WRITTEN QUESTION E-1293/01 by Bernd Lange (PSE) to the Commission. Light fittings supplied without connecting terminals (EN 60598-1/A13).
Date: 2001-05-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European standard, France, complaint to the Commission, electrical equipment, harmonisation of standards, safety standard

C 340 E/214

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.12.2001

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(7 June 2001)

The Eleventh meeting of

1.
the Taxation Policy Group on 5 May 2000 was mainly devoted to
a discussion on the review of the provisions of the Code of Conduct for business taxation and an exchange
of views on possible issues for further meetings of the Taxation Policy Group in 2000.

The Twelfth meeting of the Taxation Policy Group on 18 July 2000 was mainly devoted to a presentation
by the German representatives of the German business tax reform, followed by a discussion, and to an
exchange of views concerning one issue of the (ongoing) Commission company tax study (company tax
obstacles to cross-border economic activity in the Single Market).

The Thirteenth meeting of the Taxation Policy Group on 6 October 2000 was mainly devoted to
a discussion of the taxation of supplementary pensions and an exchange of views concerning one issue of
the (ongoing) Commission company tax study (the effective levels of company taxation in the
Community).

The Fourteenth meeting of the Taxation Policy Group on 16 March 2001 was mainly devoted to an
exchange of views on future priorities of Community tax policy and a brief evaluation of the progress
made concerning the new strategy to improve the operation of the VAT System within the context of the
Internal Market.

2.

The date and agenda of the next meeting of the Taxation Policy Group has not been fixed yet.

(2001/C 340 E/246)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1293/01

by Bernd Lange (PSE) to the Commission

(3 May 2001)

Subject: Light fittings supplied without connecting terminals (EN 60598-1/A13)

On 30 January 2001, the Commission published in the Official Journal an opinion within the framework
of Council Directive 73/23/EEC relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage
limits (1). In that opinion, the Commission comes to the conclusion that electrical equipment manufactured
in compliance with the EN 60598-1:1997 and EN 60598-1:1997/A13:1999 might still fail to comply with
the essential requirement of
the Low Voltage Directive. The opinion was delivered in response to
a complaint to the Commission lodged by France concerning failure to supply connecting terminals with
light fittings.

The Commission has been unable to find any acceptable solution to this problem since France lodged the
complaint on 12 May 1995. Since then, one German company in particular has been put at a huge
disadvantage. The facts of the case clearly demonstrate that France has erected a technical barrier to trade,
all the more so since the relevant standard (EN 60598-1/A13) was adopted by the Cenelec Standardisation
Committee TC 34Z by 17 votes to 1 (France voted against) and since products made in France and in
other EU countries may continue to be sold in France without connecting terminals! What is more, no
safety hazards have, to date, been proved. Live cables protrude only from ceilings or walls and are usually
protected by connecting terminals. An additional connecting terminal (cid:129) to be supplied with the light
fitting (cid:129) would simply be a further item to be added to Europe(cid:146)s refuse mountain and does not constitute
common practice in Europe. Without waiting for a the findings of a risk assessment procedure, the
European Commission has issued a recommendation to the Member States which takes no account
whatsoever of the facts of the case (cid:129) which are themselves the result of installation instructions which
vary from one Member State to another.

1.
Given this situation, will the Commission withdraw its opinion published on 30 January 2001 until
a solution acceptable throughout the EU is found and grant manufacturers an appropriate transitional
period until an EU-wide solution is presented?

2. What is the Commission(cid:146)s attitude to this decision, which was not coordinated with Cenelec, which
makes a laughing stock of the risk assessment procedure agreed by the Commission, Cenelec and industry?

(1) OJ C 29, 30.1.2001, p. 2.

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/215

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(19 June 2001)

The Honourable Member(cid:146)s question concerns notification of a safeguard clause in accordance with
Article 9 of Council Directive 73/23/EEC of 19 February 1973 on the harmonisation of the laws of
Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (1), as
amended by Council Directive 93/68/EEC of 22 July 1993 (2) (cid:129) known as the Low Voltage Directive.

It has become clear in this context that the harmonised standard EN60598-1 on light fittings does not
fully meet the safety objectives of the Low Voltage Directive. In 1998, the Commission asked the European
Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (Cenelec) to amend the standard in question. Adopted in
1999, amendment 13 to this standard did not provide the necessary guarantees that electrical equipment
manufactured in accordance with it conforms to the essential requirements of the Directive. Under these
circumstances, and absent an amendment that takes account of the safety concerns of the national market
surveillance authorities and of the Commission, it is essential that the Commission(cid:146)s opinion is upheld.

The Commission would inform the Honourable Member that the draft opinion has been submitted to the
national market surveillance authorities for consultation and that these authorities have welcomed the
proposed approach. This opinion does not rule out the possibility of a subsequent amendment to the
harmonised standard to bring it in line with the requirements of the Directive and to take account of the
opinions expressed by all the parties concerned.

The Commission will continue to encourage Cenelec to reach a suitable technical solution. Furthermore, it
will bring up this subject again with the national authorities at the next meeting on the Low Voltage
Directive under the administrative cooperation procedure, in order to ensure uniform application of the
Directive on this point.

(1) OJ L 77, 26.3.1973.
(2) OJ L 220, 30.8.1993.

(2001/C 340 E/247)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1303/01

by Glyn Ford (PSE) to the Commission

(19 April 2001)

Subject: Employment rights for ministers of religion

Can the Commission detail for each Member State those which fail to confer employment rights on
ministers of religion and specify which religions are included in those exceptions?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(30 May 2001)

The application of labour law and employment rights to ministers of religion differs substantially between
Member States. In some cases, ministers of religion are not covered by labour law because they do not
have the status of an employee. In others, churches or other religious communities are exempted from the
application of certain aspects of labour law. In addition, some legislative acts include special provisions for
churches and religious communities.

The rules concerning the application of employment rights to ministers of religion in the Member States
are therefore very complex. No systematic and detailed overview of the different situations exists. It is
therefore not possible to specify which religions are included or not in each case.