Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the  Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/14/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors (COM(2005) 370 final — 2005/0149 (COD))
Date: 2005-10-27
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: approximation of laws, machinery, noise pollution, noise protection, public health, technical standard

C 28/104

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

3.2.2006

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a directive of the
European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/14/EC on the approximation of
the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for
use outdoors’

(COM(2005) 370 final — 2005/0149 (COD))

(2006/C 28/23)

On 16 September 2005 the Council decided, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community, to consult the European Economic and Social Committee on the abovementioned proposal.

On 27 September 2005, the Bureau of the European Economic and Social Committee instructed the
Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment to prepare the Committee's work on the
subject.

Given the urgent nature of the work, the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Pezzini
as rapporteur-general at its 421st plenary session, held on 26 and 27 October 2005 (meeting of 27
October) and adopted the following opinion by 81 votes to one, with 3 abstentions.

1. Conclusions and recommendations

to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use
outdoors (‘Noise Directive’).

1.1
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
warmly welcomes the Commission proposal to modify Direc-
tive 2000/14/EC (‘noise directive’) (1).

The EESC takes the opportunity to emphasise that the
1.2
in the construction industry and in
main sources of noise,
gardening activities and forestry, are indeed the various types
of equipment listed in Directive 2000/14/EC, and that the tech-
nical
information and guarantees provided by manufacturers
are crucial to the employer in terms of noise management.

1.3
The EESC also stresses the future importance of full
implementation of Directive 2000/14/EC to the containment of
environmental noise, when public and private contracting
authorities begin to insert requirements regarding low-noise
machinery into their specifications.

1.4
The EESC points out that harmonised standards are in
place for measuring noise emissions. The Noise Directive
(2000/14/EC) is based on the principles and concepts under-
pinning the new approach to technical harmonisation and stan-
dardisation, as set out in the Council Resolution of 7 May
1985 (2) and in the Council Decision 93/465/EEC of 22 July
1993 (3).

Since 3 January 2002 the fifty-seven types of equipment
2.2
within scope must satisfy the requirements of the Noise Direc-
tive before being placed on the market or put into service
within the European Community.

2.3
The Directive set maximum permissible sound power
levels and mandatory noise emission labelling for twenty-two
types of equipment and mandatory noise emission labelling for
the remaining thirty-five types of equipment.

For those 22 types of equipment where permissible
2.3.1
sound power levels apply there were two stages of application.
The first came into force on 3 January 2002 (‘stage I’); the
second series of reduced limits is due to come into operation
on 3 January 2006 (‘stage II’).

The ‘WG7’ (4) working group, appointed by the
2.3.2
Commission, agreed that, for a number of types of equipment,
the measured sound power levels to be applied under stage II
would be technically impossible to achieve.

2. Reasons

For

this reason,

the Commission is proposing to
2.3.3
consider the stage II permissible sound power levels for the
above equipment as indicative only. Definitive figures will
depend on amendment of the Noise Directive following the
report foreseen in Article 20.

2.1
This proposal provides for an amendment to European
Parliament and Council Directive 2000/14/EC of 8 May 2000
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating

(1) OJ L 162, 3.7.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 136, 4.6.1985, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 23.

In the absence of any such amendment, the figures for

2.4
stage I will continue to apply for stage II.

(4) Working Group on Outdoor Equipment (group of experts estab-

lished by the Commission Services).

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3. General comments

3.2.3
In this proposal, environmental protection require-
ments seem to fit well with the need to safeguard the free
market.

3.1 While expressing a positive opinion on the proposal for
amending Directive 2000/14/EC it is important to emphasise
two important points:

The first point concerns the need to uphold and reaf-
3.2
firm the line taken in Directive 2000/14/EC, in that this modi-
the existing set of Community
fying proposal completes
measures concerning noise emitted by the major sources,
in
particular road and rail vehicles and infrastructure, aircraft,
outdoor and industrial equipment and mobile machinery, and
provides a basis for developing additional measures,
in the
short, medium and long term.

the
The second point concerns the consistency of
3.3
proposal with the EU's various programmes, actions and objec-
tives regarding environmental and health protection/protection
from noise.

3.3.1
A high level of health and environmental protection
must be attained through EU policy and, to this end, one of the
objectives that must be pursued is protection from noise.

3.2.1
The directive should be considered alongside other
legislation on the noise emission of certain categories of
machinery:

3.3.2
sion identifies noise as one of
problems in Europe.

In its Green Paper on Future Noise Policy, the Commis-
the main environmental

— Council Directive 70/157/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
the permissible sound level and the exhaust system of
motor vehicles;

3.4
The Commission proposal ties in with the measures
taken to implement the action plans and European environ-
ment and health strategy set out in the Council conclusions of
27 October 2003.

— Council Directive 77/311/EEC of 29 March 1977 on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
the driver-perceived noise level of wheeled agricultural or
forestry tractors;

— Council Directive 80/51/EEC of 20 December 1979 on
the limitation of noise emissions from subsonic aircraft and
its complementary directives;

3.4.1
It should be pointed out that the EU previously took
action against noise pollution by means of Directive 2002/49.
This highly important directive regulates and specifies the
criteria for determining an acceptable environmental noise
threshold.

— Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30 June 1992 relating to
the type-approval of two or three-wheel motor vehicles;

The EU institutions established common assessment
3.5
methods,
It is up to
including the notion of limit values.
Member States to establish such values in relation to various
urban areas and to coordinate this with national legislation.

— European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/14/EC of
8 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the
Member States relating to the noise emission in the envir-
onment by equipment for use outdoors.

3.2.2
Before environmental policy was set, efforts to provide
protection from noise were directed not only towards the
environment, but particularly towards the implementation of
the principles of free competition and the free movement of
goods (5).

(5) See the Court of Justice ruling of 12 March 2002, cases C-27/00

and C-122/00.

The adoption of common monitoring criteria was vital
3.5.1
because otherwise, noise thresholds set may have varied from
one Member State to another, with the possibility that in some
countries certain motor vehicles or aircraft may have been
prohibited from passing through, or that restrictions may have
been placed on the use of certain vehicles.

3.6
Directive 2002/49 aims to combat noise pollution,
establishing as a priority the need to eliminate the harmful
effects of exposure to environmental noise.

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3.6.1 With regard to exposure to high levels of noise in
the workplace, which can cause irreversible damage to
hearing and even cause accidents at work, the following promi-
nent directives set minimum health and safety requirements:

— Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the
introduction of measures to encourage improvements in
the safety and health of workers at work.

— Directive 2003/10/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 6 February 2003 on the minimum health

and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers
to the risks arising from physical agents (noise).

— Council Directive 89/655/EEC of 30 November 1989 on
the minimum health and safety requirements for the use by
workers of personal protective equipment at the workplace.
For all workplaces in which noise is generated, this directive
states that employers must manage operations in such a
way as to minimise exposure, particularly through the use
of low-noise machinery, by carrying out checks at source
and by consulting workers.

Brussels, 27 October 2005.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND