3

The first, fourth, sixth, seventh, eleventh and twelfth recitals of Directive 89/106 are worded as follows: ‘Whereas Member States are responsible for ensuring that building and civil engineering works on their territory are designed and executed in a way that does not endanger the safety of persons, domestic animals and property, while respecting other essential requirements in the interests of general well-being; ... Whereas paragraph 71 of the White Paper on completing the internal market, approved by the European Council in June 1985, states that, within the general policy, particular emphasis will be placed on certain sectors, including construction; whereas the removal of technical barriers in the construction field, to the extent that they cannot be removed by mutual recognition of equivalence among all the Member States, should follow the new approach set out in the Council resolution of 7 May 1985 [OJ 1985 C 136, p. 1.] which calls for the definition of essential requirements on safety and other aspects which are important for the general well-being, without reducing the existing and justified levels of protection in the Member States; ... Whereas, as a basis for the harmonised standards or other technical specifications at European level and for the drawing up or granting of European technical approval, interpretative documents will be established in order to give concrete form to the essential requirements at a technical level; Whereas these essential requirements provide the basis for the preparation of harmonised standards at European level for construction products; whereas, in order to achieve the greatest possible advantage for a single internal market, to afford access to that market for as many manufacturers as possible, to ensure the greatest possible degree of market transparency and to create the conditions for a harmonised system of general rules in the construction industry, harmonised standards should be established as far as, and as quickly as, possible; whereas these standards are drawn up by private bodies and must remain non-mandatory texts; whereas, for that purpose, the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (Cenelec) are recognised as the competent bodies for the adoption of harmonised standards in accordance with the general guidelines for cooperation between the Commission and those two bodies signed on 13 November 1984; whereas, for the purposes of this Directive, a harmonised standard is a technical specification (European standard or harmonised document) adopted by one or both of those bodies upon a mandate given by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations [OJ 1983 L 109, p. 8]; ... Whereas a product is presumed fit for use if it conforms to a harmonised standard, a European technical approval or a non-harmonised technical specification recognised at Community level; whereas, in cases where products are of little importance with respect to the essential requirements and where they deviate from existing technical specifications, their fitness for use can be certified by recourse to an approved body; Whereas products thus considered fit for use are easily recognisable by the EC mark; whereas they must be allowed free movement and free use for their intended purpose throughout the Community’.