EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 84/927

(2004/C 84 E/1024)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0968/04

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 March 2004)

Subject: Electromagnetic Compliance Standard

1. Will the Commission clarify the remit of the European Electromagnetic Compliance Standard IEC61000? Is it a voluntary measure, a recommendation or one that is compulsory and therefore enforceable by law?

2. If it is enforceable by law, will the Commission state who holds responsibility for ensuring compliance with this standard? Is the Commission aware of any breaches of this standard?

3. What is the maximum limit (in volts per metre) to which a house and its residents may be exposed under this standard?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(29 April 2004)

IEC 61000 refers not to one but to a series of standards issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). A subset of these standards has been adopted by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec) and harmonised under the Directive 89/336/EEC (1) (EMC Directive). For information, a summary of the relevant Cenelec standards harmonised under the EMC Directive is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.

To establish compliance with the requirements of the EMC Directive, the manufacturer or his authorised representative has the choice between two main conformity assessment procedures. The manufacturer may decide to apply harmonised standards or to apply the protection requirement directly. In the latter case, the manufacturer must establish a technical construction file and obtain a certificate or report from a ‘competent body’.

Therefore, the application of harmonised standards is not mandatory under the EMC Directive. However, if the manufacturer decides to apply the harmonised standards and declares as such, the apparatus shall comply with those standards.

Enforcement of the EMC Directive is performed by Member States. If a manufacturer declares conformity to the EMC Directive by application of the relevant harmonised standards, and consequently if a Member State ascertains that this is not the case, or that a standard has been incorrectly applied (and as a result the apparatus does not meet the protection requirements), the Member State shall take the appropriate actions to remove the product from the market, prohibit its placing on the market or restrict its free movement. All such measures shall be notified to the Commission who instruct the case and inform the Member States if the measure is justified (safeguard clause procedure, Article 9 of the EMC Directive).

The Commission is unaware of any breaches (in respect of shortcomings) in the standards referred to in Annex 1. The EN 61000-3 series of standards refer to harmonics, voltage change, voltage fluctuation and flicker generated by apparatus. The EN 61000-6-1 and EN 61000-6-2 standards refer to immunity of apparatus. The EN 61000-6-4 standard refers to emission in industrial environment whereas the EN 61000-6-3 standard refers to emissions in residential environment.

The required limits in EN 61000-6-3 are:

— 30 Megahertz (MHz) to 230 MHz: 30dB (microvolt per meter) measured at a distance of 10 metres (m) (Quasi-peak measurement)

— 230 MHz to 1 000 MHz: 37dB (microvolt per meter) measured at a distance of 10m (Quasi-peak measurement)

— Below 30MHz: no radiation limits, only conducted limits.

(1) Council Directive 89/336/EEC of 3 May 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility, OJ L 139, 23.5.1989.