NoC201/1126.7.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiveamendingforthesecondtimeDirective83/
189/EEClayingdownaprocedurefortheprovisionofinformationinthefieldoftechnical
standardsandregulations(*)
(93/C201/06)
On14December1992,theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle100AoftheTreatyEstablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon5May1993.TheRapporteur
wasMrdeKnegt.
Atits306thPlenarySession(meetingof26May1993)theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.General institutionalandproceduralframeworktofacilitate
andacceleratestandardization atEuropeanlevel.
1.4.TheCommitteealsodrawsattentiontoaCom­
missionCommunication whichreviewsprogresswith
regardtostandardization intheinternalmarketand
relationsbetweentheCommissionandtheEuropean
standardization institutions .1.1.CouncilDirective83/189/EECof28March
1983(2)andits(first)amendingDirective88/182/EEC
of22March1988(3)aredesigned:
—toprovidetheCommissionwithanearlywarning
oftechnicalregulationsproposedbyMemberStates
whichmayactasbarrierstotrade;
—toensuretotaltransparencyofnationalplansfor
regulationsandstandardsandtoensureeffective
cooperationbetweentheCommissionandtheMem­
berStatesinthecreationofasinglemarket;
—-toensurethattheCommissionandtheMember
Statesarejointlyresponsiblefortheproperworking
ofthesesystemsthroughaStandingCommittee
(Article5ofDirective83/189/EEC).
TheESCendorsedboththeseDirectives(4).1.5.On5April1991,theCommissionpublisheda
reportontheapplicationoftheDirectivein1988and
1989,whichitreferredtotheCommittee.
1.6.TheensuringESCOpinion(publishedon
30October1991)(6)statedthatthereportcreatedthe
impressionthattheEuropeanCommitteeforStandard­
ization(CEN)andtheEuropeanCommitteeforElectro­
technicalStandardization (Cenelec)didnotalwaysget
thefullcooperationorcommitmentwhichmightbe
expectedfromthenationalbodieswithintheMember
States,eventhoughtheCommissionGreenPaperon
theDevelopmentofEuropeanStandardization called
forgreatercommitmentfromthemembersofCENand
Cenelec.Itwasimportantthatthestageatwhichnew
workshouldbenotifiedbynationalbodiesshouldbe
laiddownandmadecommontoall.1.2.On8December1988,inaccordancewithArticle
11ofDirective83/189/EEC,theCommissionpublished
areportontheoperationoftheDirective.TheESC
wasconsultedonthatreport.
1.3.InitsOpinionof27September1989()onthe
report,theCommitteenoted,inparticular,thatthe
1983Directivehadoperatedeffectivelyinpreventing
thecreationofnewtechnicalbarrierstotradewithin
theCommunityinsofarasithadinstitutedamechan­
ismforcollectivescrutinyofdrafttechnicallegislation
atnationallevelandhadsetupatthesametimean1.7.LateronintheOpinion,theCommitteestrongly
supportedtheCommissionproposalforthecreationof
aEuropeanStandardsDataBankasabibliographical
sourceforstandardization activities.Thosedatashould
beaccessibleandavailabletothenationalbodiesand
toallotherinterestedparties.Therewasalackof
transparencyatalllevelsofdefiningoradoptingstan­
dardsandthiswasanaspectthatshouldbeattended
to.
(1)OJNoC340,23.12.1992,p.7.
(2)OJNoL109,26.4.1983,p.8.
(3)OJNoL81,26.3.1988,p.75.
(4)OJNoC159,29.6.1981;OJNoC319,30.11.1987.
(5)OJNoC298,27.11.1989.(6)OJNoC14,20.1.1992.

NoC201/12 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities26.7.93
2.ProposedamendmentofDirective83/189/EECfor
thesecondtime2.7.Thisproposalhasbeendiscussedindepthby
theStandingCommitteesetupunderArticle5ofthe
DirectiveandwiththeEuropeanstandardization
bodies.
3.GistoftheCommissionproposal
3.1.TheCommission'sproposalscanbegrouped
underthreemainheadings,namelystandards,technical
regulationsandimprovingthebasisforjointactionin
thefieldoftechnicalregulations.2.1.Directive83/189/EECof28March1983laying
downaprocedurefortheprovisionofinformationin
thefieldoftechnicalstandardsandregulations,as
subsequentlyamendedbyDirective88/182/EECof
22March1988toincludeallproducts,introduceda
mandatoryrequirementoftransparencyfornew
nationaltechnicalspecifications,whetherstandardsor
regulations.
2.1.1.Thistransparencyisessentialinordertoelim­
inateorminimizethedifficultieswhichthemeasures
inquestionmaycauseinrespectoftradebetween
MemberStatesoftheCommunity .
2.2.ThisDirective,whichasalreadypointedoutis
designedtopreventtheemergenceofnewbarriersto
trade,hasprovedtobefundamentaltotheprocessof
completingtheinternalmarketbypromotingcooper­
ationbetweenMemberStatesoridentifyingtheareas
wherethereisaneedforjointaction.
2.3.Thisinstrumentsetsouttoreducethecon­
straintsimposedbydivergentnationaltechnicalspecifi­
cationsonbusinesseswishingtooperateCommunity­
wideandtocreateatechnicalenvironment inwhich
theycanmaintainorimprovetheirabilitytocompete
bothontheCommunitymarketandoutside.3.2.Asregardsstandards,itisstatedthatthereare
certaindifficultieswiththenotificationprocedureand
theunwieldinessoftheprocedureitself.Theaimofthe
proposedamendment,therefore,istospecifymore
preciselythenationalstandardswhichmustbenotified
andtosimplifytheprocedure.
3.3.Thepowersofnationalstandardization bodies
andauthoritiesarealsotoberegulatedafresh.These
includetherighttoparticipatepassivelyoractively
inthestandards-making activitiesofanothernational
standardization body,therighttorequestdraftsof
standardsandtherighttobetoldabouttheaction
takenoncommentsrelatingtothedrafts.
3.4.Asregardstechnicalregulations,theaimisto
increasetransparencybywideninganddefininginmore
detailthescopeoftheDirective,clarifyingcertaincon­
ceptsandrulesofprocedureandintroducingthepossi­
bilityofinformingeconomicoperators.
3.5.Onthislatterpoint,theprovisionofinformation
toeconomicoperators,theproposalseekstoputanend
tothepresentDirective'srequirementthatincoming
informationshouldbeabsolutelyconfidential .
3.6.Asregardsimprovingthebasisforjointaction
inthefieldoftechnicalregulations,theCommission
proposalprovidesforthebroadeningoftheconditions
forjointactionandthestrengtheningofthebasisfor
harmonization .2.4.Fromnowonthisstrategywillhavetotake
accountofanewparameter,namelytheestablishment
oftheinternalmarketon1January1993.Theinstru­
mentdevisedin1983tohelpwiththecompletionof
theinternalmarkethastobeadaptedtoitsnewrole
intheyearsahead,whichistomakesurethatthe
internalmarketfunctionsproperly.
2.5.Thiswillnotrequireanychangestothebasis
onwhichtheinstrumentrests—theconceptsofproduct,
standardandmandatoryregulation—noranyradical
alterationoftheproceduresgoverningcompulsorynoti­
ficationanddialogue.However,itisessential,inthe
lightofexperienceandofdevelopments whichhave
alreadybeguninthefieldofstandardization and
nationalregulations,toreinforcethebasicprinciples
oftheinformationprocedure,namelytransparencyof
actionatnationallevelanddisciplineinthecaseof
jointaction.3.7.Ofparticularimportanceistheadjustmentof
the'standstillperiods',whichcomeintoforceeither
whentheCommission hasannounceditsintentionto
drawupCommunityrulesorincaseswheresuchrules
havealreadybeenformallyproposedandarebefore
theCouncil.
2.6.Theinformationprocedurelaiddowninthe
Directivecoversonlyregulationsrelatingtoproducts.
Inordertoreaffirmthisbasicprinciple,whichdeter­
minestheDirective'sscope,thedefinitionofaproduct
—whichremainsunchanged—isplacedattheheadof
Article1.3.8.Atpresent,theMemberStatesarerequiredto
observeaone-yearstandstillperiod,whichtakeseffect
wheneveraharmonization proposalispresentedtothe
Council.TheCommissionwishestomakethefollowing
changes:

26.7.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC201/13
absolutelycrucialforsmallandmedium-sizedenterpris­
es.Thereisaspecialneed,withinthisoverallframe­
work,forthecreationofadatabankonstandardization
activities.—thestandstillperiodistobeextendedtoeighteen
monthsandistotakeeffectfromthedateofsub­
missionofthenationaldrafttotheCommission ;
—MemberStatesaretorefrainfromintroducingregu­
lationsoncetheCouncilhasadoptedacommon
positionontheCommission'sharmonizingpro­
posal.
3.9.TheCommission'sreasonforsubmittingapro­
posaltotheCouncilconcerningthisextensionderives
fromtheexperiencethatmoretimethanoriginally
foreseenisneededforCouncilapprovalofCommunity
legislation.4.7.Atpresent,itisdifficulttosaywhetherthe
Committeeissatisfiedinallrespectswiththelarge
numberofstandardsdrawnupinthedifferentsectors,
sincesomanyareawaitingapproval.
4.8.CENissaidtobefarbehindinthepreparation
ofstandardsfor,forexample,thebuildingindustry.
Accordingtoreports,sometwothousandtopicsare
waitingtobedealtwithandCENhasbeenassigned
responsibilityfor800ofthese.
4.9.SincemostofCEN'sactivitydependsonthe
voluntarycooperationofexpertswhotakegreattrouble
indrawingupstandards,theCommitteewouldaskthe
CommissiontocontactCENwithaviewtofindingthe
bestwayofclearingthebacklog.4.Specificcomments
4.1.TheDirectivewillberadicallychangedbythe
proposal.VirtuallyalltheArticles(withtheexception
ofArticles5and6)havebeenrewrittenand/oradded
to.
4.10.TheCommissionshouldalsopaymoreatten­
tiontotheimplementation ofthe'newapproach'.In
theCommittee'sview,CENshouldcompletethetasks
assignedtoitmorerapidly.TheMemberStateshave
failed,todifferingextents,todevotethenecessary
energyandattentiontomeetingtheDirective'srequire­
ments.4.2.TheCommitteecanendorsetheproposed
secondamendmentoftheDirective.Itnotesthatthis
followsonfromtheneedtoensurethatstandardization
activitiesareoptimallyintegratedintotheinternalmar­
ket,whichbegantotakeshapeon1January1993but
whichmustbeextendedfurther.Atthesametime,it
wouldmakethefollowingobservations :
4.3.TheCommitteewelcomesArticle8whichrefers
tolimitationofthemarketingoruseofachemicalor
pharmaceuticalsubstance,preparationorproducton
groundsofpublichealthortheprotectionofconsumers
ortheenvironment .
4.4.Atthesametime,itregretstheabsenceof
explicitencouragement forthedevelopmentofcorre­
spondingstandards.Inthefieldsofpublichealthand
environmental protection,greateremphasismustbe
giventothedevelopmentofEuropeanstandardson
industrialpollutionandotherpreventiveandprotective
measures.TheGATTAgreementalsomentionsthis
need.4.11.TheCommitteehasnowtakennoteofthe
CommissionreportontheoperationoftheDirective
in1990and1991.Thisreportannounces,inparticular,
thatCENandCenelecdecidedin1991topostpone
thecreationoftheEuropeanStandardsDataBank
indefinitely .Thiswasbecauseof(a)theCommission's
proposaltosharethecostsofonlythefirsttwoproject
phasesand(b)theinterestofCENmembersinthe
Perinormcommercialproject.
4.12.TheCommitteereceivedthisannouncement
withregret,sinceitmeansthatactiontoincreasethe
transparencyofstandardization —forwhichthedata
bankrepresentedanimportant'resource'—willbe
deferred.
4.13.TheCommitteenotestheCommission's
endorsementofCEN'sdecisiontoexaminethepossi­
bilityofalsofeedingdatafromotherstandardization
bodiesintothePerinormdatabase.TheCommittee
assumesthatthisdatabasewillbeabletosatisfythe
divergentmarketrequirementswithinashorttimeand
thatallinterestedpartieswillenjoyaccesstotheinfor­
mationonreasonableterms.4.5.Inthiscontext,itshouldbepointedoutthatthe
CommissionhaspublishedaproposalforaCouncil
Directiveonpackagingandpackagingwaste.Thereis
anurgentneedforCommunity-level standardization
onthebasisoftheprincipleunderlyingthisDirective
and,inparticular,fortheharmonization ofcriteriaand
methodsgoverningthelife-cycleofpackaging.
4.6.Apermanentandcloserwatchmustbekepton
countriesthatlagbehindinthestandardization process,
bothasregardstestingandcertificationandinrespect
oftherapidprovisionofaccurateinformationonthe
developmentofnewstandards.Thisisparticularly
importantinthecontextofcompetitionpolicyandis4.14.TheCommitteeappreciatestheCommission's
effortstoensurethatinformationonstandardsthat

OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 26.7.93 NoC201/14
havebeen,orarebeing,drawnupismadeavailable
withminimumdelay.Itwould,however,beregrettable
ifthedata-baseobjectiveformerlyadvocatedbythe
Commissionandendorsedbymanyorganizationswere
tobepushedintothebackgroundbyCENactivities
enjoyingtheCommission'ssupport.4.16.TheforegoingrepresentstheCommitteescom­
pleteendorsementoftheCouncilResolutionof18June
1992whichreferstotheimportanceofacohesive
systemofEuropeanstandards,organizedbyandfor
thepartiesconcerned,basedontransparency,openness,
consensus,independenceofvestedinterests,efficiency
anddecision-takingonthebasisofnationalrepresen­
tation.
5.CommentsontheArticles
5.1.TheCommitteesuggeststhatthelasttwosen­
tencesofArticle9(7)shouldbeamendedasfollows:
'Tobevalid,anyCommissiondecisiontorefusethe
urgentprocedureongroundsofimproperuseshall
bemadewithinatimelimitofnotmorethanfive
workingdays.TheCommissionshalltakeappropri­
ateactionintheeventofimproperuse.'4.15.CommitteeOpinionsonstandardizationhave
systematicallystressedtheimportanceoftrans­
parency—inwhichadatabankwouldplayamajor
role—andthishasevokedafavourableresponsefrom
theCommission.Consequently,theESCseesthePerin­
ormprojectasaninterimmeasureandwouldendorse,
inadvance,CommissionactiontoencourageCENand
Cenelectosetupadatabankmorerapidly,asdesired.
DoneatBrussels,26May1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN