Commission opinion of 27 November 2008 in application of Article 7 of Directive 98/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards a prohibition measure adopted by the Hungarian authorities in respect of an angle grinder bearing the trademark POWER GT MD-2007-138 (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2008-11-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Hungary, joinery, market approval, occupational safety, product safety, safety standard

2.12.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 307/3

COMMISSION OPINION

of 27 November 2008

in application of Article 7 of Directive 98/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as
regards a prohibition measure adopted by the Hungarian authorities in respect of an angle grinder
bearing the trademark POWER GT MD-2007-138

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2008/C 307/02)

1. The notification by the Hungarian authorities

Article 2(1) of Directive 98/37/EC on the approximation of the
laws of the Member States relating to machinery states that
Member States shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that
machinery covered by the Directive may be placed on the
market and put into service only if it does not endanger the
health and safety of persons and, where appropriate, domestic
animals or property, when properly installed and maintained
and used for its intended purpose.

Article 7(1) of the Directive provides that where a Member State
ascertains that machinery bearing the EC marking used in
accordance with its intended purpose is liable to endanger the
safety of persons, and, where appropriate, domestic animals or
property, it shall take all appropriate measures to withdraw such
machinery from the market, to prohibit the placing on the
market, putting into service or use thereof, or to restrict free
movement thereof. The Member State shall immediately inform
the Commission of any such measure, indicating the reason for
its decision.

On 23 July 2007, the Hungarian authorities notified to the
European Commission a prohibition measure concerning the
placing on the market of a hand-held portable electric angle
grinder bearing the
type
PG-AG 0110. The machinery was manufactured by Zheijang
Wuyi Gongli Electric Machine Co., Ltd, Feng Huang Shan
Industrial Zone, Dong Gan, Wuyi County, Zheijang 321201,
People's Republic of China, and distributed by REMOND
Hungary Kft., H-1211 Budapest, Déli út 15/A.

trademark POWER GT of

the

Pursuant to Article 7(2) of the Directive, the Commission is
required, after consulting the parties concerned,
to declare
whether it finds such a measure justified or not. If the measure
is found justified, the Commission shall
inform the Member
States so that
they can take all appropriate measures with
respect to the machinery concerned, in accordance with their
obligations under Article 2(1).

2. The reasons given by the Hungarian authorities

The measure taken by the Hungarian authorities was founded
on the failure of the angle grinder to comply with the following
essential health and safety requirements of Annex I to Directive
98/37/EC (with reference
the
harmonised European standards EN 50144-1:1998 Safety of
hand-held electric motor operated tools — Part 1: General require-
ments and EN 50144-2-3:2002 — Safety of hand-held electric

specifications of

to the

motor operated tools — Part 2-3: Particular requirements for grinders,
disk type sanders and polishers).

1.5.1. Electricity supply and 1.5.6 — Risk of fire

The machinery poses a risk of fire due to the unfixed
internal wiring, which might cause a short-circuit.

1.7.3. Marking

The symbols attached to the product were not suffi-
ciently durable.

3. The Commission's opinion

On 15 November 2007, the Commission wrote to REMOND
Hungary Kft.,
inviting him to communicate his observations
regarding the measure taken by the Hungarian authorities.

To date, no response has been received.

from REMOND Hungary Kft.

Nevertheless the file transmitted to the European Commission
contained a letter
to the
Hungarian authorities dated 7 March 2007, stating that they
were not able to present any conformity certificate for the angle
grinder in question as they had never arrived from the Chinese
manufacturer. Consequently, they had already instructed their
clients to withdraw the angle grinder from the market and could
not explain why some were still available at
the time the
Hungarian authorities took the measure.

the documentation available,

In light of
the Commission
considers that the Hungarian authorities have demonstrated that
the machinery subject to the restrictive measure fails to comply
with the essential health and safety requirements referred to
above. These non-conformities give rise to serious risks for
persons using the machinery in question.

Consequently, having followed the required procedure,
the
Commission is of the opinion that the measure taken by the
Hungarian authorities is justified.

Done at Brussels, 27 November 2008.

For the Commission

Günter VERHEUGEN

Vice-President