^112.88 Official]ournal of the European Communities ^oC^B^B 
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiveontheaproximationof thelawsof the 
A^emher States relating to personal protective equipment^^ 
^88^C^^12^ 
On 28 April 1988, the Council decided, in accordance with Article lOOAof theTreaty 
establishing the European Economic Commumty,to consult the Economic and Social Com 
mittee on the abovementioned proposal 
The section for mdusrty,commerce, crafts and services was instructed to prepare the wor^ 
on this topic and adopted its Opinion on50ctober!988^ Rapporteur Air Pearson, 
The Economic and SocialCommittee, at its 259thplenary session, meetmgon270ctober 
1988,adopted unanimously with2abstentions the following Opinions 
1. Introduction 
1.1. The Committee welcomes the Commissions 
intentions in tabling proposals on this important matter 
and in giving detailed consideration to the problems of 
implementing the approximation of similar levels of 
personal protective equipment d^E^. h^ supports the 
Commission^sefforts in line with the fulfilment of the 
singleEuropean market and recognises that they are 
alsoin line with, andama^orstepforward towards, 
the social aspect of the Single European Act ^SEA^. It 
neverthelessseespracticalproblems in theimplemen 
ration of many measures. 
1.2. The Committee believes that small and medium 
si^ed industries should not have problems in accepting 
the standards which wdlapply in their areaofoper 
ation. 
1.^. The Commission^sproposals are in conformity 
with the laew approach towards technical harmonic 
ation and standards^withm the Community.Standards, 
whether they be set by the European Committee for 
Standardisation ^CE^, theEuropean Committeefor 
Electrotechnical Standardisation ^Cenelec^ or other 
competent bodies, need to be developed on the basis of 
the requirements of the Elective. These standards are 
then implementedmeachAiember State.In the setting 
of such standards, employers, workers and consumers 
should be involved. 
1.^. The proper protection ofusers of this equipment 
is of prime importance and the notification in the 
introduction to the Commission document is neither 
precise enough nor convincing in certain detailed areas. 
In itsconcern to ensure the freecirculatron of goods 
and the withdrawal of barriers to trade withm the 
Community by 199^ the Commissions introductory 
remarks fail to give adequate consideration to the mini 
mum requirements for the health and safety of persons 
v^hich are of paramount importance. Leo. The Committee is pleased that there is a pro^ 
posed parallel Directive ^doc. COAi^88^ 7^ dealing 
with the social, health and safety aspect of the use 
of personal protective equipment, believing that the 
relationship between Articles 100Aandll8AofTreaty 
of Rome as modified by the Single European Act is 
important to be maintained. 
l.D. The Committee noted that the Commission had 
conductedasurvey which,it states, revealed considers 
able differences between member States on the subject 
of personal protective equipment. The Committee 
believes that it wouldbe of value if thefactsof this 
survey were to be made public together with insurance 
claim statistics, in order thataclose assessment can be 
made of the most vulnerable situations, enabling an 
improvement in safety and protection of the users. 
1.7. The Directive requires the removal from the 
marl^etofequipment which could compromise safety. 
It fails however to point out the penalties which should 
apply when such products are nonetheless placed on 
the marl^et.The liability of the manufacturer may not 
be sufficient if theitemisproducedtoaspecification 
notof hisdesign. It is still notclear where the legal 
liability for defective products lies in relation to certifi 
cations and it needs to beclearly stated who must 
bear responsibility for payment of compensation in 
such cases. 
2. Ceneral comments 
2.1. The Committee sees the current position as one 
where each Aiember State has its ov^nrange of Regu 
rations which vary in degree and level between those 
Aiember States Other^new approach^ Directives pro^ 
vide for a single Standing Committee ^the Directive 
8^189^PPC Committees to advise the Commission on 
implementation of the Directives The economic and 
Social Committee has consistently recommended the 
^eueMemp^^ t^^ m ^eueMen^B t^3^ t^ 
No C 337/38 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 88 
creation of a separate more specialized Advisory Com­
mittee for each major Directive and recommends that 
such a Committee be set up in this instance with the 
participation of the social parties referred to in 1.3 
above. 
2.2. It is likely that at the outset any such specialized 
Advisory Committee will have to advise on levels which 
may be higher than those required in some Member 
States and lower in others. The Committee believes that 
the transitional period and compromise levels set at the 
stage can only be considered as the first step towards 
the objectively established higher level which should be 
approached as soon as possible. 
2.3. The Committee sees a considerable difficulty in 
that the measures proposed are not confined to the 
workplace. It agrees with this approach. It must then 
consider however that the exemptions as defined in 
Annex I lead to confusion. The draft Directive is unclear 
too as to how far pharmaceutical and medical apparatus 
is included and there is no indication as to the relation­
ship with other Community provisions for personal 
protection that are in force or are being contemplated 
by the Commission. 
3. Specific comments 
3.1. Article 1.2. 
The definition of personal protective equipment should 
be expanded to make clear which medical protective 
aids and apparati are included, bearing in mind the 
draft Directive on 'Single-use medical devices' which is 
shortly to be tabled. 
3.2. Article 2.3. 
Whilst the Committee understands that an organization 
or a citizen of the Community may wish to display at 
'Trade Fairs, exhibitions and the like' protoypes which 
may not yet have received the necessary validation of 
conformity, it nevertheless should be clear that any 
such prototypes should not be displayed unless they 
meet the minimum safety protection requirements for 
that prototype. 
3.3. Article 3.3. 
The transitional period up to 31 December 1992 for 
those products and equipment for which harmonized 
standards have not been agreed must be used with 
diligence so that the large range of items are included 
by that deadline. 3.4. Article 6 
The penultimate recital states '... steps must be taken 
to ensure adequate consultation of the two sides of 
industry and in particular the workers' organizations in 
the context of the standardizations and administrative 
activities associated with this Directive'. Article 6 refers 
only to the Standing Committee created by Directive 
83/189/EEC(1). The Committee considers that the 
'Advisory Committee on safety, hygiene and health 
protection at work' should be involved in order that 
the intentions quoted above are fulfilled. 
3.5. Article 7 
3.5.1. The Committee considers that the third para­
graph of Article 7.1 should also include the requirement 
under Article 2.1 concerning, as it does, both the health 
and safety of individuals, domestic animals or goods. 
3.5.2. Article 7.3 should make it clear that PPE not 
in conformity with the 'EC mark, whether due to being 
below the minimum specifications required or by being 
wrongly marked should have the 'EC mark withdrawn 
and notification of such withdrawal be published in 
the Official Journal and made generally known to the 
public. 
3.6. Article 8.3. 
In the second paragraph, footnote examples should be 
given to make the wording clearer—for example 'solar 
radiation' is intended to mean 'sunlight' and 'gardening 
activities' is not very precise. 
3.7. Article 13.2 
This needs redrafting to remove any requirement to 
keep the packaging. 
3.8. Annex 1 - 1, 2 and 3 
The Committee considers that as the draft Directive is 
intended to include all persons (see 2.3 above) then the 
only exclusion should be that of the combattant sections 
of the armed forces; those involved in the maintenance 
of law and order should be included. The exclusions 
given at paragraphs (2) and (3) are not seen as accept­
able without any explanation being given. 
3.9.1. Annex 11- 1.1.2. 
The Committee suggests a further sentence to this 
indent, such as 'In any event adequate protection for 
(') OJ No L109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8. 
31. 12. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 337/39 
the level of risk compatible with health and safety must 
be provided.' 
3.9.2. Annex 11- 1.4. 
The Committee draws attention to the Committee's 
Opinion {l) on the parallel Directive [doc. COM(88) 76] 
which deals with the information to be supplied by the 
manufacturer in relation to the use of PPEs: it considers 
the relationship between the manufacturer and the user 
to be important to achieve the most effective personal 
protection. 
3.10.1. Annex HI - Chapter I - 1 
There can be confusion here as while Article 8.1 requires 
that a manufacturer draw up a file, there is no obli­
gation on the manufacturer to present the file once it 
is prepared. Articles 10 and 11 do require such presen­
tation in relation to verification and to conformity. 
(') OJ NoC318, 12. 12. 1988. 
Done at Brussels, 27 October 1988. 
1. Foreword 
1.1. The draft Regulation submitted by the Com­
mission falls within the general context of measures 
taken in furtherance of Title V of the Single Act: 'Econ­
omic and Social Cohesion'. The wording of clause 1.1 b) should be altered to read 
'... the manufacturer's file must include sufficient data 
to enable the ...'. 
3.10.2. Annex III - Chapter I -2(a) (English version) 
The sentence should read: '(a) its conformity to the 
harmonized standards or other technical specifications 
referred to in Article 5.' 
3.11. Annex III - Chapter 11 
The Committee endorses the minimum criteria set out 
for the Member States in appointing inspection bodies. 
It reiterates earlier Opinions however that mutual rec­
ognition between Member States of the testing stations 
and inspestion bodies should exist on a legal Com­
munity basis. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
More specifically, Article 130 A states that in order 
to promote its overall harmonious development, the 
Community shall strengthen its economic and social 
cohesion by 'reducing disparities between the various 
regions and the backwardness of the least-favoured 
regions'. Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation laying down provisions for implementing 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 as regards coordination of the activities of the different 
structural funds between themselves and with the operations of the European Investment 
Bank and the other existing financial instruments 
(88/C 337/13) 
On 8 August 1988, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Articles 123, 130 E and 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, on the abovementioned proposal. 
The section for regional development and town and country planning, which was responsible 
for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 18 October 1988. 
The rapporteur was Mr Serra-Caracciolo and the co-rapporteur was Mr Amato. 
At its 259th plenary session (meeting of 27 October 1988), the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following Opinion.