifications or ruleson services in the Community,
— make use of safeguard clauses provided for in binding Community
acts,
— apply Article 8(1) of Directive 92/59/EEC (
1),
— restrict themselves to implementing a judgment of the Court of
Justice of the European Communities,
— restrict themselves to amending a technical regulation within the
meaning of point 11 of Article 1, in accordance with a Commission
request, with a view to removing an obstacle to trade or, in the case
of rules on services, to the free movement of services or thefreedom of establishment of service operators.
2. Article 9 shall not apply to the laws, regulations and administra-
tive provisions of the Member States prohibiting manufacture insofar as
they do not impede the free movement of products.
3. Paragraphs 3 to 6 of Article 9 shall not apply to the voluntary
agreements referred to in the second indent of the second subparagraph
of point 11 of Article 1.
4. Article 9 shall not apply to the technical specifications or other
requirements or the rules on services referred to in the third indent ofthe second subparagraph of point 11 of Article 1.
Article 11
The Commission shall report every two years to the European Parlia-
ment, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee on the
results of the application of this Directive. Lists of standardisationwork entrusted to the European standardisation organisations pursuant1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 12
(1) Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety (OJ
L 228, 11. 8. 1992, p. 24).▼B
▼M1
▼B
▼M1
▼B
▼M1
▼B
▼B
to this Directive, as well as statistics on the notifications received, shall
be published on an annual basis in the Official Journal of the European
Communities .
Article 12
When Member States adopt a technical regulation, it shall contain a
reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference
on the occasion of its official publication. The methods of makingsuch reference shall be laid down by Member States.
Article 13
1. The Directives and Decisions listed in Annex III, Part A are
hereby repealed without prejudice to the obligations of the MemberStates concerning the deadlines for transposition of the said Directives,set out in Annex III, Part B.
2. References to the repealed directives and decisions shall be
construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accor-
dance with the correlation table set out in Annex IV.
Article 14
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 15
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 13
▼B
ANNEX I
EUROPEAN STANDARDISATION BODIES
CEN
European Committee for Standardisation
Cenelec
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation
ETSI
European Telecommunications Standards Institute1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 14
▼A1
ANNEX II
NATIONAL STANDARDISATION BODIES
1. BELGIUM
IBN/BINInstitut belge de normalisationBelgisch Instituut voor NormalisatieCEB/BECComité électrotechnique belgeBelgisch Elektrotechnisch Comité
2. CZECH REPUBLIC
ČSNI
Český normaliza ční institut
3. DENMARK
DSDansk StandardNTATelestyrelsen, National Telecom Agency
4. GERMANY
DINDeutsches Institut für Normung e.V.DKEDeutsche Elektrotechnische Kommission im DIN und VDE
5. ESTONIA
EVS
Eesti StandardikeskusSideamet
6. GREECE
ΕΛΟΤΕλληνικός Οργανισµός Τυποποίησης
7. SPAIN
AENORAsociación Española de Normalización y Certificación
8. FRANCE
AFNORAssociation française de normalisationUTEUnion technique de l'électricité - Bureau de normalisation auprès de
l'AFNOR
9. IRELAND
NSAINational Standards Authority of IrelandETCIElectrotechnical Council of Ireland
10. ITALY
UNI (
1)
Ente nazionale italiano di unificazione
CEI (1)
Comitato elettrotecnico italiano1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 15
(1) UNI and CEI, in cooperation with the Istituto superiore delle Poste e Telecommunica-
zioni and the ministero dell'Industria, have allocated the work within ETSI to CONCIT,
Comitato nazionale di coordinamento per le tecnologie dell'informazione.
▼A1
11. CYPRUS
ΚΟΠΠΚυπριακός Οργανισµός Προώθησης Ποιότητας ( The Cyprus Organisa-
tion for Quality Promotion)
12. LATVIA
LVSLatvijas Standarts
13. LITHUANIA
LSTLietuvos standartizacijos departamentas
14. LUXEMBOURG
ITMInspection du travail et des mines
SEE
Service de l'énergie de l'État
15. HUNGARY
MSZTMagyar Szabványügyi Testület
16. MALTA
MSAL-Awtorita' ta' Malta dwar l-Istandards (Malta Standards Authority)
17. NETHERLANDS
NNINederlands Normalisatie InstituutNECNederlands Elektrotechnisch Comité
18. AUSTRIA
ÖNÖsterreichisches NormungsinstitutÖVEÖsterreichischer Verband für Elektrotechnik
19. POLAND
PKNPolski Komitet Normalizacyjny
20. PORTUGAL
IPQInstituto Português da Qualidade
21. SLOVENIA
SISTSlovenski inštitut za standardizacijo
22. SLOVAKIA
SÚTNSlovenský ústav technickej normalizácie
23. FINLAND
SFSSuomen Standardisoimisliitto SFS ry
Finlands Standardiseringsförbund SFS rf
THK/TFCTelehallintokeskusTeleförvaltningscentralenSESKOSuomen Sähköteknillinen Standardisoimisyhdistys SESKO ryFinlands Elektrotekniska Standardiseringsförening SESKO rf1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 16
▼A1
24. SWEDEN
SISStandardiseringen i SverigeSEK
Svenska elektriska kommissionen
ITSInformationstekniska standardiseringen
25. UNITED KINGDOM
BSIBritish Standards InstitutionBEC
British Electrotechnical Committee.1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 17
▼B
ANNEX III
PART A
Repealed Directives and Decisions
(referred to by Article 13)
Directive 83/189/EEC and its following amendments
Council Directive 88/182/EECCommission Decision 90/230/EECCommission Decision 92/400/EEC
Directive 94/10/EC of the European Parliament and Council
Commission Decision 96/139/EC
PART B
List of deadlines for transposition into national law
(referred to in Article 13)
Directive Deadline for transposition
83/189/EEC (OJ L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8) 31. 3. 1984
88/182/EEC (OJ L 81, 26. 3. 1988, p. 75) 1. 1. 1989
94/10/EC (OJ L 100, 19. 4. 1994, p. 30) 1. 7. 19951998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 18
▼B
ANNEX IV
CORRELATION TABLE
Directive 83/189/EEC This Directive
Article 1 Article 1
Article 2 Article 2
Article 3 Article 3
Article 4 Article 4
Article 5 Article 5
Article 6 Article 6Article 7 Article 7
Article 8 Article 8
Article 9 Article 9
Article 10 Article 10
Article 11 Article 11
Article 12 Article 12
— Article 13
— Article 14
— Article 15
Annex I Annex I
Annex II Annex II
— Annex III
— Annex IV1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 19
▼M1
ANNEX V
Indicative list of services not covered by the second subparagraph of point 2
of Article 1
1.Services not provided ‘at a distance’
Services provided in the physical presence of the provider and the recipient,
even if they involve the use of electronic devices
(a) medical examinations or treatment at a doctor's surgery using electronic
equipment where the patient is physically present;
(b) consultation of an electronic catalogue in a shop with the customer on
site;
(c) plane ticket reservation at a travel agency in the physical presence of the
customer by means of a network of computers;
(d) electronic games made available in a video-arcade where the customer is
physically present.
2.Services not provided ‘by electronic means’
— Services having material content even though provided via electronic
devices:
(a) automatic cash or ticket dispensing machines (banknotes, rail tickets);
(b) access to road networks, car parks, etc., charging for use, even if
there are electronic devices at the entrance/exit controlling access
and/or ensuring correct payment is made,
— Off-line services: distribution of CD roms or software on diskettes,— Services which are not provided via electronic processing/inventory
systems:
(a) voice telephony services;
(b) telefax/telex services;
(c) services provided via voice telephony or fax;
(d) telephone/telefax consultation of a doctor;
(e) telephone/telefax consultation of a lawyer;
(f) telephone/telefax direct marketing.
3.Services not supplied ‘at the individual request of a recipient of services’
Services provided by transmitting data without individual demand for simul-
taneous reception by an unlimited number of individual receivers (point to
multipoint transmission):
(a) television broadcasting services (including near-video on-demand
services), covered by point (a) of Article 1 of Directive 89/552/EEC;
(b) radio broadcasting services;
(c) (televised) teletext.1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 20
▼M1
ANNEX VI
Indicative list of the financial services covered by the third subparagraph of
point 5 of Article 1
— Investment services
— Insurance and reinsurance operations— Banking services— Operations relating to pension funds— Services relating to dealings in futures or options
Such services include in particular:
(a) investment services referred to in the Annex to Directive 93/22/EEC (
1);
services of collective investment undertakings,
(b) services covered by the activities subject to mutual recognition referred to in
the Annex to Directive 89/646/EEC (2),
(c) operations covered by the insurance and reinsurance activities referred to in:
— Article 1 of Directive 73/239/EEC (3),
— the Annex to Directive 79/267/EEC (4),
— Directive 64/225/EEC (5),
— Directives 92/49/EEC (6) and 92/96/EEC (7).1998L0034 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 002.001 — 21
(1) OJ L 141, 11. 6. 1993, p. 27.
(2) OJ L 386, 30. 12. 1989, p. 1. Directive as amended by Directive 92/30/EEC (OJ L 110,
28. 4. 1992, p. 52).
(3) OJ L 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 3. Directive as last amended by Directive 92/49/EEC (OJ L
228, 11. 8. 1992, p. 1).
(4) OJ L 63, 13. 3. 1979, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 90/619/EEC (OJ L
330, 29. 11. 1990, p. 50).
(5) OJ 56, 4. 4. 1964, p. 878/64. Directive as amended by the 1973 Act of Accession.
(6) OJ L 228, 11. 8. 1992, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 360, 9. 12. 1992, p. 50.