COMMON POSITION (EC) No 13/1999 adopted by the Council on 22 December 1998 with a view to adopting Council Directive 1999/. . ./EC of . . . on minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres (1999/C 55/06)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 118a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1), submitted after consultation with the Advisory Committee on safety, hygiene and health protection at work and the Safety and Health Commission for the mining and other extractive industries,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of the Treaty (3),

(1) Whereas Article 118a of the Treaty provides that the Council shall adopt, by means of Directives, minimum requirements for encouraging improvements, especially in the working environment, to guarantee a better level of protection of the health and safety of workers;

(2) Whereas, under the terms of that Article, those Directives are to avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings;

(3) Whereas the improvement of occupational safety, hygiene and health is an objective which should not be subordinated to purely economic considerations;

(4) Whereas compliance with the minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres is essential if workers' safety and health protection is to be ensured;

(5) Whereas this Directive is an individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (4); whereas, therefore, the provisions of the said Directive, in particular those relating to worker information, to the consultation and participation of workers and to the training of workers, are also fully applicable to cases in which workers are potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres, without prejudice to more restrictive or specific provisions contained in this Directive;

(6) Whereas this Directive constitutes a practical step towards the achievement of the social dimension of the internal market;

(7) Whereas Directive 93/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 March 1994 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (5) states that it is intended to prepare an additional Directive based on Article 118a covering, in particular, explosion hazards which derive from a given use and/or types and methods of installation of equipment;

(8) Whereas explosion protection is of particular importance to safety; whereas explosions endanger the lives and health of workers as a result of the uncontrolled effects of flame and pressure, the presence of noxious reaction products and consumption of the oxygen in the ambient air which workers need to breathe;

(9) Whereas the establishment of a coherent strategy for the prevention of explosions requires that organisational measures complement the technical measures taken at the workplace; whereas Directive 89/391/EEC requires the employer to be in possession of an assessment of the risks to workers' health and safety at work; whereas this requirement is to be regarded as being specified by this Directive in that it provides that the employer shall draw up an explosion protection document or set of documents which satisfy the minimum requirements laid down in this Directive and keep it up to date; whereas the explosion protection document includes the identification of the hazards, the evaluation of risks and the definition of the specific measures to be taken to safeguard the health and safety of workers at risk from explosive atmospheres, in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 89/391/EEC; whereas the explosion protection document may be part of the assessment of the risks to health and safety at work required by Article 9 of Directive 89/391/EEC;

(10) Whereas an assessment of explosion risks may be required under other Community acts; whereas, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of work, the employer should be allowed, in accordance with national practice, to combine documents, parts of documents or other equivalent reports produced under other Community acts to form a single 'safety report`;

(11) Whereas the prevention of the formation of explosive atmospheres also includes the application of the substitution principle;

(12) Whereas preventive measures must be supplemented if necessary by additional measures which become effective when ignition has taken place; whereas maximum safety can be achieved by combining preventive measures with other additional measures limiting the detrimental effects of explosions on workers;

(13) Whereas Council Directive 92/58/EEC of 24 June 1992 on the minimum requirements for the provision of safety and/or health signs at work (ninth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (6) is fully applicable, in particular to places immediately contiguous to hazardous areas, where smoking, crosscutting, welding and other activities introducing flames or sparks may interact with the hazardous area;

(14) Whereas Directive 94/9/EC divides the equipment and protective systems which it covers into equipment groups and categories; whereas this Directive provides for a classification by the employer of the places where explosive atmospheres may occur in terms of zones and determines which equipment and protective systems groups and categories should be used in each zone,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

SECTION I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 Object and scope

1. This Directive, which is the fifteenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/331/EEC, lays down minimum requirements for the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres as defined in Article 2.

2. This Directive shall not apply to:

(a) areas used directly for and during the medical treatment of patients;

(b) the use of appliances burning gaseous fuels in accordance with Directive 90/396/EEC (7);

(c) the manufacture, handling, use, storage and transport of explosives or chemically unstable substances;

(d) mineral-extracting industries covered by Directive 92/91/EEC (8) or Directive 92/104/EEC (9);

(e) the use of means of transport by land, water and air, to which the pertinent provisions of the international agreements (e.g. ADNR, ADR, ICAO, IMO, RID), and the Community Directives giving effect to those agreements, apply. Means of transport intended for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere shall not be excluded.

3. The provisions of Directive 89/391/EEC and the relevant individual Directives are fully applicable to the domain referred to in paragraph 1, without prejudice to more restrictive and/or specific provisions contained in this Directive.

Article 2 Definition

For the purposes of this Directive, 'explosive atmosphere` means a mixture with air, under atmospheric conditions, of flammable substances in the form of gases, vapours, mists or dusts in which, after ignition has occurred, combustion spreads to the entire unburned mixture.

SECTION II OBLIGATIONS OF THE EMPLOYER

Article 3 Prevention of and protection against explosions

1. With a view to preventing, within the meaning of Article 6(2) of Directive 89/391/EEC, and providing protection against explosions, the employer shall take technical and/or organisational measures appropriate to the nature of the operation, in order of priority and in accordance with the following basic principles:

- the prevention of the formation of explosive atmospheres, or where the nature of the activity does not allow that,

- the avoidance of the ignition of explosive atmospheres

and

- the mitigation of the detrimental effects of an explosion so as to ensure the health and safety of workers.

These measures shall, where necessary, be combined and/or supplemented with measures against the propagation of explosions and shall be reviewed regularly and, in any event, whenever significant changes occur.

Article 4 Assessment of explosion risks

1. In carrying out the obligations laid down in Articles 6(3) and 9(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC the employer shall assess the specific risks arising from explosive atmospheres, taking account at least of:

- the likelihood that explosive atmospheres will occur and their persistence,

- the likelihood that ignition sources, including electrostatic discharges, will be present and become active and effective,

- the installations, substances used, processes, and their possible interactions,

- the scale of the anticipated effects.

Explosion risks shall be assessed overall.

2. Places which are or can be connected via openings to places in which explosive atmospheres may occur shall be taken into account in assessing explosion risks.

Article 5 Duty of coordination

Where workers from several undertakings are present at the same workplace, each employer shall be responsible for all matters coming under his control.

Without prejudice to the individual responsibility of each employer as provided for in Directive 89/391/EEC, the employer responsible for the workplace in accordance with national law and/or practice shall coordinate the implementation of all the measures concerning workers' health and safety and shall state, in the explosion protection document referred to in Article 7, the aim of that coordination and the measures and procedures for implementing it.

Article 6 Places where explosive atmospheres may occur

1. The employer shall classify places where explosive atmospheres may occur into zones in accordance with Annex I.

2. The employer shall ensure that the minimum requirements laid down in Annex II are applied to places covered by paragraph 1.

3. Where necessary, places where explosive atmospheres may occur in such quantities as to endanger the health and safety of workers shall be marked with signs at their points of entry in accordance with Annex III.

Article 7 Explosion protection document

In carrying out the obligations laid down in Article 4, the employer shall ensure that a document, hereinafter referred to as the 'explosion protection document`, is drawn up and kept up to date.

The explosion protection document shall demonstrate in particular:

- that the explosion risks have been determined and assessed,

- the adequate measures will be taken to attain the aims of this Directive,

- those places which have been classified into zones in accordance with Annex I,

- those places where the minimum requirements set out in Annex II will apply.

The explosion protection document shall be drawn up prior to the commencement of work and be revised when the workplace, work equipment or organisation of the work undergoes significant changes, extensions or conversions.

The employer may combine existing explosion risk assessments, documents or other equivalent reports produced under other Community acts.

Article 8 Special requirements for work equipment and workplaces

1. Work equipment for use in places where explosive atmospheres may occur which is already in use or is made available in the undertaking or establishment for the first time before 30 June 2003 shall comply from that date with the minimum requirements laid down in Annex II, Part A, if no other Community Directive is applicable or is so only partially.

2. Work equipment for use in places where explosive atmospheres may occur which is made available in the undertaking or establishment for the first time after 30 June 2003 shall comply with the minimum requirements laid down in Annex II, Parts A and B.

3. Workplaces which contain places where explosive atmospheres may occur and which are used for the first time after 30 June 2003 shall comply with minimum requirements set out in this Directive.

4. Where workplaces which contain places where explosive atmospheres may occur are already in use before 30 June 2003, they shall comply with the minimum requirements set out in this Directive no later than three years after that date.

5. If, after 30 June 2003, any modification, extension or restructuring is undertaken in workplaces containing places where explosive atmospheres may occur, the employer shall take the necessary steps to ensure that these comply with the minimum requirements set out in this Directive.

SECTION III MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Article 9 Adjustments to the Annexes

Purely technical adjustments to the Annexes made necessary by:

- the adoption of Directives on technical harmonisation and standardisation in the field of explosion protection

and/or

- technical progress, changes in international regulations or specifications, and new findings on the prevention of and protection against explosions,

shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Directive 89/391/EEC.

Article 10 Final provisions

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than 30 June 2003. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of domestic law which they have already adopted or adopt in the field governed by this Directive.

3. Member States shall report to the Commission every five years on the practical implementation of the provisions of this Directive, indicating the points of view of employers and workers. The Commission shall inform thereof the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Advisory Committee on safety, hygiene and health protection at work.

Article 11

This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 12

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at . . .

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ C 332, 9.12.1995, p. 10 and

OJ C 184, 17.6.1997, p. 1.

(2) OJ C 153, 28.5.1996, p. 35.

(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 16 September 1998 (not yet published in the Official Journal), Council common position of 22 December 1998 and Decision of the European Parliament of . . . (not yet published in the Official Jouirnal).

(4) OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 100, 19.4.1994, p. 1.

(6) OJ L 245, 26.8.1992, p. 23.

(7) OJ L 196, 26.7.1990, p. 15. Directive as last amended by Directive 93/63/EEC (OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1).

(8) OJ L 348, 28.11.1992, p. 9.

(9) OJ L 404, 31.12.1992, p. 10.

ANNEX I

CLASSIFICATION OF PLACES WHERE EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES MAY OCCUR

Preliminary note

The following system of classification must be applied to places where precautions in accordance with Articles 3, 4, 6 and 7 are taken.

1. Places where explosive atmospheres may occur

A place in which an explosive atmosphere may occur in such quantities as to require special precautions to protect the health and safety of the workers concerned is deemed to be hazardous within the meaning of this Directive.

A place in which an explosive atmosphere is not expected to occur in such quantities as to require special precautions is deemed to be non-hazardous within the meaning of this Directive.

Flammable and/or combustible substances are considered as materials which may form an explosive atmosphere unless an investigation of their properties has shown that in mixtures with air they are incapable of independently propagating an explosion.

2. Classification of hazardous places

Hazardous places are classified in terms of zones on the basis of the frequency and duration of the occurrence of an explosive atmosphere.

The extent of the measures to be taken in accordance with Annex II, Part A, is determined by this classification.

Zone 0

A place in which an explosive atmosphere consisting of a mixture with air or flammable substances in the form of gas, vapour or mist is present continuously or for long periods or frequently.

Zone 1

A place in which an explosive atmosphere consisting of a mixture with air of flammable substances in the form of gas, vapour or mist is likely to occur in normal operation occasionally.

Zone 2

A place in which an explosive atmosphere consisting of a mixture with air of flammable substances in the form of gas, vapour or mist is not likely to occur in normal operation but, if it does occur, will persist for a short period only.

Zone 20

A place in which an explosive atmosphere in the form of a cloud of combustible dust in air is present continuously, or for long periods or frequently.

Zone 21

A place in which an explosive atmosphere in the form of a cloud of combustible dust in air is likely to occur in normal operation occasionally.

Zone 22

A place in which an explosive atmosphere in the form of a cloud of combustible dust in air is not likely to occur in normal operation but, if it does occur, will persist for a short period only.

Notes:

1. Layers, deposits and heaps of combustible dust must be considered as any other source which can form an explosive atmosphere.

2. 'Normal operation` means the situation when installations are used within their design parameters.

ANNEX II

A. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPROVING THE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROTECTION OF WORKERS POTENTIALLY AT RISK FROM EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES

Preliminary note

The obligations laid down in this Annex apply to:

- places classified as hazardous in accordance with Annex I whenever required by the features of workplaces, workstations, the equipment or substances used or the danger caused by the activity related to the risks from explosive atmospheres,

- equipment in non-hazardous places which is required for, or helps to ensure, the safe operation of equipment located in hazardous places.

1. Organisational measures

1.1. Training of workers

The employer must provide those working in places where explosive atmospheres may occur with sufficient and appropriate training with regard to explosion protection.

1.2. Written instructions and permits to work

Where required by the explosion protection document:

- work in hazardous places must be carried out in accordance with written instructions issued by the employer,

- a system of permits to work must be applied for carrying out both hazardous activities and activities which may interact with other work to cause hazards.

Permits to work must be issued by a person with responsibility for this function prior to the commencement of work.

2. Explosion protection measures

2.1. Any escape and/or release, whether or not intentional, of flammable gases, vapours, mists or combustible dusts which may give rise to explosion hazards must be suitably diverted or removed to a safe place or, if that is not practicable, safely contained or rendered safe by some other suitable method.

2.2. Prevention of ignition hazards in accordance with Article 3 must also take account of electrostatic discharges, where workers or the working environment act as charge carrier or charge producer. Workers must be provided with appropriate working clothes consisting of materials which do not give rise to electrostatic discharges that can ignite explosive atmospheres.

2.3. Plant equipment, protective systems and any associated connecting devices must only be brought into service if the explosion protection document indicates that they can be safely used in an explosive atmosphere. This applies also to work equipment and associated connecting devices which are not regarded as equipment or protective systems within the meaning of Directive 94/9/EC if their incorporation into an installation can in itself give rise to an ignition hazard. Necessary measures must be taken to prevent confusion between connecting devices.

2.4. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the workplace, work equipment and any associated connecting device made available to workers have been designed, constructed, assembled and installed, and are maintained and operated, in such a way as to minimise the risks of an explosion and, if an explosion does occur, to control or minimise its propagation within that workplace and/or work equipment. For such workplaces appropriate measures must be taken to minimise the risks to workers from the physical effects of an explosion.

2.5. Where necessary, workers must be given optical and/or acoustic warnings and withdrawn before the explosion conditions are reached.

2.6. Where required by the explosion protection document, escape facilities must be provided and maintained to ensure that, in the event of danger, workers can leave endangered places promptly and safely.

2.7. Before a workplace, containing places where explosive atmospheres may occur, is used for the first time, its overall explosion safety must be verified. Any conditions necessary for ensuring explosion protection must be maintained.

Such verification must be carried out by persons competent in the field of explosion protection as a result of their experience and/or professional training.

B. CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF EQUIPMENT AND PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS

If the explosion protection document based on a risk assessment does not state otherwise, equipment and protective systems for all places in which explosive atmospheres may occur must be selected on the basis of the categories set out in Directive 94/9/EC.

In particular, the following categories of equipment must be used in the zones indicated, provided they are suitable for gases, vapours or mists and/or dusts as appropriate:

- In zone 0 or zone 20, category 1 equipment,

- in zone 1 or zone 21, category 1 or 2 equipment,

- in zone 2 or zone 22, category 1, 2 or 3 equipment.

ANNEX III

Warning sign for places where explosive atmospheres may occur, pursuant to Article 6(3)

>REFERENCE TO A GRAPHIC>

Place where explosive atmospheres may occur

Distinctive features:

- triangular shape,

- black letters on a yellow background with black edging (the yellow part to take up at least 50 % of the area of the sign).

Member States may add other explanatory data if they wish.

STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL'S REASONS

I. INTRODUCTION

1. On 18 September 1995, the Commission forwarded to the Council a proposal for a Directive on minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres, based on Article 118a of the EC Treaty.

The European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee delivered their opinions on 20 June 1996 and 28/29 February 1996 respectively.

Following the European Parliament's opinion, the Commission submitted an amended proposal on 11 April 1997.

2. On 22 December 1998, the Council adopted its common position pursuant to Article 189c of the Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE

The draft Directive, which is an individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC (1), is designed to complement that Directive.

It aims to extend explosion protection to all industrial sectors in accordance with the principles already established for the mineral-extraction sector by Directives 92/91/EEC and 92/104/EEC. Furthermore, it represents a complement to Directive 94/9/EC concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.

The Directive aims to establish and to harmonise minimum standards for improving the safety and health of workers who may be endangered by potentially explosive atmospheres.

To this end, the Directive provides for:

- specific minimum standards for improving the safety and health of workers,

- a classification by zones of places where explosive atmospheres may occur; this zoning is the basis, inter alia, for protective measures and for the selection of equipment in accordance with Directive 94/9/EC,

- a warning sign to identify places where explosive atmospheres may occur.

III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION

1. General remarks

Work on the proposal was suspended in March 1996 and only resumed in July 1998 on the basis of a compromise text put forward by the Austrian Presidency. This text maintained the basic approach of the Commission's amended proposal.

The following considerations underlay this revised text, upon which the Council's common position is based:

- the elimination of the duplication of provisions already contained in Directive 89/391/EEC (hereafter, the framework Directive).

Attention is in particular drawn to the fact that provisions in respect of worker information, the consultation and participation of workers and the training of workers are to be found in Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the framework Directive, and that provisions in respect of competent persons are to be found in Article 6 of that Directive,

- the inclusion in the text only of legally binding provisions, since non-binding elements (originally included in Annexes IV and V of the Commission's proposal) do not have their place in a legislative text,

- the avoidance of excessively detailed explanations, as originally contained in the annexes.

Furthermore, significant provisions in respect of the investigation and assessment of explosion risks and of the explosion protection document have been given greater prominence through being included in the text of the Articles.

The need to clarify the text resulted in changes to the numbering of many of the provision; a table of correspondence between the Articles and Annexes of the common position and those of the original proposal and of the amended proposal is annexed. It will be noted that certain elements of the former Article 4 are now to be found in Annex II, Part A.

The resulting structure is as follows:

Section I: General provisions (Articles 1 and 2)

These include the objectives and scope of the Directive and the definition of potentially explosive atmospheres.

Section II: Employers' obligations (Articles 3 to 8)

These cover a series of provisions regarding measures for avoiding and providing protection against explosions, including the investigation and assessment of explosion risks, provisions in respect of coordination and places where explosive atmospheres may occur, the explosion protection document and special requirements for work equipment and work places.

Section III: Miscellaneous provisions (Articles 9 to 12)

Procedural and final provisions.

Annexes

These include the zoning of places where explosive atmospheres may occur (Annex I), minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers (Annex II, Part A), criteria for the selection of equipment and protective systems (Annex II, Part B) and a warning sign for places where explosive atmospheres may occur (Annex III).

2. Analysis of the Articles

- Article 1 (Subject of the Directive)

The wording of Article 1 largely corresponds to that of the Commission's amended proposal.

- Article 2 (Definition)

The definition of an explosive atmosphere corresponds both to Article 2 of the amended proposal and to the definition found in Article 1(3) of Directive 94/9/EC.

- Article 3 (Prevention of and protection against explosions)

An order of priority in respect of the principles underlying safety and health protection measures is introduced, whereby the ranking of the principles reflects the approach of Article 6(6) of Directive 98/24/EC, according to which account is taken of the nature of the operation in determining the appropriateness of the measures to be taken. The principles of prevention of formation, avoidance of ignition and mitigation of the effects corresponds to Article 3 of the Commission's amended proposal (see amendment 2 of the European Parliament). However, the third indent has been modified relative to the text of the Commission's proposal since, in practice, it is not possible to eliminate all risks to workers, but only to reduce them in such a way that the workers' health and safety are safeguarded.

The final subparagraph of this article concerning combining or supplementing the measures corresponds to Article 4(2), second indent, of the amended proposal. The provision concerning the regular review of the health and safety measures was taken from Annex II, Part A, Point 1.3 of the Commission's amended proposal, and further amended to make clear that, in any event, a review must be undertaken following significant changes.

- Article 4 (Assessment of explosion risks)

The content of paragraph 1 of this Article corresponds to Annex II, Part A, Points 2.1 and 2.3 of the Commission's amended proposal. Paragraph 2 corresponds to Annex II, Part A, Point 2.4 of the amended proposal.

Since the minimum standards for the investigation and assessment of the explosion risks are a key point of the Directive, these provisions were moved from Annex II, Part A into the text of the Articles.

- Article 5 (Duty of coordination)

The content of this Article corresponds to Article 4(4) of the amended proposal.

- Article 6 (Places where explosive atmospheres may occur)

Paragraph 1 regarding the classification of places into zones corresponds to Article 5(1) of the amended proposal.

The content of paragraph 2 corresponds to Article 5(2) of the amended proposal, paragraph 3 in respect of the signage of certain areas corresponding to Article 5(3) of the amended proposal.

- Article 7 (Explosion protection document)

The wording of the first, second and third subparagraphs is taken from Article 4(3) of the Commission's amended proposal, thus taking account of amendment 4 of the European Parliament. In the second subparagraph, the second and third indents of the amended proposal were deleted as they were considered to duplicate the provisions of Directives 89/654/EEC and 89/655/EEC. The third indent provides logically for the inclusion in the explosion protection document of the areas that have been classified into zones. The fourth indent of the text corresponds to Article 5(1), first subparagraph of the amended proposal.

The final subparagraph regarding the combination of existing equivalent reports was taken up by way of clarification of recital (10) in the Commission's amended proposal. In so doing, account was taken of that part of amendment 4 of the European Parliament which was not already recovered by the first subparagraph of this article.

- Article 8 (Special requirements for work equipment and workplaces)

This article corresponds in large part to Article 9 of the amended proposal (see also amendment 7 of the European Parliament). Since Article 10 provides for the alignment of the date of transposition of the Directive on that of Directive 94/9/EC (30 June 2003), the provisions of the different paragraphs of this article were adjusted accordingly.

- Article 9 (Adjustments to the Annexes)

The wording of this Article corresponds to that of Article 10 of the amended proposal.

- Article 10 (Final provisions)

This Article replaces Article 13 of the amended proposal and, consequently, does not follow amendment 9 of the European Parliament. A transposition period expiring on 30 June 2003 is allowed for, since Article 15(2) of Directive 94/9/EC provides for a transitional period expiring on the same date for the making available and bringing into use of equipment and protective systems which, at the time of adoption of that Directive, came within the scope of its provisions.

- Articles 11 and 12

Standard provisions.

- Annex I (Classification of places)

- Preliminary note

Corresponds, subject to the adaptation of the references, to the text of the amended proposal.

- Section 1 (Places where explosive atmospheres may occur)

Corresponds to Section 2 of the amended proposal.

- Section 2 (Classification of hazardous places)

Corresponds to Section 3 of the amended proposal (see also amendment 11 of the European Parliament).

- Annex II, Part A (Minimum requirements for improving safety and health protection)

- Preliminary note

In the interests of clarity, an explicit link is created with Annex I; otherwise, the text corresponds to that of the amended proposal.

- Section 1 (Organisational measures)

Point 1.1 originally covered competent workers, a point which it was considered was adequately covered in the framework Directive. It was consequently replaced by a reference to the specific need for adequate training with regard to explosion protection.

Subject to clarifying the link with the explosion protection document, the wording of Point 1.2 reflects that of the Commission's amended proposal.

- Section 2 (Explosion protection measures)

Section 2 of the text corresponds to Section 4 of the Commission's amended proposal; in line with the principle of avoiding excessively detailed provisions, the text has been tightened up whilst maintaining the key explosion protection elements. It is envisaged that more detailed recommendations will be the subject of forthcoming Commission guidelines. Point 2.2 in respect of appropriate working clothes corresponds to Article 4(1), fourth indent, of the amended proposal, Point 2.6 in respect of escape facilities corresponding to the previous Article 4(2), third indent. Point 2.7 regarding safety verification (see Points 4.14 and 4.15 of the amended proposal) reflects the essence of amendment 13 of the European Parliament.

- Annex II, Part B (Criteria for the selection of equipment and protective systems)

As in Annex II, Part B of the Commission's amended proposal, the categories of equipment and protective systems to be used in the different zones are identified by reference to the classification established by Directive 94/9/EC. In the interests of clarity of presentation, it was considered inappropriate to repeat the categories in the present text.

- Annex III (Warning Sign)

Since the warning sign contained in the Commission's proposal, 'Ex` in Greek letters, was already used to identify certain equipment and protective systems in the context of Directive 94/9/EC, it was decided to substitute Latin letters. It was considered that Member States should be allowed to add other explanatory elements if they so wish.

3. Preamble

By comparison with the Commission's amended proposal, a number of recitals have been deleted. Account has been taken of amendment 1 of the European Parliament concerning the eleventh recital in the Commission's original proposal.

Furthermore, the preamble has been adapted to reflect the changes introduced into the text relative to the text of the amended proposal.

4. Other amendments proposed by the European Parliament

Amendment 3

This amendment was only partly taken up by the Commission. The amendment is not taken into account in the common position as it was the Council's view that it provided no added value in relation to Point 1 of Annex II, Part A, and Article 6 of the framework Directive.

Amendment 5

This amendment was not taken up by the Commission in its amended proposal.

Amendment 6

This amendment was not taken up by the Commission in its amended proposal, as Article 8 (previously Article 9) covers requirements in respect both of workplaces and of work equipment.

Amendment 8

This amendment was only partly taken up by the Commission in its amended proposal. However, the Council decided to delete the corresponding provision in respect of a Vade-mecum since it was considered that non-binding guidelines did not have their proper place in a legislative text (2).

Amendment 10

This amendment was not taken up by the Commission in its amended proposal.

Amendment 12

This amendment was not taken up by the Commission in its amended proposal.

Amendment 14

This amendment (Article 12 of the amended proposal) was not taken up by the Council as it was considered self-evident that the Member States would adequately publicise new domestic legislation adopted on the basis of the Directive.

IV. CONCLUSION

It is the Council's view that the text of the common position, although differing in its structure from that of the Commission's amended proposal, fulfils the fundamental aims of the proposal. Furthermore, the text has been simplified without sacrificing essential content and, at the same time, the duplication of provisions which are already to be found in Directive 89/391/EEC has been avoided.

(1) Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1).

(2) Nevertheless, the Commission has undertaken, on the basis of an invitation from the Council, to draw up a Vade-mecum, subject to available resources and the priorities established by its own work programme.

ANNEX

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