CELEX: 
Language: en
Date: 2018-11-08
Title: COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/... supplementing Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing classes of performance in relation to air permeability for rooflights of plastics and glass and roof hatches

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
            
            
               1.CONTEXT OF THE DELEGATED ACT
            
            
               Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC
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                acknowledges two main alternatives to establish classes of performance in relation to the essential characteristics of construction products. According to Articles 27(1) and 60(f), this can be done by delegated acts of the European Commission, whereas Article 27(2) allows for the use of harmonised standards for this purpose, on the basis of a revised mandate. In accordance with Article 27(2), first subparagraph, where the Commission has established such classes, the European standardisation bodies shall use those classes in harmonised standards.
            
            
               According to the definition comprised in Article 2(7) of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, “class” means a range of levels, delimited by a minimum and a maximum value, of performance of a construction product. Classes in Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 are thus always expressing a given range of determined performance of the product.
            
            
               Moreover, Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 does not distinguish, unlike its predecessor Council Directive 89/106/EEC, different kinds of classes, depending on their origin. Classes of performance established by the European Commission and such classes established by the European standardisation bodies are thus to be acknowledged and respected quite in the same manner.
            
            
               The reference to the European product standard EN 1873:2005 on individual rooflights of plastics was first published under Directive 89/106/EEC in the Official Journal of the European Union in June 2006
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               . This harmonised standard did not contain a classification for the performance of the products covered by it in relation to the essential characteristic air permeability.
            
            
               Recently, the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) submitted to the European Commission a new version of this standard, EN 1873:2014+A1:2016. This version comprises a classification for the performance of the products covered by it in relation to the essential characteristic air permeability, with three classes of performance introduced. This standard is currently under revision in CEN, so as to cover rooflights of plastics and glass and roof hatches. It is foreseen to have three parts in its next version, i.e. EN 1873-1, EN 1873-2 and EN 1873-3. All three parts are to contain the said classification.
            
            
               The reference to the European product standard EN 14963:2006 on continuous rooflights of plastics was first published under Directive 89/106/EEC in the Official Journal of the European Union in July 2009
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               . This harmonised standard did not contain a classification for the performance of the products covered by it in relation to the essential characteristic air permeability.
            
            
               Recently, CEN informed the European Commission that the next revised version of this standard will comprise the same classification for the performance of the products covered by it in relation to the essential characteristic air permeability as introduced in EN 1873.
            
            
               According to the above standards, the assessment of performance in relation to air permeability is to be carried out by using different levels of internal pressure, increasing stepwise from the level of 4 Pa to the level of 100 Pa. The classification of the results can be expressed in a diagram, which depicts the three classes as rectangles distinguished by straight lines between the levels indicating the differentiating outcomes at the internal pressure levels 4 Pa and 100 Pa.
            
            
               Since under the application of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 the introduction of such new classifications into harmonised standards by the European standardisation bodies themselves would require the issuing of new revised mandates, which has not taken place and which would take longer, it has been considered more opportune to proceed with this draft Delegated Regulation. 
            
            
               It has not been considered appropriate to include other performance classifications contained in the standards at hand within the scope of the draft Delegated Regulation, because pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 such classifications comprised in harmonised standards, the reference to which has been published under Directive 89/106/EEC in the Official Journal of the European Union, are to be deemed applicable under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 without any further actions being necessary.
            
            
               2.CONSULTATIONS PRIOR TO THE ADOPTION OF THE ACT
            
            
               The draft Delegated Regulation was discussed in the meeting of the Advisory Group on Construction Products
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                (the AG) on 15 March 2017. It was also submitted for a written consultation of experts between 1 and 31 March 2017. Before these steps, all Member States were presented an opportunity to nominate experts to participate. In addition to these experts, also other external stakeholders were consulted. The documents discussed in the AG and relevant to the written consultation were transmitted simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council, as foreseen in the Common Understanding on Delegated Acts. The observations presented in these contexts were taken into account when preparing the final draft version of this act for the inter-service consultation.
            
            
               It was published for public feedback on the Better Regulation Portal from … to … 2018; [wording on feedback and any follow-up to be included subsequently]. 
            
            
               3.LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE DELEGATED ACT
            
            
               Pursuant to Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, classes of performance may be established in relation to the essential characteristics of construction products. According to Articles 27(1) and 60(f), this can be done by delegated acts of the Commission. In accordance with Article 27(2), first subparagraph, where the Commission has established such classes, the European standardisation bodies shall use those classes in harmonised standards.
            
            
               According to Article 2(7) of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, “class” means a range of levels, delimited by a minimum and a maximum value, of performance of a construction product. Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 does not distinguish different kinds of classes. Classes of performance established by the Commission and such classes established by the European standardisation bodies are thus to be acknowledged and respected quite in the same manner.
            
            
               Since under the application of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 the introduction of new classifications of performance into harmonised standards by the European standardisation bodies themselves would require the issuing of new revised mandates, which has not taken place, it has been considered more opportune to proceed with this draft Delegated Regulation. For these reasons, the draft Delegated Regulation should be adopted to establish new classes of performance for product families mentioned above.
            
         
         
            
               The draft Delegated Regulation conforms to the principle of proportionality. It results in alleviating certain difficulties caused by the impact of Regulation (EU) 305/2011 on the establishment of classification systems for the performance of construction products, and therefore can be assessed to benefit the whole European construction sector.
            
            
               COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...
            
            
               of XXX
            
            
               supplementing Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing classes of performance in relation to air permeability for rooflights of plastics and glass and roof hatches
            
            
               (Text with EEA relevance)
            
            
               THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
            
            
               Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
            
            
               Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC
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               , and in particular Article 27(1) thereof,
            
            
               Whereas:
            
            
               (1)The European standard EN 1873 on individual rooflights of plastics was initially adopted by European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) in 2005 and the European standard EN 14963 on continuous rooflights of plastics in 2006. Those harmonised standards did not contain a classification for the performance of the products covered by it in relation to the essential characteristic air permeability.
            
            
               (2)In order to better serve the needs of the market, the new versions of those standards, EN 1873-1, EN 1873-2 and EN 1873-3, covering rooflights of plastics and glass and roof hatches, as well as EN 14963 should include a classification for the performance of the products covered by them in relation to the essential characteristic air permeability. The classification should provide for three classes of performance.
            
            
               (3)In accordance with Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 classes of performance in relation to essential characteristic of construction products may be established either by the Commission or a European standardisation body on the basis of a revised mandate issued by the Commission. Given the need to establish additional classes of performance as soon as possible, the new classes of performance should be established by the Commission. In accordance with Article 27(2) of that Regulation, those classes are to be used in harmonised standards,
            
            
            
               HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
            
            
               Article 1
            
            
               Classes of performance in relation to air permeability for rooflights of plastics and glass and roof hatches, as set out in the Annex, are established.
            
            
               Article 2
            
            
               This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
            
            
               This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
            
            
               Done at Brussels,
            
         
         
            
               
                     For the Commission
               
               
                     The President
                     Jean-Claude Juncker
                     
               
            
         
         
      
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               ANNEX 
            
            
               Classes of performance in relation to air permeability for roof lights of plastics and glass and roof hatches
            
            
            
                     
                        Class
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        Lower limit value of Internal Pressure 
                           (4 Pa)
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        Higher limit value of Internal Pressure 
                           (100 Pa)
                     
                  
               
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        Air permeability 
                        (in m3/h.m)
                     
                  
               
                     
                        A*
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        < 1.4
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        < 12
                     
                  
               
                     
                        B
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        ≥1.4
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        ≥12
                     
                  
               
                     
                        C
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        ≥ 6
                     
                  
                  
                     
                        ≥ 50
                     
                  
               
                     
                        * In case of class A, in addition to declaring the class, the worst measurement of all pressure steps shall also be declared using the following template: Class A[internal pressure/leakage rate].
                     
                     
                        Note: The boundaries of the classes used in this Table may be derived from the following formula: 
                        
                           
                     
                     
                        Where:
                     
                     
                        Q          is the leakage rate in m³/h during a test under Internal Pressure P
                     
                     
                        P           is the internal pressure during a test (in Pa)
                     
                     
                        Q100      is the leakage rate in m³/h at an internal pressure of 100 Pa