CELEX: 51994PC0267
Language: en
Date: 1994-06-30
Title: Amended proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on articles of precious metal (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 A (2) of the EC-Treaty)

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                           C0M(94) 267 final - COO 472
                                           Brussels» 30.06.1994
                       Amended proposal for a
              EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                     on articles of precious metal
     (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 A (2)
                          of the EC-Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---                                  Explanatory memorandum
At its sitting on 19 April 1994, the European Parliament delivered its opinion on the
proposal for a Directive on articles of precious metal COM(93)322 final - SYN 472.
Parliament adopted a report comprising 45 amendments relating among other things to the
scope of the proposal, the marking of articles and certification procedures.
1. The has Commission accepted those amendments aimed at:
   • establishing control on products imported from third countries (amendments 4 and
      17 (in part)). Once sold, the possibility of finding articles is very small and it is
      difficult to establish effective control over manufacturers in third countries.
      Accordingly, the most appropriate solution is to carry out checks at external
      frontiers to establish that the imported articles are subject to the same requirements
      laid down for Community products.
   • stipulating that the certification body has to be established within the Community
      (amendment 13). This addition clarifies the concept of notification of certification
      bodies by the Member States.
   • defining more precisely small articles (amendment 15), in order to avoid subsequent
      problems of interpretation.
   • specifying that the legal tender and collectors coins and medals covered are those
      issued by a statutory authority (amendment 16), which makes it possible to state
      clearly which articles are not covered by the Directive.
   • indicating that account has to be taken of such marking techniques as are generally
      used for marking fragile and small articles (amendment 25); this clarification will
      mean that manufacturers do not have to use marking techniques for which they do
      not have the technical means and can thus avoid unnecessary costs.
   • abolishing the requirement to indicate on the article of precious metal the type of
      coating (amendment 30). Having regard to the type of article in question, this
      information will only be indicated in a document accompanying the articles;
      indication on the article itself is likely to be misleading.
   • defining a new specific symbol for palladium (amendment 45) in order to avoid
      confusion with the symbol laid down for silver.
      Other amendments (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 17 (in part), 21, 27, 29 and 38) improving
      and clarifying the proposal for a directive on articles of precious metal are also
      accepted by the Commission.
 ---pagebreak--- 2. The Commission has rejected those amendments aimed at:
   • adding on articles the symbol indicating the certification body (7, 12, 14, 19, 20, 22,
     23, 24, 34, 35, 42 and 43). This would run counter to the 1993 Council Decision
     on certification which allocates numbers to certification bodies to prevent symbols
     from having the effect of renationalizing products and affecting their free movement.
     The information on the notified body involved in the certification process is useful
     for the supervisory authorities. In the case of articles of precious metal, it is
     contained in ad hoc registers kept by the Member States. There is then no point in
     indicating the body involved on the article itself.
   • amending the certification procedures (33, 36, 37, 39, 40 and 41), in particular the
     "manufacturers declaration.
     The certification procedure provided for by the proposal corresponds to the 1993
     Council Decision on certification. Any measure making it more complicated is
     likely to have negative consequences for undertakings, the vast majority of which
     are SMEs, without improving the quality of articles.
   • introducing provisions on second-hand articles and objects covered with precious
     metals (amendment 3) and specifying the information to be given to consumers by
     traders (amendments 26, 31 and 32). In accordance with the principle of
     subsidiarity, such matters should remain a national concern.
   • indicating that the Directive applies only to manufacturers established in the Union
     (amendment 10). A manufacturer not established in the Union must be able to apply
     the Directive without having to use a representative established in the Union. The
     Directive provides for adequate means, particularly the use of registers in which all
     manufacturers have to be entered, for controlling the Community market.
   • authorizing Member States not to introduce in their territory all the certification
     procedures provided for by the proposal and obliging them to notify their choice
     (amendment 18). This stipulation is unnecessary since Member States are not
     obliged to establish the infrastructures required to implement the three certification
     procedures. Therefore, the choice of procedures will depend among other things
     upon the availability of competent bodies.
   • reducing the standards of fineness of precious metals (amendment 28). The
     proposal has already reduced the standards of fineness used by the Member States.
     A further reduction would limit consumer choice unnecessarily.
   • including among the list of criteria to be met by the bodies to be notified a written
     declaration certifying the independence of managers and technical staff carrying out
     tests (amendment 44). Member States must themselves verify and guarantee the
     competence and independence of the bodies that they notify. It is therefore for
     Member States to take the necessary steps to ensure that these criteria are met.
                                           -3-
 ---pagebreak---                                     Amended proposal for a
                        European Parliament and Council Directive
                                  on articles of precious metal
Following the opinion expressed by the European Parliament1, in the first reading, with a
view to the joint decision-making procedure, on the proposal for a European Parliament
and Council Directive on articles of precious metal2, the Commission has decided to
amend its proposal as follows:
            Original proposal                                 Amended proposal
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                        THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND
COMMUNITIES                                        THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
                                                   UNION
CITATIONS                                          CITATIONS
In cooperation       with   the   European         deleted
Parliament
                                                   Acting in accordance with the procedure
                                                   laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty
                                           Fourth recital
Whereas certain aspects of the sector must         Whereas certain aspects of the sector must
therefore be harmonized in order to                therefore be harmonized in order to
remove those barriers and ensure the free          remove those barriers and ensure the free
movement of articles of precious metal             movement of articles of precious metal and
within the Community;                              fair trading within the Community;
                                             Sixth recital
Whereas an appropriate level of consumer           Whereas an appropriate level of consumer
protection and fair trading need to be             protection, fair trading and transparency
ensured in the field of articles of precious       needs to be ensured in the field of articles
metal;                                             of precious metal;
         Opinion delivered on 19 April 1994 (OJ EC No C )
         OJ EC No C 318, 25 November 1993, p. 5
                                                 -4-
 ---pagebreak---                                           Recital 6b (new)
                                                  Whereas, to ensure that the objectives of
                                                  this Directive are fairly applied, it is
                                                   necessary to establish controls at the
                                                   borders of the European Union for articles
                                                   of precious metals imported from third
                                                  Countries;
                                            Tenth recital
Whereas, for the purposes of this                 Whereas, for the purposes of this
Directive, a harmonized standard is a             Directive, a harmonized standard is a
technical specification (European standard        technical specification (European standard
or harmonization document) adopted by             or harmonization document) adopted by
one or both of these bodies on a mandate          one or both of these bodies on a mandate
from the Commission in accordance with            from the Commission in accordance with
Council Directive 83/I89/EEC of 28                Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28
March 1983 laying down a procedure for            March 1983 laying down a procedure for
the provision of information in the field of      the provision of information in the field of
technical standards and regulations,5 as          technical standards and regulations,5 as
last amended by Directive 88/182/EEC,6            last amended by European Parliament and
and by virtue of the abovementioned               Council Directive 94/10/EC.(6) and by
guidelines;    whereas, as regards any            virtue of the abovementioned guidelines;
amendments to harmonized standards, the           whereas, as regards any amendments to
Commission shall be assisted by the               harmonized standards, the Commission
Standing Committee set up by Directive            shall be assisted by the Standing
83/189/EEC;                                       Committee set up by Directive
                                                  83/189/EEC;
                                                  (6) OJ No L 100, 19.4.1994, p. 30.
                                               -5-
 ---pagebreak---                                    Eleventh recital (amendment)
Whereas manufacturers shall have the               Whereas the person responsible for
option of applying one of the conformity           placing articles on the market shall have
attestation procedures foreseen by this            the option of applying one of the
Directive and may call upon one of the             conformity attestation procedures foreseen
certification bodies amongst those                 by this Directive and may call upon one of
published by the Commission; whereas               the certification bodies amongst those
Member States must accept products that            published by the Commission; whereas
have satisfied one of die certification             Member States must accept products that
procedures foreseen by this Directive;             have satisfied one of the certification
whereas these means should be based on              procedures foreseen by this Directive;
the provisions of Council Decision                 whereas these means should be based on
90/683/EEC,7 and ensure a level of                 the provisions of Council Decision
quality sufficient to meet the needs of             93/465/EEC;(7) Whereas these means
those responsible for placing articles on           shall be equivalent in terms of the
the Community market;              whereas,         objectives pursued and ensure a level of
therefore, these means must always                  quality sufficient to meet the needs of
involve checks by a notified body;                  those responsible for placing articles on
whereas the notification of the certification      the Community market;               whereas,
body is an option open to Member States,           therefore, these means must always
their duty being to ensure that the notified        involve checks by a notified body;
body meets the assessment criteria laid            whereas the notification of the certification
down in this Directive;                            body is an option open to Member States,
                                                   their duty being to ensure that the notified
                                                   body meets the assessment criteria laid
                                                   down in this Directive;
(7) OJNoL 380, 31.12.1990, p. 13.                  (7) OJ No L 220,30.8.1993, p. 23.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE                         HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE
                                            Article l(2)(b)
(b)An article of precious metal is any item        (b) An article of precious metal is any item
    of jewellery, goldsmiths' ware or                  of     jewellery,    goldsmiths'       gr
    watchmakers' ware and any other                    silversmiths' ware or watchmakers'
    object made entirely or in part from a             ware and any other object made
    precious metal;                                    entirely or in part from a precious
                                                       metal;
                                            Article l(2)(c)
(c) An article comprising various precious         (c) An article comprising various precious
    metals is any item of jewellery,                   metals is any item of jewellery,
    goldsmiths' ware or watchmakers' ware              goldsmiths' or silversmiths' ware or
    and any other object made entirely or in           watchmakers' ware and any other
    partfromvarious precious metals;                   object made entirely or in part from
                                                       various precious metals;
                                                 -6-
 ---pagebreak---                                           Article l(2)(j)
(j) The importer is the person who places        Deleted
    the qualifying article from a third
    country on the Community market
                                          Article l(2)(p)
(p)A notified body: a body responsible for       (p)A notified body: a body established
    carrying out the conformity assessment           within the Community responsible for
    procedures                                       carrying out the conformity assessment
                                                     procedures.
                                Article l(2)(pb) (new - amended)
                                                 (pb) A small article is an article
                                                        weighing less than 1 gramme in the
                                                        case of gold and platinum and 3
                                                        grammes in the case of silver and
                                                        palladium.
                                          Article l(3)(d)
(d) Legal tender made of precious metal          (d) Legal tender made of precious metal
    and collectors' coins and medals;                and collectors' coins and medals issued
                                                     bv or on the authority of a State:
                                        Article 2(2) (new)
1. Member States shall adopt all
    provisions to ensure that, with regard
    to indication of the standard of
    fineness, only articles complying with
    this Directive may be placed on the
    market.
                                                 2. Member States shall adopt all
                                                     provisions to ensure that articles of
                                                     precious metal originating from third
                                                     countries are checked at the external
                                                     frontiers to ensure that thev conform to
                                                     the provisions of this Directive.
                                               -7-
 ---pagebreak---                                     Article 11, first paragraph
Articles deemed to satisfy the essential           Articles deemed to satisfy the essential
requirements referred to in Article 3 must,        requirements referred to in Article 3 must,
prior to being placed on the market, be            prior to being placed on the market, be
struck with one or more fineness marks by          struck with one or more fineness marks in
the manufacturer or where appropriate bv           accordance with the conformity procedure
his authorized representative, the person          applied
responsible for placing on the market or
the notified body which carried out the
verification referred to Annex V
                                     Article 13(1), first indent
- small articles or those which are too            - small articles or those which are too
    fragile upon which it is technically               fragile upon which it is technically
    difficult to strike marks;                         difficult to strike marks, taking into
                                                       account such marking techniques that
                                                       are generally used:
                                           Article 13(2)
2. The obligation to strike the fineness           2. The obligation to strike the fineness
   mark shall not apply in respect of those            mark shall not apply in respect of those
   parts of articles consisting of various             parts of articles consisting of various
   precious metals upon which it is                    precious metals upon which it is
   technically difficult to strike such a             technically difficult to strike such a
   mark.                                              mark, taking into account such marking
                                                      techniques that are generally used.
                                                -8-
 ---pagebreak---                                              Article 17(1)
    Member States shall adopt and publish               Member States shall adopt and publish
    the laws, regulations and administrative            the laws, regulations and administrative
    provisions necessary to comply with                 provisions necessary to comply with
    this Directive by 30 June 1995 at the               this Directive by 30 June 1996 at the
    latest. They shall forthwith inform the             latest. They shall forthwith inform the
    Commission thereof.                                 Commission thereof.
    When Member States adopt these                      When Member States adopt these
    provisions, these shall contain a                   provisions, these shall contain a
    reference to this Directive or shall be             reference to this Directive or shall be
    accompanied by such reference at the                accompanied by such reference at the
    time of their official publication. The             time of their official publication. The
    procedure for such reference shall be               procedure for such reference shall be
    adopted by Member States.                           adopted by Member States.
    Member States shall apply these                     Member States shall apply these
    provisions from 1 January 1996.                     provisions from 1 January 1997.
                                             Annex 11(3)
3.      Marking and certificates                   3.       Marking and certificates
3.1    Articles of a single precious metal         3.1     Articles of a single precisou metal
        must bear a fineness mark.                          must bear a fineness mark.
3.2     Articles     comprising      various        3.2    Articles      comprising      various
       precious metals must bear the                        precious metals must, except in
        relevant fineness mark on each part.               cases covered by Article 13(2). bear
                                                           the relevant fineness mark on each
                                                           part.
3.3    Mixed articles must bear the
       corresponding fineness mark on the          3.3     Mixed articles must, except in cases
       part made of precious metal or of                   covered bv Article 13(2). bear the
       various precious metals.                            corresponding fineness mark on the
                                                           part made of precious metal or of
                                                           various precious metals.
 ---pagebreak---                                               Annex 11(4)
      Articles of precious metal, where                Articles of precious metal, where
      coated with other metals, must bear the          coated with other metals, must bear the
      fineness mark of the base precious               fineness mark of the base precious
      metal alloy. They must also bear an              metal alloy. They must also be
      indication of the type of coating or be          accompanied by a document giving an
      accompanied by a document giving that            indication of the type of coating.
      information where it cannot be
      indicated on the article.
</
                                     Annex IV(4), first paragraph
   4. A notified body chosen by the                4. Thg notified body chosen by the
   manufacturer shall carry out or have            manufacturer shall carry out or have
   carried out product checks at random            carried out product checks at random
   intervals.                                      intervals.
                                             Annex VI 1(1)
   1. The surrounds specific to each precious       1. The surrounds specific to each precious
       metal and which must surround the                metal and which must surround the
       standard of fineness of the precious             standard of fineness of the precious
       metals and their alloys set out in               metals and their alloys set out in
       Annex I are given below:                         Annex I are given below:
       Gold            Unchanged                        Gold             Unchanged
       Silver          Unchanged                        Silver           Unchanged
       Platinum        Unchanged                        Platinum         Unchanged
                    Palladium                                         Palladium
                     E3                                          /ÇT^
                                                 -10-
 ---pagebreak---                                                                      ISSN 0254-1475
                                                              COM(94) 267 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                         06 10
                                 Catalogue number : CB-CO-94-2B5-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-77-71091-8
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