CELEX: 51986PC0756
Language: en
Date: 1987-01-08
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS, REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS OF THE MEMBER STATES RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS

6. 4. 87                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 93/1
                                                              II
                                                     (Preparatory    Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
                          Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws,
                            regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States
                                             relating to construction products
                                                     COM(86) 756 final
                          (Submitted   by the Commission     to the Council on 15 January 1987)
                                                        (87/C 93/01)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          low the new approach set out in the Council resolution
                                                                  of 7 May 1985 (!) which requires the definition of essen-
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             tial requirements to replace the various corresponding
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100                 national provisions;
thereof,
                                                                  Whereas each essential requirement is to be understood
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                as requiring that the construction works conform with
                                                                  an appropriate degree of reliability according to defined
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-              criteria; whereas in order to support the presumption
ment,                                                             that products conforming to a standard or technical
                                                                  approval recognized at European level meet the essen-
                                                                  tial requirements, technical documents will be estab-
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
                                                                  lished at European level;
Social Committee,
                                                                  Whereas construction products that are able to meet
Whereas Member States are responsible for ensuring                the essential requirements must be allowed free move-
that building and civil engineering works on their terri-         ment and free use for their intended purpose throughout
tory are designed and executed in a way that does not             the Community;
endanger the safety of persons, domestic animals and
property;                                                        •Whereas these essential requirements provide the basis
                                                                  for the preparation of harmonized standards at Euro-
Whereas the Member States have mandatory provisions               pean level for construction products; whereas for this
including requirements relating not only to safety but            purpose the Commission has fixed with the European
also to health, durability, energy economy and other              standardization bodies general guidelines for their
matters;                                                          cooperation;
                                                                  Whereas in the case of products where European stan-
Whereas these requirements which are often the subject
                                                                  dards cannot be produced or foreseen within a reason-
of national provisions laid down by law, regulation or
                                                                  able period of time, the essential requirements may
administrative action, have a direct influence on the
                                                                  nevertheless provide the basis for European technical
nature of construction products employed and are
                                                                  approval of the fitness for use of the products; whereas
reflected in national product standards, technical
                                                                  it is necessary to establish a procedure for the adoption
approvals and other technical specifications, which by
                                                                  of common guidelines for the granting of European
their disparity hinder trade within the Community;
                                                                  technical approvals;
Whereas the White Paper on Completing the Internal                Whereas in the absence of European standards and
Market approved by the European Council in June                   European technical approvals, national standards or
1985 states, in paragraph 71, that within the general             other technical specifications may be recognized as pro-
policy, particular emphasis will be placed on certain
sectors, including construction; whereas the removal of
technical barriers in the construction field, to the extent
that they cannot be removed by mutual recognition of
equivalence among all the Member States, should fol-              (') O J N o C 136,4.6. 1985, p. 1.
 ---pagebreak---  No C 93/2                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                 6. 4. 87
 viding a suitable basis for a presumption that the essen-        recognition of the results of tests performed in another
 tial requirements are met;                                       Member State according to the technical requirements
                                                                  of the importing Member State;
 Whereas it is necessary to ensure the conformity of
 products with the standards and technical approvals             Whereas a Standing Committee should be set up com-
 recognized at European level by means of procedures              prising experts designated by Member States to advise
of quality control by manufacturers and of supervision,          the Commission on questions arising from the
testing assessment and certification by independent               implementation and practical application of this Direc-
 qualified third parties, at a level appropriate to the          tive;
 nature of the product and its importance in relation
to the essential requirements; whereas products that             Whereas the responsibility of Member States for safety,
qualify should be readily identifiable by the EC mark;           health and other matters covered by the essential
                                                                 requirements on their territory should be recognized in
                                                                 a safeguard clause providing for appropriate protective
 Whereas a special procedure should be provided as
                                                                  measures,
 an interim measure for products where standards or
technical approvals recognized at European level do
not yet exist; whereas this procedure should facilitate          HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                                                         CHAPTER I
                                             Field of application—Definitions—
                                 Requirements—Technical specifications—Free movement
                          Article 1                              2.     The essential requirements applicable to construc-
                                                                 tion works which may influence the specific character-
1.     This Directive shall apply to construction prod-          istics of a product concern the following aspects:
ucts, so far as the essential requirements referred to in
Article 2 are concerned.                                         (a) mechanical resistance (stability);
2.     By construction products is meant products which          (b) safety in case of fire;
are produced with a view to their incorporation in
                                                                 (c) hygiene and health, environment;
construction works, including both buildings and civil
engineering works, such as:                                      (d) safety in use;
(a) amorphous     materials, for example cement, aggre-
     gates;                                                      (e) durability;
(b) shaped materials,      for example tiles, chipboard          (f) protection against noise;
     panels;
                                                                 (g) energy economy.
(c) components, i.e. distinct units destined to perform
     one or several specific functions, for example doors,
                                                                 These requirements are defined in terms of objectives
     stairs;
                                                                 in Annex I.
(d) assemblies made up of several components used
     together, for example facade panels, partitions;            3.     The Council, acting on a proposal from the Com-
(e) installations fulfilling one or several functions            mission shall add to the list of essential requirements
     related to the intended use of the construction             where appropriate and shall specify them in detail
     works, for example waste disposal, water supply             where necessary.
     and drainage;
(f) in particular cases, complete building works market-         4.     Member States shall not be obliged to cover all
     ed as a whole, for example prefabricated houses,            the essential requirements set out in paragraph 2 in
     garages and silos.                                          their rules.
Construction products are hereinafter referred to as             5.     Any additional requirements laid down at
'products'.                                                      national level must not involve modifications to prod-
                                                                 ucts that comply with this Directive.
                          Article 2
1.     The products must be fit for their intended use,                                    Article 3
that is have such characteristics that the construction
works in which they are incorporated.in accordance               1.     Products shall be presumed to be fit for their
with defined rules and conditions, can meet the require-         intended use if they bear the EC mark indicating that
ments regarding safety, health and certain other aspects         they conform with:
in the general interest, hereinafter referred to as 'essen-
tial requirements'.                                              (a) European standards as referred to in Chapter II;
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(b) European technical approvals as referred to in                                          Article 4
      Chapter III;
(c) the relevant national standards           or  technical      1.     Member States shall not obstruct, for reasons
      approvals according to Chapter IV.                         connected with the essential requirements, the free
                                                                 movement, marketing and use on their territory of
The appropriate references shall be published in the C           products accompanied by a mark on the product itself,
series of the Official Journal of the European Communi-          a label, its packaging or accompanying commercial
ties.                                                            documents. Member States shall ensure that rules and
                                                                 conditions laid down by public and private bodies do
2.      Standards and technical approvals which define           not prevent the use of such products for their intended
the required characteristics of products in their particu-       purpose.
lar uses, such as the levels of quality or performance,
reliability or dimensions, and which may include
directly or by reference other rules, e.g. concerning            2.     Where      technical      specifications distinguish
terminology, symbols, testing and test methods,                  between different performance classes corresponding
methods of calculation or assessment, classifications,           to different requirement levels, Member States may
packaging, marking or labelling, and the conditions of           determine, according to their climatic conditions, the
use of the product, are hereinafter referred to as 'techni-      requirement levels to be respected on their territory
cal specifications'.                                             within the classifications adopted at Community level.
                                                        CHAPTER II
                                                    European standards
                                                         Article 5
              1.    In order to ensure the quality of European standards for products, they shall be
             established by the European standardization bodies on the basis of mandates given by the
             Commission in conformity with the procedures of Council Directive 83/189/EEC( 1 ) after
             consultation of the Committee provided for in Article 19 of this Directive.
             2.     The resulting standards should be expressed so far as practicable in product performance
             terms.
                                                         Article 6
              1.    All Member States shall communicate to the Commission and to the other Member
             States the texts of their national standards transposing the European standards.
             2.     Member States shall publish the reference numbers of those standards within six months
             of the adoption of the corresponding European standards.
                                                        CHAPTER III
                                                European technical approval
                          Article 7                              2.     Recourse shall be had to European technical
                                                                 approval in cases where, owing to the very novelty of
1.      European technical approval is a favourable tech-        the product or in particular the novel use of a traditional
nical assessment of the fitness for use of a product,            product, the product is not, or cannot be, covered by
based on fulfilment of the essential requirements for            a European standard, or by national standards that
building works, by means of the inherent characteristics         make it possible to meet the essential requirements.
of the product and the defined conditions of application
and use.                                                         (') O J N o L 109,26.4. 1983, p. 8.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 93/4                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  6. 4. 87
3.    Products that are the subject of standards or draft        a mandate from the Commission, by the European body
national standards or mandates for European standards            comprising the approval bodies authorized to issue
under the notification procedure of Directive 83/189/            European technical approvals.
EEC shall not be eligible for European technical
approval unless the Commission decides otherwise after          3.     In order to ensure the quality of European techni-
consultation :>f the Committee provided for in Article           cal approvals the mandate given by the Commission
19 of this Directive.                                            shall be drawn up by the latter after consultation of
                                                                the Committee provided for in Article 19.
                          Article 8                             4.     The guidelines for European technical approval
                                                                for a product or family of products shall give the
1.    European technical approvals shall be issued, in          indications as shown in the Commission's mandate
accordance with the procedure laid down in Annex II,            regarding the modalities and the period of validity of
at the request of the manufacturer of a product or his          the European technical approval.
agent, by an approval body designated for this purpose          In particular, these shall have to do with the inspection
by the Member State.                                            to be carried out by the manufacturer and the conform-
                                                                ity procedure which must be in accordance with the
2.    Each Member State shall inform the other Mem-             provisions laid down in Articles 12, 13, and 14.
ber States and the Commission of the names and
addresses of the bodies that it authorizes to issue Euro-       5.     The guidelines for European technical approval
pean technical approvals.                                       shall be published by all the approved bodies referred
                                                                to in Article 8 (2).
3.    Approval bodies must satisfy the relevant pro-
visions of this Directive, and especially Annex V ther-
eto; moreover, they must have the capacity to evaluate
the fitness for use of new products on the basis of                                     Article 10
scientific and practical knowledge that is as broad and
up-to-date as possible.                                          1.    The approval body that issues the European tech-
                                                                nical approval for a product shall establish the text of
4.    The list of approval bodies authorized to issue           the European technical approval, the content of which
European technical approvals, as well as any modifi-            is laid down in the guidelines relating to the product.
cations that may be made to it, shall be published in
the C series of the Official Journal of the European            2.     Each approval body shall send to the other
Communities.                                                    approval bodies and to the Commission copies of the
                                                                texts of European technical approvals which it estab-
                                                                lishes. The European technical approval shall be drawn
                          Article 9                             up in the official languages of the Member States.
                                                                Translations shall be certified correct by means of
1.    European technical approval for a product shall           endorsements by the approval body of the Member
be founded on examinations, tests and an assessment             State in which the European technical approval is to be
based on the 'guidelines' for European technical                applied.
approval for that product or family of products.
                                                                3.     The references of the texts of European technical
2.    Guidelines for European technical approval for a          approvals shall be published in the C series of the
product or family of products shall be established, on           Official Journal of the European     Communities.
                                                       CHAPTER IV
                                     Use of national or other technical specifications
                                                        Article 11
             1.    Where there exist no technical specifications for a product as referred to in Article
            3 (1) (a) and (b), fitness for use may be based on the relevant parts of the national technical
             specifications that meet the essential requirements.
                                                        Article 12
             1.    Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of their national
             standards, as referred to in Articles 3 and 11, which they regard as complying with the
             essential requirements referred to in Article 2. The Commission shall forward such texts
 ---pagebreak--- 6. 4. 87                              Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 93/5
              forthwith to the Member States. In accordance with the procedure provided for in paragraph
              2 it shall notify the Member States of those national standards in respect of which there is a
              presumption of conformity with the essential requirements referred to in Article 2.
              Member States shall publish the reference numbers of those standards. The Commission
              shall also publish them in the C series of the Official Journal of the European      Communities.
              2.     After receiving the communication referred to in paragraph 1 the Commission shall
              consult the Committee created by Directive 83/189/EEC after consultation of the Committee
              provided for in Article 19 of this Directive. Upon receipt of the opinions of these Committees,
              the Commission shall, within one month, inform the Member States whether or not the
              national standard in question shall enjoy the presumption of conformity and, if so, whether
              the references thereof must be published nationally.
              If the Commission or a Member State considers that a national standard no longer satisfies
              the necessary conditions for presumption of compliance with the essential requirements
              referred to in Article 2, the Commission shall consult the Committee created by Directive
              83/189/EEC after consultation of the Committee provided for in Article 19 of this Directive.
              Upon receipt of their opinions, the Commission shall inform the Member States whether or
              not the standard in question shall continue to enjoy a presumption of compliance and, if
              not, that it must be withdrawn from the publications referred to in paragraph 1.
                                                         CHAPTER V
                                                  Attestation of conformity
                           Article 13                             In each case the simplest possible procedure shall be
                                                                  chosen.
1.     Products that benefit from the presumption within
the meaning of Article 3 of conformity with the essential         4.    For each product or family of products the proce-
requirements shall be subject to a procedure of attesta-          dure of attestation of conformity adopted shall be the
tion of conformity.                                               subject of consultation of the Committee provided for
2.     The procedures of attestation of conformity that           in Article 19.
may be employed shall be:
                                                                  The procedure chosen shall be specified in the mandates
(a) certification of conformity of the product by an              given to the bodies that establish standards and guide-
     approved certification body;                                 lines for European technical approvals and shall be
(b) certification of quality control by an approved certi-        indicated in those documents.
     fication body followed by a declaration of conformi-
     ty of the product by the manufacturer;                       5.    The nature of the procedure of attestation of
(c) declaration of conformity of the product by the               conformity adopted shall be indicated in the Official
     manufacturer on the basis of a type examination by           Journal of the European Communities at the time of
     an approved body;                                            publication of the corresponding reference:
(d) declaration of conformity of the product by the
     manufacturer.                                                (a) for national standards transposing European stan-
                                                                      dards;
Each of these procedures requires the exercise of a
quality control by the manufacturer. The quality                  (b) for guidelines for European technical approvals;
control shall be carried out according to the means
indicated in Annex III.
                                                                  (c) for national standards or national technical appro-
3.     The choice of the procedure of attestation of                  vals recognized as satisfying the essential require-
conformity for a given product or family of products                  ments in the absence of a European standard or
shall be determined by the Commission after consulta-                 European technical approval.
tion of the Committee provided for in Article 19 accor-
ding to:
 (a) the nature of the product and the variability of its                                 Article 14
     characteristics;
 (b) the importance of the part played by the product             1.    Detailed rules for the implementation of the pro-
     with respect to the essential requirements, in parti-        cedures of attestation of conformity are given in
     cular those relating to health and safety.                   Annex IV.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 93/6                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                  6. 4. 87
2.    The certification bodies, inspection bodies and                                     Article 15
test laboratories referred to in Annex IV must be in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter VII and                 1.    Member States shall ensure that the EC conformi-
Annex V.                                                         ty mark is correctly used.
3.    The procedures of attestation of conformity                2.     Whenever it becomes clear that the EC conformity
according to the terms of Annex IV shall lead to:                mark has been incorrectly affixed to a product which
                                                                 does not satisfy, or no longer satisfies the provisions of
(a) the issue of a certificate of conformity when an             this Directive, the approved inspection body shall make
    approved certification body is involved;                     a report to the Member State concerned, and if necessa-
                                                                 ry forbid the use of the EC conformity mark until
(b) the production of a declaration of conformity by             such time as the product concerned is brought back to
    the manufacturer or his agent in other cases.                conformity.
                                                                 The Member State concerned shall immediately inform
4.    The certificate of conformity and the declaration           the other Member States and the Commission, giving
of conformity shall lead to the affixing of the correspon-        all the qualitative and quantitative details necessary to
ding EC conformity mark, by the manufacturer or his               identify the product which does not conform.
agent, on the product itself, on a label attached to it,
on its packaging or on the accompanying commercial               3.     Member States shall prohibit the affixing to pro-
documents. The model of the EC conformity mark and                ducts, their labels, packaging or accompanying com-
the rules for its use in respect of each of the procedures        mercial documents, of marks or inscriptions liable to
of attestation of conformity are given in Annex IV.               be confused with the EC conformity mark.
                                                        CHAPTER VI
                                                    Special procedures
                                                         Article 16
             1.    Where a product is not covered by the provisions of Chapters II, III and IV the importing
             Member State shall consider products to be in conformity with the national provisions in
             force if they have satisfied tests and inspections carried out in the producing Member State
             according to the methods ruling in the importing Member State or recognized as equivalent
             by that Member State.
             2.    Bodies, performing tests and inspections shall be designated by the Member States and
             shall conform with the relevant provisions of Chapter VII.
             3.     Member States shall, on request, supply the designated bodies with all necessary
             information on the procedure to be followed and the tests and inspections to be carried out.
             In case of difficulty, the Commission or a Member State may call for a consultation of the
             Committee provided for in Article 19.
             4.     The designated bodies concerned shall afford one another all necessary assistance.
                                                         Article 17
             Importing Member States shall attach the same value to reports and attestations of conformity
              issued in the producing Member State in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article
              16, as they do to their own corresponding national documents.
 ---pagebreak--- 6. 4. 87                         Official Journal of the European Communities                            N o C 93/7
                                                   CHAPTER VII
                                                 Approved bodies
                                                     Article 18
         1.     Each Member State shall forward to the Commission a list of names and addresses of
         certification bodies, inspection bodies and testing laboratories which have been designated
         by that Member State for tasks to be carried out in the context of technical approvals,
         conformity certifications, inspections and tests according to the provisions of this Directive.
         2.     Certification bodies, inspection bodies and testing laboratories shall comply with the
         criteria laid down in Annex V.
         3.     Member States shall indicate the products that fall within the competence of the
         laboratories referred to in paragraph 1 and the nature of the tasks to be assigned to them.
                                                  CHAPTER VIII
                                       Standing Committee for Construction
                                                     Article 19
         1.     A Standing Committee for construction, hereinafter called 'the Committee', is hereby
         set up.
         2.     The Committee shall be made up of representatives appointed by the Member States
         and chaired by a representative of the Commission. Each Member State shall appoint two
         representatives.
         3.     The Committee set up under the auspices of the Commission shall give the opinions
         requested by the Commission. On soliciting the Committee's opinion, the Commission may
         fix a time limit by which that opinion should be given. No vote shall be taken. However,
         any member of the Committee may demand that his opinion be set down in the minutes.
         4.     The Committee shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
                                                     Article 20
         1.     In general, the Committee may, at the request of its Chairman or a Member State,
         examine any question posed by the implementation and the practical application of this
         Directive.
         2.     The Commission shall consult the Committee on questions concerning in particular:
         (a) the standardization mandates, guidelines for European technical approvals, documents
              to be adopted at Community level, priorities;
          (b) the acceptance of national standards, national technical approvals and other non-harmoni-
              zed technical specifications;
          (c) the application of procedures;
          (d) the approved bodies for certification, inspection and testing;
          (e) the application of the safeguard clause;
          (f) use of the conformity mark.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 93/8                         Official Journal of the European Communities                              6. 4. 87
                                                    CHAPTER IX
                                                  Safeguard clause
                                                     Article 21
          1.     If a Member State finds, on the basis of a reasoned justification, that a product, even
          though in conformity with the provisions of this Directive, presents a danger for safety or
          health, or conflicts with other requirements in the general interest, it may temporarily prohibit
          it or subject its marketing and use to special conditions. It shall immediately inform the
          Commission and the other Member States, stating the reasons for its decision.
          2.     The Commission shall carry out a consultation of the Committee within a period of
          15 days. Upon receipt of the Committee's opinion, the Commission shall, within one month,
          inform the Member States whether or not the product in question shall enjoy the presumption
          of conformity with this Directive.
          3.     If the Commission or a Member State considers that a European standard, European
          technical approval or other technical specification recognized at Community level does not
          satisfy or no longer satisfies the necessary conditions for presumption of compliance with
          the essential requirements referred to in Article 2, the Commission shall within one month
          consult the Committee. Upon receipt of the latter's opinion, the Commission shall within
          two months inform the Member States whether or not the technical specification in question
          shall continue to enjoy a presumption of compliance and, if necessary, shall initiate the
          appropriate procedures under Chapters II, III or IV.
          4.     The Member State which has adopted safeguard measures may maintain them until the
          date on which the Commission's decision takes effect.
                                                    CHAPTER X
                                                  Final provisions
                                                     Article 22
          1.    Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions
          necessary to comply with the provisions of this Directive on 1 January 1989 at the latest.
          They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
          2.     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 23
          At the latest, by 1 January 1994, the Commission, in consultation with the Committee, shall
          re-examine the practicability of the procedures laid down by this Directive and, where
          necessary, submit proposals for appropriate amendments.
                                                     Article 24
          This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- 6. 4. 87                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 93/9
                                                             ANNEX /
                                  Essential requirements for buildings and civil engineering works
         This Annex contains essential requirements to which construction works, i.e. buildings and civil engineering
         works, have to conform, and which may influence the specific characteristics for products used for the
         construction of the works as referred to in Article 2.
         1.     Mechanical resistance (stability)
         The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that the loadings and other influences that
         are liable to act on it during its construction and use will not lead to any of the following:
         (a) collapse of the whole or of part of the work;
         (b) permanent damage to load-bearing elements such as to render them unserviceable, for example significant
              bending or extensive cracking;
         (c) permanent damage to non-load-bearing elements (partitions, for example) or to installed equipment such
              as to render them unserviceable or to interfere seriously with their proper functions.
         2.     Safety in case of fire
         The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that in the event of an outbreak of fire in
         the works:
         (a) occupants can leave the works or be evacuated unharmed;
         (b) the safety of rescue teams is ensured;
         (c) the fire cannot spread to neighbouring works or parts of them;
         (d) the generation and spread of fire and smoke within the works themselves is limited.
         3.     Hygiene and health,    environment
         The construction work must be designed and built in such a way that it causes no harm to health in general,
         and in particular as a result of any of the following phenomena:
         (a) the giving-off of toxic gas;
         (b) the presence of dangerous particles or gases in the air or their dangerous accumulation;
         (c) the emission of dangerous radiation;
         (d) pollution or poisoning of the water or soil;
         (e) faulty elimination of waste water, smoke, solid or liquid wastes;
         (f) the presence of damp on the surfaces.
         4.     Safety in use
         The construction work must be designed and built in such a way that it does not present unacceptable risks
         of accidents in service or in operation. The risks concerned are mainly those associated with floors, movement
         areas and equipment:
         (a) slipperiness, falling down, crashing, shocks due to inappropriate clearance profiles;
         (b) injury arising from operation;
         (c) injury from touch (sharp edges, rough surfaces);
         (d) burns;
          (e) electrocution;
          (f) catching fire;
          (g) explosion;
          (h) breakages, leaks.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 93/10                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                        6. 4. 87
           5.     Durability
           The construction work must be designed and built in such a way that it retains its principal properties for
           an economically reasonable working-life, despite the effect of agents acting upon it: wear and tear, shocks or
           pounding actions, climatic, chemical or biological agents, etc., but subject to normal maintenance and use.
          6.     Protection against noise
          The construction works must be designed and built in such a way that noise perceived by the occupants or
          people nearby is kept down to a level that will not threaten their health, and that will allow them to sleep,
          rest and work in satisfactory conditions.
          7.    Energy economy
          The construction works and installations must be designated and built in such a way that the energy required
          in use shall be moderate, having regard to the climatic conditions of the location, without compromising the
          thermal comfort of the occupants or users.
                                                            ANNEX 11
                                                   European technical approval
         1.    Request for European technical approval
         1.1. The manufacturer, or his agent in the Community, of a product for which he wishes to obtain European
               technical approval, must take his request to one of the approval bodies authorized for this purpose in
               the Member States.
         1.2. Each approval body shall communicate to the other approval bodies, the references of the requests for
               European technical approval that it receives.
         2.    File
         2.1. As soon as a request for European technical approval is recorded, the approval body must inform the
               applicant of the file contents that must be supplied by him and the conditions that he must fulfil so
               that the work in response to his request may be undertaken.
         2.2. The work cannot be started until the file is complete. The time required for this work may not be
               excessively long compared with that normally experienced in responding to requests for national
               technical approvals of the same level of difficulty.
         2.3. The time required for this work is favourably affected in cases where the applicant wishes to market
               his product in a limited number of Member States.
         3.    Response to the request
         3.1. The approval body to which the application is made prepares the approval procedure on the basis of
               common approval guidelines for the product.
         3.2. The draft technical approval procedure shall be submitted for prior consultation to the other approval
               bodies. If necessary a coordination is held within the joint European body comprising the designated
               approval bodies. The modalities of this coordination are determined by the joint European body which
               shall inform the Member States and the Commission of the details. The Standing Committee may
               appoint an ad hoc expert group invited to express their ideas and wishes on the subject.
         3.3. The results of the coordination shall be taken into account by the approval body concerned when
               drawing up the final test programme.
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         4.    The necessary tests are carried out at laboratories belonging to, or designated by the approval body.
         The testing laboratories shall comply, in the special field concerned, with the criteria laid down in Annex V
         of the Directive. The establishing of expert opinions may be assigned to appropriate bodies or experts
         appointed by the approval body.
         5.     Based on the test results and the expert opinions, the approval body prepares the text of technical
         approval. These opinions refer to the guidelines on which the issue was based as well as to the results of the
         discussions reached in the coordination procedure (paragraph 3.2). The approval body may be advised by an
         expert group.
         6.     The approval body which issues the European technical approval submits a copy to the Commission
         together with documentation on all the relevant test results and expert opinions.
         7.     The costs/fees arising from the European technical approval procedure shall be paid by the applicant
         to the approval body concerned according to the corresponding national law. These costs shall reflect the
         work and services actually performed by the approval body.
                                                            ANNEX 111
                                                       Factory quality control
         1.     In this Directive, quality control means the permanent internal control of production exercised by the
         manufacturer or his agent on the responsibility of the manufacturer himself.
         The purpose of the control is to ensure that current production conforms with the technical specifications
         concerned.
         2.     The provisions relating to the quality control of a product or family of products shall be established
         depending on:
         (a) the nature of the product and the variability of its characteristics;
         (b) the importance of the part played by the product with regard to the essential requirements, and in
              particular health and safety;
         (c) the degree of difficulty of manufacturing the product;
         (d) economic aspects;
         (e) the technical specifications concerning the product;
         (f) the available evaluation methods.
         3.     Quality control comprises operational techniques and all measures necessary to maintain and regulate
         the quality of the product. It consists of inspections and tests and the utilization of their results with regard
         to equipment, basic materials and constituents, processes of manufacturing, and the product itself, and by
         taking account of the corresponding requirements given by the technical specifications.
         4.     All necessary facilities, equipment and personnel shall be available to carry out the necessary inspections
         and tests, as indicated above. This requirement may also be fulfilled, if by means of a contract the manufacturer
         or his agent involves a third party having the necessary facilities, equipment and personnel.
         5.     The results of the internal control shall be recorded. The records shall take account of the mode of
          manufacturing and of control according to the degree of automation. The records must be kept for at least
          five years.
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                                                                 ANNEX    IV
                                      Attestation of conformity with standards or technical approvals
          1.      System of attestation of conformity
          The attestation of conformity of a product with the technical specifications and, where relevant, the
          correspondance with certain classes given by the applicable standard or technical approval shall preferably
          correspond to one of the following systems:
          (i)     Verification of conformity by an approved certification body by:
                  (a) initial type testing by an approved laboratory;
                  (b) initial inspection of factory and of factory quality control by an approved body;
                  (c) regular testing of factory samples and random testing of samples taken on the open market, if any
                        by an approved body;
                  (d) surveillance, assessment and approval of factory quality control by an approved body.
           (ii)   Certification of quality control management by an approved body and declaration of conformity of the
                  product by the manufacturer:
                   (a) initial type testing by the manufacturer;
                   (b) initial inspection of factory and of factory quality control by an approved body;
                   (c) random testing by the manufacturer of factory samples;
                   (d) surveillance, assessment and approval of quality control by an approved body.
           (iii) Declaration of conformity of the product by the manufacturer on the basis of:
                   (a) initial type testing by an approved laboratory;
                   (b) factory quality control.
            (iv) Declaration of conformity of the product by the manufacturer on the basis of:
                    (a) initial type testing by the manufacturer;
                    (b) factory quality control.
            For the factory quality control, see Annex III.
            2.      Choice of system of conformity     attestation
            The system of conformity attestation to be applied to a given product or group of products shall be laid
            down according to the terms of Article 13 (3) and (4).
            3.      Bodies involved in the attestation of conformity
             With respect to the function of the bodies involved in the attestation of conformity, distinction shall be made
             between:
             (i)   certification body which means an impartial body, governmental or non-governmental, possessing the
                   necessary competence and responsibility to carry out conformity certification according to given rules
                   of procedure and management;
             (ii) inspection body which means an impartial body having the organization, staffing, competence and
                    integrity to perform according to specified criteria functions such as assessing, recommending for
                    acceptance and subsequent audit of manufacturers' quality control operations, and selection and
                    evaluation of products on site or in factories or elsewhere, according to specified criteria;
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           (iii) testing laboratory which means a laboratory which measures, examines, tests, calibrates or otherwise
                 determines the characteristics or performance of materials or products.
           In the cases (i) and (ii) of paragraph 1, the three functions 3 (i) to (iii) may be performed by one and the
           same body or by different bodies, in which case, the attestation of conformity carries out its function on
           behalf of the certification body.
           For the criteria concerning the competence, impartiality and integrity of certification bodies, inspection bodies
           and testing laboratories, see Annex V.
           4.     Conformity    marks
           For each product, the manufacturer or his authorized representative established in the Community shall
           certify conformity with the relevant standard or technical approval by affixing an EC conformity mark on
           the product, a label, its packaging or its accompanying commercial documents (delivery ticket).
           If a conformity certification by an approved certification body corresponding to system (i) or (ii) of paragraph
            1 is required for the product, the EC conformity mark shall correspond to Form la given at the end of this
           Annex. In these cases, the manufacturer may use the EC mark only if he possesses a valid EEC certificate of
           conformity issued by an approved certification body, corresponding to Form 11 given at the end of this Annex.
           If a declaration of conformity by the manufacturer corresponding to system (iii) or (iv) of paragraph 1 is
           required for the product, the EC conformity mark shall correspond to Form lb given at the end of this Annex.
           In the case of system (iii) the manufacturer shall possess an attestation of type testing by an approved testing
           laboratory and an attestation of registration by a body approved by the Member State for this purpose,
           according to Form III and Form IV respectively; and in the case of system (iv) the attestation of registration
           according to Form IV, before he may use EC conformity marks.
           In all cases (i) to (iv) of paragraph 1, the manufacturer may use the EC conformity mark only if the results
           of the factory quality control comply with the provisions oi the relevant technical specifications. Those parts
           of the production which do not comply shall not bear the EC mark.
           The manufacturer using the EC mark shall permit the registering Member State or its approved body to
            make inspections in cases of doubt.
         • 5.      Procedure and registration of conformity    attestations
           The application for conformity certification or registration shall be made to a body approved by the Member
           State for this purpose.
           The approved bodies shall manage lists of conformity certificates and registrations.
            The duration of validity of the issued conformity certificates and registrations shall not exceed five years.
            Upon request by the applicant it may be extended by up to five years.
            The approved bodies communicate the issued and withdrawn conformity certificates and registrations to the
            Member State or the body designated by it for this purpose. The Member State or its designated body informs
            the Commission and the other Member States correspondingly.
            The Commission and the Member States publish the references of the issued and withdrawn conformity
            certificates and registrations periodically in the Official journal of the European Communities and national
            officials journals, respectively.
            The approved bodies shall keep the records of conformity certificates and registrations for 10 years at least.
            The associated costs/fees are for the account of the applicant.
            The duties and rights between applicants and certification bodies are to be laid down, in each case by a
            contract.
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                                                          Form la
                       EC CONFORMITY       MARK BASED ON CERTIFICATION            BY APPROVED        BODY
          (1) Reference number of applicable European Standard, European technical approval or other technical
              specification adopted at Community level + class/category/grade, where relevant.
          (2) Acronym or distinguishing mark of approved certification body which has issued the conformity certificate
              according to Form II.
          (3) Reference number of the issued conformity certificate.
          (4) Symbol of Member State by whom the issuing certification body has been approved.
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                                                         Form lb
                        EC CONFORMITY      MARK BASED ON MANUFACTURER'S                DECLARATION
                                                       Manufacturer's
                                                       declaration
                                                       (2)
         (1) Reference number of applicable European Standard, European technical approval or other technical
             specification adopted at Community level + class/category/grade, where relevant.
         (2) Symbol of registrating Member State and registration number.
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                                                                         Form II
                                                     EC CERTIFICATE           OF       CONFORMITY
                                                         (Name and address of certification body)
                                                       (Member State which has approved this body)
           Certificate No:
                                                               (Allocated by approved body)
           Valid until:
                                                                           (Date)
          This is to certify that the following construction product:
          Type:
          Trade description:
           Name and trade of manufacturer:
           Address of factory:
           Further characteristics and/or information:
                                             (In so far as necessary for identification and use of the product)
           (a) conforms with the provisions of:
               (Reference number and title of relevant European Standard, European technical approval or other relevant technical specification
               adopted at Community level)
                                                            (Class/category/grade, where applicable)
           (b) and has been subject to type-testing by:
                                                                  (Approved testing laboratory)
                                                                  (Reference number(s) of tests)
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         (c) and is subject to quality control/surveillance by:
                                                               (Approved inspection body)
                                                  (Reference number(s) of control/surveillance contract)
         (d) and may consequently bear or be accompanied by the EC conformity mark of Form la.
                                  (Place)                                                           (Date)
                (Signature of approved certification body)
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                                                                         Form III
                                             EC ATTESTATION               OF INITIAL         TYPE-TESTING
                                                          (Name and address of testing laboratory)
                                                    (Member State which has approved this laboratory)
           Attestation No                                                                              ;
                                                             (Allocated by approved laboratory)
          This is to attest that a type of the following product:
          Type:
          Trade description:
          Name, trade name and address of applicant:
          Further characteristics and/or information:
                                             (In so far as necessary for identification and use of the product)
          has been subject to type-testing and found in conformity with the provisions of:
          (Reference number and title of relevant Kuropean Standard, European technical approval or other relevant technical specification
                                                               adopted at Community level)
                                                         (Class/category/grade, where applicable)
                                    (Place)                                                              (Date)
                  (Signature of approved testing laboratory)
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                                                                       Form IV
                                    EC MANUFACTURER'S DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
         Notified to:
         (Name and address of registering body of the Member State on whose territory the product will be manufactured or into which it
                                                          will be imported from a third country)
         The undersigned:
                                                    (Name, trade name and address of manufacturer)
         herewith declares that from                   (date), he intends to use the EC conformity mark according to Form lb
         for the following construction product manufactured by him:
         Type:                 •.
         Trade description:
         Further characteristics and/or information:
                                            (In so far as necessary for identification and use of the product)
         Factory:
                                                                         (Address)
         in conformity with:
         (Reference number and title of relevant European Standard, European technical approval or other relevant technical specification
                                                               adopted at Community level)
                                                         (Class/category/grade, where applicable)
         the provisions of which he undertakes to comply with in full.
         According to the provisions applicable to the considered product, the initial type-testing has been performed
          (a) by the following approved testing laboratory: (')
                                                      (Name and address of approved testing laboratory)
         (') Delete according to the applicable provisions.
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                                             (Number and date of attestation of type-testing according to Form III)
           (b) by the undersigned himself (').
          Quality control will be provided by the undersigned himself.
          The undersigned permits the registering body to which the present Declaration of Conformity is notified, to
          make factory inspections in cases of doubt.
                                       (Place)                                                               (Date)
                            (Signature of manufacturer)
            (') Delete according to the applicable provisions.
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                                                      NOTICE OF         REGISTRATION
                              (To be filled out by registering body designated by the Member State)
         The above Manufacturer's Declaration of Conformity has been registered by:
                                                              (Registering body)
         for:
                                            (Member State which has designated the registrating body)
                                                               (Registration No)
         The notifying manufacturer may use the EC conformity mark as applied for:
         From                                               (Date)          until                            (Date)
         on his own responsibility.
                                  (Place)                                                             (Date)
                      (Signature of registering body)
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                                                              ANNEX V
                                        Approval of testing laboratories, inspection bodies
                                                       and certification bodies
          Testing laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies, to which tasks according to the provisions
          of this Directive are to be entrusted, shall have the necessary competence, impartiality and integrity to fulfil
          these tasks.
          This may be assumed if they fulfil the:
           (a) general requirements for the acceptance of testing laboratories according to ISO Guide 38;
           (b) general requirements for the acceptance of inspection bodies according to ISO Guide 39;
           (c) general requirements for the acceptance of certification bodies according to ISO Guide 40, respectively.
           In addition, the Commission after consultation of the Standing Committee for construction, may establish
           further technical assessment criteria, e.g. proficiency testing according to ISO Guide 43, depending on the
          tasks to be considered.