26.7.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC201/15
OpiniononthereportfromtheCommissionontheoperationofDirective83/189/EECin
1990and1991
(93/C201/07)
On18February1993theCommissiondecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle198oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
reportfromtheCommissionontheoperationofDirective83/189/EECin1990and1991.
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon5May1993.TheRapporteur
wasMrdeKnegt.
Atits306thPlenarySession(meetingof26May1993)theEconomicandSocialCommittee
unanimouslyadoptedthefollowingOpinion.
1.General—theinformationprocedureinthefieldoftechnical
regulations;
—theAgreementontheexchangeofinformationin
thefieldoftechnicalregulationsbetweentheEEC
andcountriesoftheEuropeanFreeTradeAssoci­
ation(EFTA).1.1.InaccordancewithArticle11ofDirective83/
189/EEClayingdownaprocedurefortheprovisionof
informationinthefieldoftechnicalstandardsand
regulations,on18December1992theCommission
publishedaReportontheoperationoftheDirectivein
1990and1991.TheCommitteehasbeenaskedforits
Opinion.
2.2.TheReportalsohighlightsthefactorswhich
promptedtheCommissiontoproposetotheCouncil
thattheDirectivebeamendedforthesecondtime. 1.2.ThisisthethirdtimetheCommitteehasissued
anOpinionontheoperationofthisDirective.Thefirst
Opinion,relatingtotheperiod1984-1987,wasissued
on27September1989,andthesecond,relatingtothe
period1988/1989,on30October1991.
3.Informationprocedureinthefieldofstandards
1.3.InitsfirstOpiniontheCommitteenotedin
particularthattheDirectiveof28March1983had
operatedeffectively,anddrewattentiontoaCom­
missionCommunication reviewingprogresswith
regardtostandardization intheinternalmarketand
relationsbetweentheCommissionandtheEuropean
standardsinstitutes.3.1.TheReportstatesthatthemodeofoperation
oftheinformationprocedurefortechnicalstandards
remainedunchangedovertheprevioustwoyears.The
contractbetweentheCommissionandtheEuropean
CommitteeforStandardization (CEN)andtheEuro­
peanCommitteeforElectrotechnical Standardization
(Cenelec)stipulatesthatthelatterbodiesareresponsible
forthetechnicaloperationoftheinformationprocedure
(the'INFOPRO'system).Thistaskincludescollecting
andverifyingnotifications,processingandstoringthem
inadatabank,anddistributingtheresults.Tocomplete
theprocedure,newworkstartedatEuropeanand
nationallevelalsohadtoberegistered.1.4.InitssecondOpiniontheCommitteestrongly
supportedtheCommissionproposalforthecreationof
aEuropeanStandardsDatabankasabibliographical
sourceforstandardization activities.Thosedatashould
beaccessibleandavailabletothenationalbodiesand
toallotherinterestedparties.Therewasalackof
transparencyatalllevelsofdefiningandadoptingstan­
dardsandregulations,andthiswasanaspectwhich
shouldbeattendedto.3.2.TheReportalsostatesthat,asintheperiod
1988to1989,thestatisticsmustbetreatedwithadegree
ofcaution,as:
2.Reporton1990and1991
—nofiguresareavailablefor1990and1991forthe
sectorsconcerned,althoughitcanbeassumedthat
thesituationwassimilartothatin1989;
—anewactivitybegunatEuropeanlevelsometimes
coversalargerfieldthananactivityatnational
level;2.1.TheReportontheoperationoftheDirectivein
1990and1991isdividedintothreechaptersrelating
to:
—theinformationprocedureforstandards;

NoC201/16 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities26.7.93
4.Informationprocedurefortechnicalregulations —notallCEN/Cenelecmemberssendtheirnotifi­
cationsofnewstandardization projectsatthesame
stage.
4.1.TheCommissionreceived365drafttechnical
regulationsin1990and435in1991.Thetotalnumber
ofnotificationsoverthesetwoyears(821)wasupby
70%comparedwiththetotalin1988and1989.Most
ofthesenotificationscamefromFrance,Germanyand
theUnitedKingdom.3.3.Despitethesereservations,someconclusionscan
bedrawnaboutthegeneraltrendinEuropeanand
nationalstandardization activitiesonthebasisofthe
tablesappendedtotheReport.Thus,thenumberof
newactivitiesstartedhasincreasedsignificantlyover
thelastfouryears,from3514in1988to10210in
1991.Thisgrowthisattributablelargelytotheincrease
innewEuropeaninitiativesand,toalesserextent,to
anupswinginnationalwork.4.2.Thenetresultin1990and1991showsafurther
substantialincreaseinthenumberofnotificationsregis­
tered,withthefoodsectoronceagaingeneratingalarge
proportion.Thenumberofnotificationsconcerning
mechanicalengineeringandtelecommunications rose
sharplyin1991,overtakingthefoodindustrycasesfor
thefirsttimesincethe1988amendment .3.4.Atnationallevel,thenumberofnewinitiatives
nowseemstobelevellingoffataround2150.However,
thenationalshareofallnewactivitieswasdownfrom
75,8%in1987to21,5%in1991.
4.3.TheCommissionhassubmittedtotheCouncil
aproposalforanamendmenttothestandstillperiod
[Article9(2)oftheDirective].3.5.ThenumberofnewactivitiesatEuropeanlevel
hasrisenyearbyyear,by35%between1989and1990,
andby140%between1990and1991.Thisvigorous
expansionwasparticularlymarkedinthenon-electrical
sector.4.4.UndertheCommissionproposalthestandstill
periodwouldbeginonthedateofnotificationofthe
nationalmeasureratherthanonthedateonwhichthe
Communityproposalissubmitted.Theperiodwould
alsobeextendedfrom12to18months.3.6.Thebreakdownofnewnationalactivitiesby
Communitycountryrevealsbigdifferences.Approxi­
matelyonethirdofnewnationalstandardization activi­
tiesareinFrance.Nationalactivitiesaredecliningin
GermanyandtheUnitedKingdombuthavebegunto
reviveinItalyandSpainsince1991.4.5.Withregardtothenotificationobligation,there
wereproblemsin1990and1991withthedefinitionof
theterm'technicalregulation'.Thefirstdisputeonthis
subjectwastriggeredin1990bytaxincentivesfor
'environmentally clean'vehicles,assomeMember
Stateshadalreadysentnotificationoftheirdraftson
thissubject.However,in1990othersrefusedtonotify
theirmeasureswhich,theyconsidered,couldnotbe
regardedascompulsorytechnicalregulations.The
Commissionarguedthat,onthecontrary,theywerede
factocompulsorytechnicalregulations .3.7.TheEFTAcountries'shareofnewnationalstan­
dardizationactivitiesinEuropehasfallensharplysince
1990,increasingtheECcountries'sharetoaround
90%.
3.8.Thenotifications receivedfromtheMember
Statesin1988and1989hadalreadybeenfoundtobeof
poorquality.Lackofinformationmakesitimpossible,
however,todrawanyconclusionsasto1990and1991.
Apreliminarystudysuggests,however,thatnational
institutionsarestillhavingproblems.4.6.Alsoin1991,furtherproblemsarosewiththe
definitionofadefactocompulsory'technical'regu­
lation,thistimeinconnectionwithagreementsbetween
economicoperatorsinvarioussectors(e.g.packaging)
underwhichtechnicalproductspecificationshadbeen
drawnup.Anewproblemthenarose,inconnection
withthedefinitionoftechnicalregulationintheDirec­
tive.3.9.Littleornouseisbeingmadeoftheopportunity ,
providedforbyArticle3oftheDirective,forinvolve­
mentinnationalactivitiesandthedrawingupofEuro­
peanstandards.
4.7.Thisinvolvednationalregulationsimposing
requirementsonproductsaftertheyareplacedonthe
market.Thedraftnationalregulationsrequiringrecy­
clableorreusablepackagingareoneexample.The
MemberStatesinvolvedconsideredthatthecurrent3.10.Thiscontrastswiththeelectrotechnical sector
wherenewinitiativesarebeingstudiedsystematically
atnationallevelintheframeworkofthevoluntary
Cenelecprocedure.

26.7.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC201/17
wordingofthedefinitionoftechnicalregulationinthe
Directivecoveredtechnicalspecifications tobe
observedatthetimeoftheplacingoftheproducton
themarket,andthattherefore,intheirview,thistype
ofdraftmeasurewasnotnotifiable.5.6.AstheAgreementbetweentheEECandEFTA
enteredintoforceonlyattheendof1990,onlyfive
drafttechnicalregulationswerenotifiedbytheEFTA
countriesinthatyear.In1991theCommissionreceived
120notificationsfromtheEFTAcountries.Abouthalf
ofthe123EFTAnotifications in1990and1991came
fromAustriaandFinland.
4.8.Inthelightofthisexperienceandtotailorthe
informationproceduremorecloselytothenewnational
productregulationmethods,theCommissionhassub­
mittedtotheCouncilaproposalamendingforthe
secondtimeDirective83/189/EEC[COM(92)491
final].Thiswillextendanddefinethescopeofthe
Directive,clarifycertainconceptsandsettlethesitu­
ationswhichhavegivenrisetodisputeswithsome
MemberStates.5.7.Asignificantproportionofthetechnicalregu­
lations(27%)concernedchemicalproducts;other
importantsectorswereelectronicengineering (15%),
buildingandconstruction (10%),agricultureandfood
products(10%)andmechanicalengineering(9%).
5.8.In1991theEFTAcountriesadoptedfourtechni­
calregulationsforurgentreasons.Twoofthemrelated
toagriculturalandfoodproductsandtheothertwoto
plants.5.AgreementbetweentheCommunityandtheEFTA
countries
5.1.TheagreementbetweentheEFTAcountriesand
theEEClayingdownaprocedurefortheexchange
ofinformationinthefieldoftechnicalregulations(*)
enteredintoforceinNovember1990.Withaviewto
avoidingpossiblebarrierstotradebetweenthemember
statesofbothassociations ,itlinkstheinformation
procedurebasedonDirective83/189/EECwithacom­
parableprocedurebetweentheEFTAcountries.The
AgreementislaiddowninCouncilDecision90/518/
EEC.5.9.In1991theCommunitycommentedon68
(55%)notifications .CommentsfromtheEECMember
Stateswereoftentakenintoaccount.Thecomments
mainlyconcernedcompatibilitywithexistingCom­
munitylegislation.
5.2.Allthemessagesrelatingtotheinformation
procedurebetweentheEECMemberStatesandthe
EFTAcountriesareexchangedbetweentheECCom­
missionandtheEFTACouncil.5.10.Throughout1990anduptotheadoptionofthe
firstversionoftheAgreementestablishingaEuropean
EconomicAreaon22October1991,thecomments
fromtheCommunityalwaysincludedareminderof
thenegotiationsonthisAgreement,whichwerebased
ontheprincipleofacceptanceoftheexistingCom­
munitylegislationbyalltheEFTAcountries.This
commitment couldforceEFTAcountriestomake
amendmentstothedraftnotifiedweretheytoadoptit
withouttakingaccountofthecommentsmadebythe
Community .5.3.TheAgreementmakesnoprovisionforthe
extensionofthestandstillperiod.Theonepossibility
fortakingtheprocedurebeyondcommentsislaiddown
inArticle13.Nousewasmadeofthisoptionin1990
or1991.
5.11.In1990and1991EFTAcommentedonseven
EECnotifications .Threeofthesecaseswererequests
foradditionalinformation .IntheotherfourtheEFTA
countriespointedoutpotentialobstaclestotrade.5.4.TheagreementbetweenEFTAandtheEECon
theexchangeofinformationinthefieldoftechnical
regulationsalsocontainsaclausewhichprovidesfor
theimmediateadoptionofadraftforurgentreasons
suchastheprotectionofpublichealthorsafetyor
animalorplanthealth.
5.5.Thisdiffersfromtheinformationprocedurelaid
downinDirective83/189/EECinthatEFTAmember
stateswishingtoadoptadraftforanurgentreasoncan
dosowithoutthepriorapprovaloftheEFTACouncil
ortheCommission .Theysimplyannouncethatthey
intendtoadoptthetextimmediatelyandaddanexpla­
nationofthereasonsfortheurgency.6.Commissioninitiativesaftertheproposalfora
Directive83/189/EECof28March1983
6.1.BeforeconcludingtheOpiniononthe1990and
1991ReportwithachapterentitledSpecificComments,
itisimportanttoconsiderwhatotherinitiativesthe
Commission andCouncilhavetakenonstandardiz­
ationandtowhatextentDirective83/189/EEChas
evolvedinparallel. (i)OJNoL291,23.10.1990.

NoC201/18 Official-JournaloftheEuropeanCommunities26.7.93
6.2.On7May1985theCounciladoptedaResol­
utiononTechnicalHarmonization andStandards:a
NewApproachUntilthen,aseparateDirective,
settingoutextremelydetailedspecifications,hadbeen
adoptedforallindividualproducts.Thedisadvantages
ofthisapproachwerethelengthyperiodrequiredfor
decision-making andthefactthat,asaresult,Directives
hadfrequentlybeenovertakenbytechnicaldevelop­
mentsbythetimetheyenteredintoforce.mission'sinitiativetopromoteCommunitydiscussion
ofEuropeanstandardization ,stating:'Fiveyearsafter
theadoptionoftheCouncilResolutiononstandardiz­
ation,andonthebasisofthe'newapproach',thetime
isnowripe'toreviewatEuropeanandnationallevels
theroleandworkofthestandardization organizations ,
thedecision-making proceduresonstandardsandthe
roleofthepartiesinvolvedinthatprocedure.Itisalso
timetomakeacloserassessmentofthecurrentfinancial
andworkingrelationshipsbetweentheCommission
andthestandardization organizations.'
6.3.TheResolutiondefinedtheformtobetakenby
the'newapproach'Directives.Thus,eachonehadto
coverabroadrangeofproducts(e.g.allconstruction
products).Theessenceofthese'newapproach'Direc­
tiveswerebasicrequirementswhichhadtobeprecisely
defined.6.9.Concreteproposals,designedtomakestandard­
izationmoretransparentthroughtheinvolvementof
workersandconsumersatanearlystage,werethen
putforward;theCommitteealsocalledforthecreation
ofaEuropeanStandardsDataBankandforextra
fundingtohelpthoseMemberStateswhosecertifi­
cationandtestingstructureslagfarthestbehind. 6.4.TheCouncilconsultedthestandardization
organizationsandtheESCpriortotheofficialpubli­
cationoftheResolution.TheCommittee'sOpinion
waspositive(2).TheOpinionstated,interalia,that:
'TheCommitteeapprovesthenewapproachproposed
bytheCommissiontoovercomethedifficultiesinvolved
inremovingtechnicalbarrierstotrade.Thepresent
systemclearlyhasnotworkedaseffectivelyasitshould
have.Asaresult,theCommunity'sinternalmarketis
farfromcomplete.'6.10.On16December1991,theCommissionpubli­
shedafollow-uptotheGreenPaper(6),settingout
recommendations basedonreactionstotheearlierpub­
lication.
6.5.On8October1990theCommissionpublished
aGreenPaperontheDevelopmentofEuropeanStan­
dardization :ActionforFasterTechnological Inte­
grationinEurope(3).6.11.SincetheCommitteewasnotconsultedbythe
Commissiononthis'follow-up',itdidnotdeliveran
Opinion.TheIndustrySectiondid,however,holda
far-reachingdiscussionofthedocument,partlyonthe
basisoffurtherclarificationfromaCommissionrep­
resentative .
6.6.TheGreenPaperevaluatesexistingmethodsof
formulatingEuropeanstandardsandrecommendsa
Europeanorganizationalstructuredesignedtospeedup
deliveryofEuropeanstandards.Thestandardization
organizationsandtheESCareaskedfortheirreactions
andcomments .6.12.WithoutindicatinganofficialESCposition,
thereactiontotheGreenPaperfollow-upcanbesaid
tohavebeenfavourable .TheCommissiontookcareful
accountofthereactionstotheGreenPaper(including
theCommittee's),ascanbeseenfromitsproposals
designedtoimprovetheEuropeanstandardization pro­
cess. 6.7.TheGreenPaperprovides,interalia,aresponse
totheCommittee'scommentintheReportof27Sep­
tember1989ontheoperationofDirective83/189/
EEC(4)concerningnotificationofprogressmadein
Europeanstandardization .6.13.On18June1992(7)theCounciladopteda
ResolutionstressingtheimportanceofacoherentEuro­
peanstandardization systemoperatingthroughand
fortheorganizationsinvolved,basedontransparency ,
openness,consensus,independenceofspecificinterests
andefficiency,andwithitsdecisionstakenonthebasis
ofnationalrepresentation .6.8.TheCommittee'sOpinionontheGreenPaper
[publishedon20March1991(5)]endorsedtheCom­
(J)OJNoC136,4.6.1985.
(2)OJNoC169,8.7.1985.
(3)OJNoC20,28.1.1991.
(4)OJNoC298,27.11.1989. (6)OJNoC96,15.4.1992.
(7)OJNoC173,9.7.1992. (5)OJNoC120,6.5.1991.

26.7.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC201/19
7.Specificcomments postponeindefinitelythepreviouslyproposedsetting­
upofadatabank(ESD)becauseoftheCommission's
proposaltosharethecostsofonlythefirsttwoproject
phases,andtheinterestofCENmembersinthePerin­
ormcommercialproject. 7.1.Firstofall,theCommitteewishestostressthat
theCommissionhasdrawnupanexcellentReport.
Itgivesasystematicandopenaccountofimportant
developments ,aswellasprovidingadetailedaccount
oftheconsiderationswhichpromptedtheCommission
tosubmitaproposaltotheCouncilforasecondamend­
mentoftheDirective.7.6.TheCommitteenotesthattheCommission
approvesCEN'sdecisiontostudythepossibilityof
includingdatafromotherstandardization organiza­
tionsinthePerinormdatabase.InsodoingtheCom­
missionisassumingthatthisdatabasewillintheshort
termbeabletosatisfydivergentmarketneedsandthat
theinformationwillbeavailabletoallinterestedparties
onreasonableconditions .7.2.InthisrespecttheCommissionissettingagood
exampleforthenationalstandardization organizations
andothersinvolvedinthestandardization process.
7.7.TheCommitteevaluestheCommission'sefforts
toensurethatdataonstandardsalreadydevelopedor
beingdevelopedisavailableintheshortterm.Butit
wouldbehighlyregrettableifasaresultoftheactivities
ofCEN,supportedbytheCommission,thesetting
upofadatabank,aspreviouslyadvocatedbythe
Commission ,weretobepushedintothebackground .
TheCommitteethereforefeelsthatthePerinormproject
canbenomorethanastop-gapsolution.7.3.TheCommitteeisalsoimpressedwiththe
Agreement,concludedinNovember1990,betweenthe
EFTAcountriesandtheEEClayingdownaprocedure
fortheexchangeofinformationinthefieldoftechnical
regulations .ThisisintunewiththeCommittee'sview,
expressedinitsOpinionontheGreenPaper,that
cooperationonstandardization withnon-Community
countriesisofgreatimportance .Itopensupopportunit­
iesforhigh-qualityproduction .
7.8.TheCommitteehasexpresslysupportedthe
Commission'sviewthatthedatabankshouldnotbeset
uponpurelycommerciallines,asthiswouldrestrict
access.7.4.TheCommitteenotesthat,asstatedinpoint10
oftheReport,itisnotpossibletoproducefiguresfor
certainsectorscoveringtheperiodtowhichtheReport
refersas:
7.9.TheCommitteeapprovestheCommission's
proposalsforasecondamendmentoftheDirective.The
reasonsforitssupportaresetoutintheCommittee's
Opiniononthatproposal(*).—thestatisticstakenoaccountoftherelativelyhigh
proportionofundeclaredactivities;
—newactivitiesatEuropeanlevalcancoverabroader
areathanactivitiesatnationallevel;
—notallmembersofCENandCenelecnotifynew
standardization activitiesatthesametime.7.10.TheCommittee findsnoreferenceinthe
Reporttoactivitiesconcerningcertificationandtesting
incountrieswhichlagbehindonstandardization .The
Committeecannotthereforejudgewhetherornotthere
hasbeenanincreaseinactivityinthisareaandwhether
thetrendispositive.
Thismakesitdifficulttoformanydefiniteviewof
thedevelopmentoftheworkofthestandardization
institutes.TheCommitteeacceptstheCommission's
assurancethatthefiguresfor1990/1991arenotvery
differentfromthosefor1989.7.11.InitsOpinionontheGreenPaper,referredto
above,theCommitteesaidthattheestablishment of
Europeanstandardsimplementingtheprotectionobjec­
tiveslaiddowninECDirectivesisataskofpublic
importance,carriedoutattheinstigationoftheCom­
missionbystandardization bodies,andthatthesetasks
arisefromthepoliticalresponsibility oftheCom­
missioninthisarea.7.5.AsstatedintheOpinionontheproposalfor
asecondamendmentofDirective83/189/EEC(2)the
CommitteeregretsthedecisionofCENandCenelecto
7.12.TheCommitteecallsontheCommission ,in
thelightofthisresponsibility ,tocontinuemonitoring
theworkofthestandardization organizations ,includ­
(J)CES265/93fin. ingtheestablishment ofadatabank.

26.7.93NoC201/20 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
7.13.TheCommitteehasnotedwithapprovalthe
proposedamendmentofArticle11oftheDirective,
statingthattheCommissionshallreporttotheCom­
mittee,aswellastheEuropeanParliament,onthe
resultsofapplicationoftheDirective.
7.14.TheCommitteewonderswhetheritisrightfor
theAdvisoryCommitteessetupinconnectionwith
certainDirectivestobeabletocommentonthe
interpretationofstandardsandtheestablishmentofrules.TheCommitteefeelsthatinterpretation isamat­
terfortheCommission'sdepartmentswhicharerespon­
siblefortheimplementation oftheDirectives.
7.15.Subjecttoreservationsonthedatabank,the
unavailabilityofdatarelatingtotheperiodcoveredby
theReportandthelackofinformationoncertification
andtesting,theCommitteefeelsthattheReportcon­
tainssufficientinformationforittobeabletoconclude
thatstandardization isheadingintherightdirection.
DoneatBrussels,26May1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN