10,7 90 Official]ournalofthe European Communities ^oC16^15 
2.8, management training programmes areamatter of 
particular urgency if market^economy structures are to be 
rapidly set up, priority should he given to developing and 
testing models for advanceddevel seminars and trainee 
programmes, e,g, in the fields of accountancy,marketmg, 
foreign trade and company organisation. The experiences 
of public and private institutions, or of organisations 
specialising in vocational training, may come in useful 
here, 
2.9, As soon as is possible, the Eoundation should look 
beyond cooperation with Poland and Hungary and extend 
its activities to other Eastern European countries provided 
this is what the latter want and need, and provided funds 
can be mobilised by the individual countries concerned and 
the Community, 
2.10, Since the future will see the closer integration of 
Europe beyond the bounds of the present Community,the 
proposal to allow non^member countries to participate in 
the Eoundation as donor countries (Article 15) is emphatic 
cally endorsed. 
The Committee also things it will be useful if the 
Eoundation maintains contact with all international 
organisations setting up and implementing similar aid 
programmes. 
The Economic and Social Committee approves the 
proposal for a Directive subject to the followingcomD 
ments 
1, Ceneral comments 
1,1, ^^r 
The Commission proposal seeks to ensure free movement 
of all mobile machinery within its scope, by aligning the 
different national provisions for design and manufacture. 
(^)Oi^De^,r7^^o,D^ 2.11, The Eoundation should be supported by an 
advisory body meetingat regular intervals of about Sm 
months and given the tasks of providing technical advice 
about the Eoundation^sactivities, 
ToensurethattheEoundation is operational withmashort 
period of time, this task should be entrusted to the 
Committee and more particularly its Section for Social 
questions, 
2.12, The Committee trusts that it will also be sent the 
findings of the review of the experiences acquired in 
carrying out the Eoundation^s tasks (Articled of the 
Commission proposal), 
2.13, Einally, the Committee trusts that the future 
activities of the Eoundation forVocationalTraming will 
not adversely affect other Commission commitments to 
help structurally weak regions of the Community, 
Done at Brussels, 25 April 1990, 
o^^E^o^o^^^^o^^Co^^r^ 
The very ^mobihty^ of such equipment creates specific 
hazards which warrant the incorporation of separate 
provisions on mobile machinery into a consolidated 
Directive on machinery in general. 
These provisions,which chiefly target manufacturers, are 
also to be supplemented by another Directive on the use of 
mobile machinery. 
The existence of several different Directives covering the 
various areas and persons concerned with machinery could Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 89A^92^EEC on the 
approximation of the laws of the member States relating to machinery (^) 
(90^C 16^12) 
On 22 lanuary!990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
ArticlelOOa of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for lndustry,Commerce, Crafts andServices, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committees workonthesub^ect,adopteditsopinionon^Apnl 1990, Therapporteur was 
^virElum, 
At its 276th plenary session(meetmg on 25 April 1990) the Economic and SocialCommittee 
adopted the following opinion byama^onty with one vote against 
No C 168/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 7. 90 
lead to misunderstandings at the application stages. The 
Committee therefore underlines the importance of this new 
proposal which, unlike the original separate Directive, 
provides for a consolidated legal instrument designed to: 
— ensure that the various legal provisions complement and 
are consistent with each other and with the 'user' 
Directive which is to be drawn up, and 
— provide a clear, unambiguous and logical description of 
scope (definition) and basic requirements (1). 
1.2. Economic and social impact 
There are no centralized Community statistics on the 
incidence and seriousness of accidents caused by the use of 
mobile machinery. Such data are, however, essential for the 
proposed standardization and administrative procedures. 
Likewise, in order to determine the scale of and reasons for 
these accidents, references to such cases in the provisions of 
Directives and standards must be set out clearly. We 
recommend that the provisions of the Directives be 
examined with this in mind, and that steps be taken to 
investigate how, and by whom, centralized Community 
statistics could be compiled in the future. 
1.3. Consultation of the parties concerned 
We welcome the efforts to involve all the parties concerned 
throughout the preparatory work on this proposal. It is 
necessary to ensure that all interested parties are briefed 
about and involved in the planned standardization work; 
this can be done with the help of a standing committee 
involving the social partners or experts appointed by them. 
1.4. The transitional period 
The Commission expects that there will be a relatively long 
transition period before the aligned standards under the 
Directive can be brought into effect. In the mean time, 
differing interpretations of essential health and safety 
requirements could lead to frequent use of the safeguard 
clause. We endorse the Commission's view that exami­
nation of specific examples of such use should help to 
develop a common approach to the problem of assessing 
technical options. As such procedures and decisions can 
have far-reaching repercussions and can set a precedent, the 
social partners must be guaranteed adequate involvement. 
The procedure to be followed in such cases should be 
drawn up by the standing committee (cf. point 1.3). 
Rules and regulations coordinating the different trans­
itional periods of the individual Directives (e.g. the one on 
individual protective equipment) must be laid down. Use of 
(!) In this connection, the Committee refers to its resolution of 
7 July 1988 on the need for Community institutions to draft 
documents in clear understandable language. the transitional period has to be justified factually and may 
not lead to a reduction in the level of protection. 
1.5. The role of standardization 
New aligned European standards will be crucial to future 
safety levels. For this reason, the CEN initiative is welcome, 
because it aims to: 
— draw up an inventory of existing international and 
national standards, 
— identify standardization requirements, 
— establish a standardization programme with concom­
itant priorities. 
It is assumed that, in conjunction with the social partners: 
— the standing committee mentioned in point 1.3 will be 
involved in the process to deal with the individual 
categories of machinery, and 
— the standing committee mentioned in Directive 83/189/ 
EEC will deal with the standardization procedure as a 
whole. 
2. The proposal for an amended Directive 
2.1. Scope 
The scope is adequately defined. Certain types of 
machinery are expressly excluded, as is machinery which 
falls under the definition of 'mobile' but is already covered 
by a more specific Community Directive on essential health 
and safety requirements. The latter restriction is par­
ticularly important for the practical aspects of applying the 
Directive and would appear to be open to interpretation, 
particularly in borderline cases. Steps should be taken to 
ensure that means of transportation, such as vehicles 
carrying tools and equipment (commercial vehicles), 
comply with industrial safety and road safety Directives 
(outline type approval Directive 70/156/EEC) and fall 
within the scope of the present Directive. 
The wording of the exclusions should specify whether the 
mobile machinery category as a whole, or merely part of 
this category, is covered by the restriction. Devices 
incorporated in mobile machinery (e.g. compressed air 
reservoirs) do not require a blanket exclusion for this 
category of machinery, but rather an assessment of 
compressed air reservoir specifications, for which the 
existing relevant Directive is to be used as a basis for 
assessment. There should also be provisions covering the 
sale and leasing of second-hand machinery and machinery 
already on the market. 
2.2. Certification of conformity 
2.2.1. The certification procedure for obtaining an EC 
mark is set out in the Directive. Under the procedure, an 
authorized agent of the manufacturer is also empowered to 
issue a conformity declaration. It must be made clear who 
10. 7. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 168/17 
can be the appointed agent of the manufacturer, and to 
what extent this agent is liable, once he has issued a 
conformity declaration. 
The manufacturer must be assigned sole responsibility. In 
any case this is a fundamental obligation which should not 
be open to delegation, irrespective of the legal aspects of 
liability. 
2.2.2. In order to draw up a conformity declaration (as 
set out in Annex V of the existing machinery Directive) and 
undergo the EC-type examination, the manufacturer must 
first prepare a dossier and a proposal, outlining the 
'methods adopted to eliminate hazards' in the use of mobile 
machinery. A point of paramount importance should be 
added here: before these methods are investigated and 
attributed, the hazards must first be identified and 
analysed. It would be reasonable to expect that the hazards 
thus analysed and the corresponding safety measures also 
be listed. This recommendation is made against a 
background of developments in operational safety anal­
yses, which begin with the individual aspects of safety at 
work. 
2.3. General comments on the essential health and 
safety requirements 
2.3.1. The Commission has very appropriately pinpoin­
ted the importance of the integration principle. The aim is 
to design individual operations of a piece of machinery so 
as, as far as possible, to make the application of additional 
safety measures redundant. In view of the definitions set 
out in point 1.1, these requirements, to construct the 
individual operations of a machinery according to an 
inherently safe design, should be set out systematically in a 
single paragraph, as provided for in point 1.1.2 of Annex I. 
2.3.2. Some basic requirements for mobile machinery 
design are of fundamental importance. Examples of these 
are: climatic conditions, excessively high or low pressure in 
hydraulics and pneumatic systems, appropriate transpor­
tation design, safety device design and physical and mental 
strain. 
2.3.3. The Committee does not believe that total safety 
can be achieved. 
Nevertheless, the residual risk must be reduced by aiming 
for and applying state-of-the-art safety standards in all 
areas. 
2.3.4. Distinction between the scope of Directives 
and standards 
The new approach calls for a clear distinction to be made 
between (a) fundamental requirements consisting of targets (safety targets) set out in the Directives, and (b) concepts 
relating to research into safety options and their implemen­
tation in the construction of machinery. 
With this principle in mind, some minor amendments may 
be necessary [e.g. point 3.5.3. (Annex II) '... the said 
substances ... (should be) ... precipitated by water spraying 
2.3.5. Priority for accident prevention and health 
protection 
Timely, well-planned accident prevention and health 
protection measures should ensure that hazards involved in 
handling or using machinery are eradicated. This entails 
using the latest accident prevention techniques. 
It is, however, essential to familiarize employees and 
consumers with the correct handling of machines via 
appropriate training, further education and information 
dissemination. 
If hazards nevertheless remain, there is then no alternative 
to the preventative safety principle which provides for 
protective measures. 
The essential health and safety requirements mean that the 
installation of safety devices for protection against existing 
hazards cannot be contingent on factors such as size (cf. 
Annex I, points 3.2.1 '... as long as there is room ...' and 
3.4.5, '... if its size allows ...'). 
The provisions governing this area should be worded the 
other way round, i.e. where certain hazards arise or are 
likely to do so, the dimensions must permit the (retro) 
fitting of a safety device or a cabin. 
2.3.6. Comments on technical aspects 
The Commission should examine to what extent the lift 
apparatus for tower crane drivers falls within the scope of 
the Directive. 
Done at Brussels, 25 April 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alberto MASPRONE 
No C 168/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 7. 90 
APPENDIX 
The following amendment, submitted in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, was defeated: 
Page 2, point 1.4 
Add the following at the end of the second paragraph: 
'At all events, to ensure that the transitional period is effective and useful, and in keeping with the spirit of 
the fourth recital of the proposal, Article 1 (8) should be reworded to read: 
'Furthermore, Member States shall allow the placing on the market ...' 
Simply giving Member States the possibility of authorization could produce contradictory effects; the 
option could be used to create barriers within the Community rather than to apply the transitional 
arrangements effectively.' 
Reasons 
Self-explanatory. 
Voting 
For: 21. 
Against: 56. 
Abstentions: 3. 
Opinion on the draft Council Directive amending Directive 80/836 laying down the basic safety 
standards for the health protection of the general public and workers against the dangers of 
ionizing radiation as regards prior authorization of shipment of radioactive waste (*) 
(90/C 168/13) 
On 30 November 1989 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, 
under Article 31 of the Treaty, on the abovementioned draft Directive. 
The Section for Energy, Nuclear Questions and Research, which was responsible for preparing the 
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 10 April 1990. The rapporteur was 
Mr Flum. 
At its 276th plenary session (meeting of 25 April 1990) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion with no dissenting votes and seven abstentions: 
1. General assessment 
1.1. The basic standards currently in force are contained 
in Directive 80/836/Euratom, as amended by Directive 84/ 
467/Euratom, which sets out transport requirements in 
quite general terms. In order to ensure that administrative 
authorities keep track of radioactive waste at all times, 
there is a need for specific provisions governing the 
shipment of such waste. The present draft Directive has 
been drawn up to meet this need. 
1.2. With this aim in view, it is proposed that further 
provisions be added to Article 5 of Directive 80/836/ 
Euratom and that an Annex IA be inserted, setting out the 
administrative procedure governing the shipment of 
radioactive waste. 
(!) OJ No C 5, 10. 1. 1990, p. 7. 1.3. The Commission has convincingly demonstrated 
the need for administrative supervision of shipments of 
radioactive waste. 
1.4. The Committee fundamentally and emphatically 
welcomes the Commission's prorjrils. 
2. General comments on the administrative supervision of 
the shipment of radioactive waste 
2.1. Annex IA describes in detail the procedure to be 
followed as regards prior notification, authorization and 
documentation. 
2.2. Bearing in mind that such shipments may involve, 
directly or indirectly, various Member States and non-
Member States, the draft Directive endeavours to cover 
every aspect. This does, however, make it difficult to 
formulate rules which are straightforward and thus readily 
monitored.