Proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Directive 89/686/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to personal protective equipment (PPE)
Date: 1995-11-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European standard, European symbol, approximation of laws, labelling, protective equipment, safety standard

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

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Brussels,  17.11.1995 
COM(95)  552  final 

95/0279  (COD) 

Proposal  for  a 

EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE 

amending  Directive 

89/686/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to pereonai 

protective equipment (PPE) 

(presented  by the  Commission) 

2 

Explanatory  memorandum 

General 

Purpose 

This proposal for a Directive has been prepared on the basis of Article  100a of the 

Treaty. 

It  consists  of  an  amendment  to  Council  Directive  89/686/EEC  of  21  December 

1989 on the approximation  of the laws of the Member  States relating to personal 

protective equipment, as amended by directives 93/68/EEC  and 93/95/EEC  . Its 

purpose 

is  to  simplify 

the  administrative  requirements 

imposed  on 

the 

manufacturers  of personal  protective  equipment  (PPE) and in particular to repeal 

the obligation to indicate on every item of PPE the year in which the EC marking 

was  affixed. 

Since  this  proposal  is  an  amendment  to  an  act  adopted  by  the  Community,  the 

Community has sole jurisdiction  over it and it can be implemented only by means 

of  an  act  of the  same  nature  as  the  original  document,  namely  a directive.  This 

Directive  will  therefore  have  the  same  principles  of  implementation  as  the 

Directive which it amends. 

OJNoL399,  30.12.1989, p. 18. 
OJNoL220,  30.8.1993, p. 1. 
OJNoL276,  9.11.1993, p.  II. 

3 

This proposal  thus answers to the desire for administrative simplification  aimed at 

eliminating unnecessary and costly obligations from  Community provisions. 

Economic and social impact 

Directive  89/686/EEC  provides  that  the  CE  conformity  marking  consists  of  the 

letters "CE" followed  by the last two digits of the year in which the marking was 

affixed  and, in the event of the involvement of a notified  body having carried  out 

an EC type examination, its distinguishing number. 

Directive  93/68/EEC  amending  89/686/EEC  on  the  one  hand  kept,  as  additional 

information  with the CE marking, this indication of the last two digits of the year 

in  which  the  marking  was  affixed  (only  PPE  covered  by  a  declaration  of 

conformity  by the manufacturer  himself  may  be exempt)  and, on the other  hand, 

restricted  indication  of  the  identification  number  to  only  those  notified  bodies 

which  become  involved  in  the  quality  control  phase  mentioned  in  Article  11 of 

Directive 89/686/EEC. 

PPE  manufacturers  have  pointed  out  to  the  Commission  that  the  obligation  to 

indicate on every  item of PPE the year in which the CE marking was affixed,  i.e. 

in effect  the year of manufacture  of the PPE, was the source of considerable costs 

which  are  not justified  by  a  substantial  increase  in  safety  or  information  for  the 

user. 

4 

These  costs  are  estimated  by  the  manufacturers  at  about  5% of  annual  turnover, 

and arise in particular  from: 

annual changes (on  1  January) to the marking systems or the moulds when 

marking is an integral  part of the production process; 

keeping separate stocks of products, component parts, packaging materials 

and documentation for each of the annual production runs; 

the matching  of products and packaging  that has to be done at the end of 

the year; 

the depreciation of products marked in previous years; 

the possible costs of returning of "old" products by distributors. 

In addition, if the PPE is marked with the date of manufacture  the final user might 

confuse  it with the date of obsolescence  of the PPE, the date which the  Directive 

makes obligatory for PPE subject to ageing. 

Lastly,  the  final  user  might  be  concerned  at  seeing  different  dates  on  the  same 

PPE made up of several component parts, each marked separately. 

Consultation of interested parties 

The  manufacturers'  request  has  been  mentioned  several  times  in  the  "PPE" 

working  party  of  the  committee  set  up  by  Directive  89/392/EEC  ,  which  is 

competent  to  deal  with  all  the  questions  arising  from  the  implementation  and 

practical application of the PPE Directive. 

OJNoL  183, 29.6.1989, p. 9. 

5 \ic 

At  its  meeting  of  17  and  18  July  1995,  the  working  party  welcomed  the  draft 

proposal.  The  group  is  made  up  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Member  States, 

representatives  of  EFT A  members  of  the  Agreement  on  the  European  Economic 

Area  (EEA),  of  the  industrial  federations  concerned,  in  particular  the  European 

Safety  Federation  (ESF)  and  the  Federation  of  the  European  Sporting  Goods 

Industry (FESI) as well  as representatives of the bodies  notified  and the  European 

standardization organizations (CEN and Cenelec). 

4. 

Application date 

This proposal  for a Directive  shall  enter into force  on  1 January  1997, the date  of 

the  end  of  the transitional  period  provided  for  by  Directive  93/68/EEC  amending 

Directive  89/686/EEC, no provision being made for a transitional period. 

Having the same date for the termination of one system and the entry into force  of 

another  for  "CE"  marking  will  make  the  situation  clear  for  manufacturers  and 

avoid any  uncertainty. 

5. 

Relevance  to the European Economic  Area ŒEA) 

This  proposal  falls  into  the  field  covered  by  the  Agreement  on  the  European 

Economic  Area.  The  consultations  included  experts  from  the  EFTA  countries  in 

the EEA. 

II 

The proposal for a Directive 

The  proposal  for  a  Directive  confines  itself  to  deleting  from  Annex  IV  to  the 

Directive  the  references  to  indication  of  the  date  on  which  the  CE  conformity 

marking was  affixed. 

7 

Proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  amending  Directive 

89/686/EEC  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 

personal protective equipment (PPE) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND  THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 

UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 

Article  100a thereof, 

I laving regard to the proposal  from  the Commission, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article  189b of the Treaty, 

Whereas  Directive  89/686/EEC  requires that all  personal  protective equipment  bear the 

CE  marking  and  that  this  marking  be  accompanied  by  additional 

information 

corresponding to the year in which the marking was  affixed; 

Whereas this  indication  of the year  is not a factor  beneficial  to the  safety  of the  user of 

the  personal  protective  equipment;  whereas  this  indication  might  be  confused  with  the 

date  of obsolescence  which  must be  affixed  to personal  protective  equipment  subject  to 

ageing; 

1 

OJ No L 399, 30.12.1989, p.  18, directive amended by directives 93/68/EEC (OJ No L 220, 
30.8.1993, p.  1, and 93/95/EEC (OJ No L 276, 9.11.1993, p. 11). 

8 

Whereas affixing  this  indication of the year is a burden on the manufacturers of  personal 

protective equipment; whereas the cost of this burden is far from negligible; 

Whereas,  in  view  of  the  principle  of  subsidiarity,  this  simplification  for  manufacturers 

can be achieved  only  by means of a directive amending the original  directive, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS  DIRECTIVE: 

Article  1 

Directive  89/686/EEC  shall be amended as follows: 

In Annex IV, the following  wording shall be deleted: 

"Additional  information 

The  last  two  digits  of  the  year  in  which  the  CE  marking  was  affixed;  this 

information  is not required in the case of the PPE referred to in Article 8 (3)." 

Article  2 

1. 

By  ...2 

,  Member  States  shall  adopt  and  publish  the  laws,  regulations  and 

administrative  provisions  necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive.  They  shall 

forthwith  inform the Commission  thereof. 

Three months from the date of adoption of this Directive. 

9 

When  Member States adopt such  laws, regulations and administrative provisions, 

they shall  contain  a reference  to this Directive or shall  be accompanied  by such a 

reference  when they are officially  published. The way in which this reference  is to 

be made will be decided on by the Member States. 

They  shall  apply  these  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  from  1 

January  1977. 

Member  States shall communicate  to the Commission  the texts of the  provisions 

of national  law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive. 

Article 3 

This  Directive  shall  enter  into  force  on the twentieth  day  after  that  of  its  publication  in 

the Official  Journal of the European Communities. 

Article 4 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

Financial  implications 

(items intended for publication in working documents) 

1. 

TITLE OF OPERATION 

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Council 

Directive 89/686/EEC of 21 December  1989 on the approximation of the laws of 

the Member States relating to personal protective equipment (PPE). 

2. 

BUDGET HEADING  INVOLVED 

No expenditure is envisaged  in part B of the budget. 

3. 

LEGAL BASIS 

Article  100a of the EC Treaty. 

4. 

DESCRIPTION  OF OPERATION 

• 

Il 

4.1 

General objective: 

The purpose of this proposal for a Directive is to simplify  manufacturers' 

obligations relating to "EC" marking, repealing the obligation to indicate on every 

item of PPE the year in which the "CE" marking was  affixed. 

4.2 

Period covered: this is a single ad hoc operation. 

4.3 

Population targeted: potentially all PPE users, particularly  manufacturers. 

5. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF EXPENDITURE 

5.1 

Compulsory/Non-compulsory expenditure: not applicable. 

5.2 

Differentiated/Non-differentiated  appropriations: not applicable. 

5.3 

No revenues are envisaged. 

6. 

TYPE OF EXPENDITURE 

No expenditure is envisaged in part B of the budget. 

6.1 

100% subsidy: none. 

6.2 

Subsidy  for joint financing with other sources in the public and/or private sector: 

m  12. 

none. 

6.3 

Interest subsidy: none. 

6.4 

Other: none. 

6.5 

Should the operation prove an economic success, is there provision for all or part 

of the Community contribution to be reimbursed? Not applicable. 

6.6  Will the proposed operation cause any change in the level of revenue? No. 

7. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT 

7.1  Method of calculating total cost of operation: 

Not applicable. 

7.2 

Itemized breakdown of cost: 

Not applicable. 

7.3 

Operational expenditure on studies, expert meetings, etc., included in part B of 

the budget: 

None. 

7.4 

I ndicati ve schedule of appropriations : 

Not applicable. 

m 

i3 

S. 

FRAUD  PREVENTION  MEASURES 

Not  applicable. 

9. 

ELEMENTS  OF  COST-EFFECTIVENESS  ANALYSIS 

9.1 

Specific  and  quantifiable  objective: 

Repeal  of the obligation  to indicate the year in which  the  "CE" marking  was 

affixed  is considered  by the  manufacturers  to represent  a cost  reduction 

corresponding  to about  5% of  turnover. 

9.2 

Grounds  for  the  operation: 

The repeal  of the obligation  to indicate the year in which the  "CE" marking  was 

affixed  is an administrative  simplification  which  reduces the manufacturing  costs 

of PPE. The change  does not affect  the safety  of PPE, and the obligation  to 

indicate 

the date of obsolescence  of  PPE subject  to ageing  and 

the  useful  life  of  PPE the quality  of which  deteriorates  in use 

is maintained  in the text of the directive. 

9.2.1  Need  for  Community  financial  aid: 

Not  applicable. 

9.2.2  Choice of ways and  means: 

Not  applicable. 

9.3 

Monitoring  and  evaluation  of the  operation: 

9.3.1  Performance  indicators  selected: 

Not  applicable. 

9.3.2  Details  and  frequency  of planned  evaluations: 

Continuous  monitoring  of the conditions of implementation  and  practical 

application  of this  Directive. 

I M P A CT  ASSESSMENT FORM 

TITLE OF PROPOSAL 

Proposal  for a European  Parliament and Council  Directive amending Council  Directive 

89/686/EEC of 21 December  1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Member 

States relating to personal protective equipment (PPE). 

REFERENCE  NUMBER: 

1. 

THE PROPOSAL 

This is a proposal  for a "new approach" directive based on Article  100a of the 

Treaty. It is basically aimed at achieving the following  objective: 

to repeal the obligation to indicate on every item of PPE the year in which 

the EC marking was  affixed. 

THE IMPACT ON BUSINESS 

(a) 

Characteristics of the firms involved 

Most of the firms manufacturing  personal protective equipment (PPE) are 

SMEs. 

(b) 

Geographical distribution of the firms and the market 

Firms making PPE are scattered throughout the territory of the Union and 

EFT A countries. 

(c) 

Are these firms located in regions eligible for regional aid from  Member 

States and the ERDF? 

There is not known to be any particular concentration in these regions. 

3. 

WHAT WILL BUSINESS HAVE TO DO TO COMPLY WITH THE 

DIRECTIVE? 

The proposal  for a directive seeks to simplify  some obligations on firms and to 

simplify  manufacture; there are no special steps they need to take to be able to 

comply with it. 

4. 

WHAT ECONOMIC EFFECTS IS THE PROPOSAL LIKELY TO HAVE? 

(a) 

on employment? 

The proposal for a directive can only have a positive effect  on 

employment. 

(b) 

on investment and the creation of new businesses? 

Application of the proposal  for a Directive requires no investment, on the 

contrary, it will make it possible to dispense with the wasteful  expenditure 

caused by having to change the marking at the beginning of each year and 

match the packaging to the products. 

The creation of a new firm will be unaffected  by the measure. 

(c) 

on the competitive position of businesses? 

The European Federation of Manufacturers  considers that the obligation to 

mark the year of manufacture on every item of PPE represents a cost 

which could be estimated at some 5% of turnover.  Dispensing with this 

outlay will enable firms to improve their overall competitiveness. 

(d) 

on health and safety: 

The aspects of the Directive relating to users' health and safety  will not be 

diminished, indeed, quite the reverse, since it will rule out any possible 

misunderstanding as regards the useful  life and obsolescence of PPE; the 

obligation  imposed by the Directive to give indications of the useful  life 

of products likely to deteriorate in use and on the date of obsolescence of 

products subject to ageing is not changed. 

m  \> 

5. 

MEASURES  INTENDED TO TAKE ACCOUNT Ol  11 IE SPECIFIC 

SITUATION  OF SMEs 

The proposal  for a Directive does not provide for any specific  measures 

applicable only to S M lis. 

6. 

CONSULTATION  OF THE TWO SIDES OF INDUSTRY AND THEIR 

VIEWPOINTS 

A draft  proposal has been examined by the PPE working party of the Committee 

created by Directive 89/392/EEC. 

This group is competent to deal with all the questions raised by the 

implementation  and practical application of the PPE Directive. 

The working party consists of representatives of manufacturers  and users. 

(a)  manufacturers: 

ESF (European Safety  Federation); 

EESI (Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry); 

European Confederation  of the Footwear Industry. 

(b) 

users: 

BTS (Bureau technique syndical) 

All the interested parties have expressed their approval. 

IS 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(95) 552  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

06  05 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-95-588-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-95870-7 

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