Council Resolution of 10 November 2003 on the Communication of the European Commission "Enhancing the Implementation of the New Approach Directives"
Date: 2003-11-10
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EC conformity marking, consumer protection, exchange of information, harmonisation of standards, market supervision, product safety, standardisation

25.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 282/3

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 10 November 2003

on the Communication of the European Commission ‘Enhancing the Implementation of the New
Approach Directives’

(2003/C 282/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

States in fulfilling their responsibilities together with their
rights to devise the means of doing so;

RECALLING its objectives laid down in its Decision of 22 July
1993 (93/465/EEC) (1) and its Resolutions of 7 May 1985 on a
New Approach to technical harmonization and standards (2), of
21 December 1989 on a Global Approach to conformity
assessment (3) and of 28 October 1999 on the role of standard-
isation in Europe (4), and its Conclusion of 1 March 2002 on
standardisation (5);

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of
the New and Global
Approach as an appropriate and efficient regulatory model,
allowing technological
innovation and enhancing competi-
tiveness of European industry, as well as supporting the prin-
ciples of confidence, transparency and competence;

UNDERLINING its continued support of the efforts undertaken
by the Commission, both on international and regional/bilateral
platforms, to harness and develop the potential of the New
Approach principles for the effective protection of e.g. health
and safety and removal of technical barriers to trade, and to
encourage trading partners to adopt standards and regulatory
approaches compatible with the European Union's regulatory
framework;

CONFIRMING its commitment to further improving the oper-
ational efficiency of the internal market and reinforcing the
competitiveness of European industry, and TAKING NOTE of
the extensive consultations and discussions involving all stake-
holders as well as national authorities of Member States;

RECOGNISING the need for a clearer framework for conformity
assessment, accreditation and market
in the
European Union;

surveillance

RECOGNISING the value of a shared understanding of Member
States' responsibilities for the operation of the New and Global
Approaches, and the need for the accountability of Member

(1) Council Decision of 22 July 1993 concerning the modules for the
various phases of the conformity assessment procedures and the
rules for affixing and use of the CE conformity marking, which
are intended to be used in the technical harmonization Directives
(93/465/EEC) (OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 23).

(2) OJ C 136, 4.6.1985.
(3) OJ C 10, 16.1.1990.
(4) OJ C 141, 19.5.2000.
(5) OJ C 66, 15.3.2002.

CONFIRMING the necessity for the Commission and the Member
States to take all appropriate steps to further strengthen and
enhance the implementation of Directives based on the prin-
ciples of the New and Global Approaches in all Member States
and to extend the application of those principles to new areas;

WELCOMES the Commission's Communication on ‘Enhancing
the Implementation of the New Approach Directives’ and the
objectives contained therein;

INVITES THE COMMISSION:

To propose appropriate initiatives in the fields of conformity
assessment and of market surveillance, and in particular:

(a) With respect to bodies performing conformity assessment
tasks under the New Approach Directives and to bodies
and authorities involved in the assessment, designation
and surveillance of conformity assessment bodies:

1. To take steps towards ensuring that all notified bodies
perform their functions to the same level and under
conditions of fair competition, including measures:

— to consolidate the requirements with which the
notified bodies must comply such as exchange of
experience, exchange of information related to with-
drawal or refusal of certificates and requirements for
the cross-border activities of notified bodies;

— to establish and support appropriate procedures for
the exchange of information between notified bodies
which shall respect the principle of business confi-
dentiality and shall not restrict competition between
notified bodies;

— to consolidate the requirements that bodies involved
in the designation, assessment and monitoring of
notified bodies have to fulfil.

2. To support the establishment of a forum of Member
States' authorities responsible for policy on designation,
in order to facilitate the exchange of best practices for
the assessment, designation and surveillance of notified
bodies.

C 282/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.11.2003

3. To

an

efficient

establish

information

exchange
procedure between designating authorities and accredi-
tation bodies that have assessed conformity assessment
bodies in all Member States, EEA and other countries to
allow a reinforced administrative cooperation;

4. To increase the efficiency and transparency of the notifi-
cation procedure, considering notably the development
of an on-line notification system, made available by the
Commission, with the aim to replace the existing
paper-based system,
including the availability of an
updated list of notified bodies and of conformity
assessment bodies;

5. To develop more comprehensive policy and guidance
for the definition (including its role in the designation
procedure) and use of accreditation with the aim of
increasing coherence, transparency and co-operation of
in
accreditation services within the European Union,
both the regulatory and voluntary areas,
taking into
account the freedom of operators in the non-regulated
area to use them, as well as the relevant international
aspects. The development of such a policy should
include, in particular, the independence of accreditation
assessment
bodies
economic
activities
interest,
between
different bodies. Consideration should be given to
legislative
including such provisions
framework for the New Approach.

from commercial
as
a
avoidance

service of general
competition

in the general

conformity

and,
the

of

2. To improve the safeguard clause procedure foreseen in
the New Approach legislation in order to increase trans-
parency and to reduce processing time, with the aim to
make it more efficient and uniformly applied and to
draw on expertise available in Member States.

3. To start, in co-operation with Member States, EEA States
and other countries having concluded agreements with
the European Union on the use of the CE marking in
their territories, as well as European stakeholders, a
campaign to better promote and clarify the meaning
of the CE marking and its relation to voluntary marks.

To introduce measures on the protection of
marking.

the CE

(c) On General measures:

1. To propose measures to clarify and to harmonise the
definitions of a horizontal nature with a view to their
coherent application, through the inclusion of aspects
applicable to all sectors in a single legislative text.

2. To consider,

in view of the enlarged Union and of a
strengthened application of the Directives, the means
that would allow to pool scarce technical expertise
and ensure efficiency of the decision — making process.

(b) With respect to market surveillance and CE-marking:

1. To consider with Member States essential requirements
defining the objectives to be achieved by the Member
States with regard to market
surveillance and to
introduce in New Approach legislation a framework
including
for the relevant administrative co-operation,
the exchange of information among Member States.

conformity

in co-operation with Member States, a
3. To ensure,
consistent
assessment
application
of
procedures to products covered by more than one
Directive, by considering whether a more consistent
range of modules can be made available in the indi-
vidual Directives and ensuring that then only standard
suppliers' declaration of
modules
conformity should be used whenever feasible.

are used. The