19. 7. 90 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 179/13 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Amendment to the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the modules for the various 
phases of the conformity assessment procedures which are intended to be used in the technical 
harmonization Directives 
COM(90) 284 final — SYN 208 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 29 June 1990) 
(90/C 179/23) 
In the light of the opinion delivered by the European Parliament on a first reading regarding 
the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the modules for the various phases of the 
conformity assessment procedures which are intended to be used in the technical harmon­
ization Directives, with a view to facilitating the cooperation procedure, the Commission has 
decided to amend this proposal as follows: 
1. A second recital (new) is added: 
'Whereas such methods should ensure that the 
products are in full conformity with the essential 
requirements laid down in the technical harmon­
ization Directives, in order to provide, in particular, 
for the health and safety of users and consumers;' 
2. A third recital (new) is added: 
'Whereas such conformity should be assured without 
imposing unnecessarily onerous conditions on manu­
facturers, and by means of clear and comprehensible 
procedures;' 
3. A fifth recital (new) is added: 
'Whereas limited flexibility should be introduced as 
regards use of additional modules, or variations in 
the modules, when the specific circumstances of a 
particular sector or Directive so warrant, but not to 
such a degree as to undercut the purpose of the 
current Decision and only when explicitly justified;' 
4. The text of the Sole Article is replaced by the 
following: 
'The procedures for conformity assessment which 
are to be used in the technical harmonization 
Directives relating to the marketing of industrial 
products will be chosen from among the modules 
listed in the Annex to this Decision and in 
accordance with the criteria set out in the present Decision and in the general guidelines in the Annex. 
These procedures may only depart from the modules 
when the specific circumstances of a particular sector 
or Directive so warrant. Such departures from the 
modules must be limited in extent and must be 
explicitly justified in the relevant Directive. The 
Commission will report periodically on the func­
tioning of this Decision, and whether conformity 
assessment procedures are working satisfactorily or 
need to be modified.' 
5. The text of the Annex, Part I, point (d) is replaced 
by the following: 
'The Directives shall set the range of possible choices 
which can be considered by the Council to give the 
public authorities the high level of safety they seek, 
for a given product or product sector;' 
6. The following sentence is added to the end of point 
(e) of the Annex, Part I: 
'The factors that have been taken into account must 
be explicitly spelled out by the Commission in these 
Directives;' 
7. The text of the first sentence of point (h) of the 
Annex, Part I is replaced by the following: 
'(h) Notified bodies should be encouraged, 
wherever possible, to apply the modules 
without undue burden for the economic 
operators.' 
8. A new point (ha) is added to the Annex, Part I: 
NoC 179/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 7. 90 
'(ha) In order to protect the manufacturers, the 
technical documentation provided to notified 
bodies has to be limited to that which is 
required solely for the purpose of assessment 
of conformity with the essential requirements. 
Legal protection of confidential information 
shall be required.' 
9. The text of point (1) of the Annex, Part I is replaced 
by the following: 
'(1) The CE mark (accompanied, wherever appro­
priate, by the identification symbol of the third 
party involved in the control of the production 
phase) shall be affixed only where the production phase has complied with the 
requirements of the Directives.' 
10. A new point (la) is added to the Annex, Part I: 
'(la) This Decision can be reviewed after the 
Directive on the CE mark.' 
11. The following new third paragraph is added to the 
Annex, Part II, Module B, point 5: 
'If the manufacturer is denied a type certification, 
the notified body shall provide detailed reasons for 
such denial. An appeal procedure must be provided 
for.' 
Amendment to the proposal for a Second Council Directive on the coordination of laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions relating to direct life assurance, laying down provisions to 
facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to provide services and amending Directive 
79/267/EEC 
COM(90) 305 final — SYN 177 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty) 
(90/C 179/24) 
After the twelfth recital, the following recital is inserted: 
'Whereas nothing in this Directive would prevent a composite undertaking from dividing 
itself into two undertakings, one active in the field of life assurance and the other in that 
of non-life insurance; whereas in order to allow such division to take place under the best 
possible conditions, it is desirable to permit Member States, in accordance with the 
Community rules on competition, to provide for appropriate tax arrangements, in 
particular with regard to the capital gain such division might entail;' 
After the last recital the following recital is inserted: 
'Whereas it will be particularly important to allow those Member States which so wish a 
sufficiently long period in which to adopt the appropriate provisions in order to ensure the 
professional qualification and independence of insurance brokers; whereas in view of the 
increasingly important role such brokers play in advising those buying insurance and 
facing an increasing offer of products owing to the achievement of freedom to provide 
services, their professional qualification and independence will become essential factors in 
the protection of the consumer;'