CELEX: 51976FC0765
Language: en
Date: 2007-01-31
Title: Proposal for a Council Directive …/…/EC of […] relating to alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers (codified version)

EN

|[pic]                     |COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES                                                                           |

                                        Brussels,
                                        COM (2006)

                                                                  Proposal for a

                                                             COUNCIL DIRECTIVE …/…/EC

                                                                      of […]

                                                relating to alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers

                                                                (Codified version)

                                                              EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.    In the context of a people’s Europe, the Commission attaches great importance to simplifying and clarifying Community law so as to make  it
       clearer and more accessible to the ordinary citizen, thus giving him new opportunities and the chance to make use of the  specific  rights
       it gives him.

       This aim cannot be achieved so long as numerous provisions that have  been  amended  several  times,  often  quite  substantially,  remain
       scattered, so that they must be sought partly in the original instrument and partly in later amending ones.  Considerable  research  work,
       comparing many different instruments, is thus needed to identify the current rules.

       For this reason a codification of rules that have frequently been amended  is  also  essential  if  Community  law  is  to  be  clear  and
       transparent.

2.    On 1 April 1987 the Commission therefore decided[1] to instruct its staff that all legislative acts should be codified after no  more  than
       ten amendments, stressing that this is a minimum requirement and that departments should endeavour to codify at even shorter intervals the
       texts for which they are responsible, to ensure that the Community rules are clear and readily understandable.

3.    The Conclusions of the Presidency of the Edinburgh  European  Council  (December 1992)  confirmed  this[2],  stressing  the  importance  of
       codification as it offers certainty as to the law applicable to a given matter at a given time.

       Codification must be undertaken in full compliance with the normal Community legislative procedure.

       Given that no changes of substance may be made to the instruments affected by codification, the European Parliament, the Council  and  the
       Commission have agreed, by an interinstitutional agreement dated 20 December 1994, that an accelerated procedure may be used for the fast-
       track adoption of codification instruments.

4.    The purpose of this proposal is to undertake a codification of Council Directive 76/765/EEC of 27 July 1976 on  the  approximation  of  the
       laws of the Member States relating to alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers[3].  The  new  Directive  will  supersede  the  various  acts
       incorporated in it[4]; this proposal fully preserves the content of the acts being codified  and  hence  does  no  more  than  bring  them
       together with only such formal amendments as are required by the codification exercise itself.

5.    The codification proposal was drawn up on the basis of a preliminary consolidation, in all official languages, of Directive 76/765/EEC  and
       the instrument amending it, carried out by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, by means of a data-processing
       system. Where the Articles have been given new numbers, the correlation between the old and the new numbers is shown in a table  contained
       in Annex III to the codified Directive.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC (adapted)

                                                                  Proposal for a

                                                             COUNCIL DIRECTIVE …/…/EC

                                                                     of […] 

                                                relating to alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers

                                                            (Text with EEA relevance)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article Ö 94 Õ thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament[5],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[6],

Whereas:

                                            ê 

   1) Council Directive 76/765/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to alcoholometers  and  alcohol
      hydrometers[7] has been substantially amended[8]. In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC Recital 1 (adapted)

   2) In the Member States the definition, design and procedures for the approval and testing of alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers  are  the
      subject of mandatory provisions which Ö differed Õ from one Member State to another and consequently Ö hindered Õ the movement of and trade
      in these instruments within the Community. It Ö was Õ therefore necessary to approximate these provisions.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC Recital 2

   3) Harmonization of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to these instruments is essential also  as  a  complement  to
      existing provisions relating to the method of determining alcoholic strength from the results of measurements taken, in order to remove all
      risk of ambiguity or dispute over the results of such measurements.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC Recital 3 (adapted)

   4) Council Directive 71/316/EEC of 26 July 1971 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to common provisions  for  both
      measuring instruments and methods of metrological control[9] laid down the EC pattern approval and EC initial verification  procedures.  In
      accordance with that Directive it is necessary to lay down the technical requirements which the design and  functioning  of  alcoholometers
      and alcohol hydrometers must satisfy in order to be freely imported, marketed and used after having undergone the requisite inspections and
      having been provided with the required marks and signs.

                                            ê 

   5) This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating  to  the  time-limits  for  transposition  into
      national law and application of the Directives set out in Annex II, Part B,

                                            ê 76/765/EEC

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

                                                                    Article 1

This Directive defines the characteristics of alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers used to determine the  alcoholic  strength  of  mixtures  of
water and ethanol.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC (adapted)

                                                                    Article 2

Those alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers which may bear EC marks and signs are described in Annex Ö I Õ.

Such instruments shall be subject to EC pattern approval and shall be submitted for EC initial verification.

                                                                    Article 3

No Member State may refuse, prohibit or restrict the placing on the market or the use of any alcoholometer or alcohol hydrometer bearing  the  EC
pattern approval sign or EC Ö initial Õ verification mark on the grounds of their metrological properties.

                                            ê 

                                                                    Article 4

Directive 76/765/EEC, as amended by the Directive listed in Annex II, Part A, is repealed, without prejudice to the  obligations  of  the  Member
States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law and application of the Directives set out in Annex II, Part B.

References to the repealed Directives shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in  accordance  with  the  correlation
table in Annex III.

                                                                    Article 5

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC Art.5

                                                                    Article 6

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, […]

      For the Council
      The President
      […]

                                            ê 76/765/EEC (adapted)

                                                                   ANNEX Ö I Õ

                                            ê 76/765/EEC
                                            è1 Corrigendum 76/765/EEC (OJ L 60, 5.3.1977, p. 26)

                                                      ALCOHOLOMETERS AND ALCOHOL HYDROMETERS

1.    DEFINITION OF THE INSTRUMENTS

1.1.  Alcoholometers are glass instruments which indicate:

         – the alcoholic strength by mass, or

         – the alcoholic strength by volume,

      of a mixture of water and ethanol.

      They are described as either mass alcoholometers or volume alcoholometers, depending upon what is measured.

      Alcohol hydrometers are glass instruments designed to measure the density of a mixture of water and ethanol.

1.2.  The instruments defined in this Directive are graduated at a reference temperature of 20 °C, in accordance with  the  values  appearing  in
       the international alcohol tables published by the International Organization of Legal Metrology.

1.3.  They are graduated for readings made at the free horizontal surface of the liquid.

2.    DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUMENTS

2.1.  Alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers are glass instruments, consisting of:

         – a cylindrical body, the bottom of which is cone-shaped or hemispherical so that it does not entrap air bubbles,

         – a hollow cylindrical stem fused to the upper part of the body; its upper end is closed.

2.2.  The entire external surface of each instrument must be symmetrical about its main axis.

      The cross-section must not exhibit any abrupt alteration.

2.3.  The lower part of the body must contain the loading material, the purpose of which is to adjust the mass of the instrument.

2.4.  The stem must carry a scale marked on a cylindrical support rigidly fixed to the inside of the stem.

3.    PRINCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION

3.1.  The glass used for making the instruments shall be transparent and free from any defect liable to  interfere  with  the  reading  of  scale
       measurements.

      The glass shall have a coefficient of cubic expansion of (25 ± 2) 10−6 °C−1.

3.2.  The loading material shall be fixed in the bottom of the instrument. After the finished instrument has been kept in a  horizontal  position
       for one hour at 80 °C and subsequently cooled in that position, it shall float with its axis vertical to within 1 degree 30 minutes.

4.    SCALE

4.1.  No instrument shall have more than one scale of the type referred to in 4.5 or 4.6.

4.2.  The scale and the inscriptions shall be marked on a support having a smooth matt surface.

      This support shall be held rigidly in place in the stem and reference marks shall be provided so that any displacement  of  the  scale  and
       its support relative to the stem is apparent.

      The support, the scale and the inscriptions shall show no trace of distortion, discoloration or charring when maintained at  70 °C  for  24
       hours.

4.3.  The scale marks shall be:

         – situated in planes perpendicular to the axis of the instrument,

         – black[10] and marked clearly and indelibly,

         – fine, clear-cut and of a uniform thickness not greater than 0·2 mm.

4.4.  The length of the short lines on the scale shall be at least one-fifth that of the medium lines at least one-third and  that  of  the  long
       lines at least half of the circumference of the stem.

4.5.  Alcoholometers shall have nominal scales graduated by % mass or by % volume of alcohol. They shall cover a range not greater than  10 %  of
       alcohol by volume or by mass.

      The scale interval shall be 0·1%.

      Each scale shall include from five to 10 additional scale intervals beyond its upper and lower nominal range limits.

4.6.  The nominal scales of alcohol hydrometers shall be graduated in kilogrammes per cubic metre. They shall cover  a  range  not  greater  than
       20 kg/m3.

      The scale interval shall be 0·2 kg/m3.

      Each scale shall include from five to 10 additional scale intervals beyond its upper and lower nominal range  limits.  However,  the  scale
       must not extend beyond 1 000 kg/m3.

5.    GRADUATION AND NUMBERING

5.1.  On alcoholometers, every 10th scale mark, counting from one end of the nominal scale, shall be a long line. There shall be  a  medium  line
       between each successive pair of long lines and four short lines between each long line and the nearest medium line.

      Only the long lines shall be numbered.

5.2.  On alcohol hydrometers, every fifth line, counting from one end of the nominal scale, shall be a long  line.  There  shall  be  four  short
       lines between two consecutive long lines.

      Only the fifth or 10th lines shall be numbered.

5.3.  The lines indicating the limits of the nominal scale shall show the figures in full. On  alcohol  hydrometers  the  other  numbers  may  be
       abbreviated.

6.    CLASSIFICATION AND PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS OF INSTRUMENTS

6.1.  The instruments shall be of one of the following classes of accuracy:

|—     |Class I:         |The minimum mean scale spacing shall be 1·5 mm.                                                   |
|      |                 |Instruments in this class shall not incorporate a thermometer.                                    |
|—     |Class II:        |The minimum mean scale spacing shall be 1·05 mm.                                                  |
|      |                 |Instruments in this class may incorporate a thermometer.                                          |
|—     |Class III:       |The minimum mean scale spacing shall be 0·85 mm.                                                  |
|      |                 |Instruments in this class may incorporate a thermometer.                                          |

6.2.  The external diameter of the body of any instrument shall be between 19 and 40 mm.

      The external diameter of the stem shall be at least 3 mm for Class  I  and  Class  II  instruments  and  at  least  2·5 mm  for  Class  III
       instruments. The stem shall extend for at least 15 mm above the uppermost scale mark.

      The cross-section of the stem must be uniform for at least 5 mm below the lowest scale mark.

7.    INSCRIPTIONS

7.1.  The following inscriptions shall be legibly and indelibly marked inside the instrument:

         – Class I, II or III,

         – è1 kg/m3 or % vol or % mas, ç

         – 20 °C,

         – ethanol,

         – the name or identification mark of the manufacturer,

         – the identification number of the instrument,

                                            ê 76/765/EEC (adapted)

         – the EC pattern approval sign «ε».

                                            ê 76/765/EEC

7.2.  The mass of the instrument, expressed to the nearest milligramme may, if desired, be marked on the body.

8.    MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE ERRORS AND VERIFICATION

8.1.  The maximum permissible error for alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers shall be:

         – for Class I, ± one half scale interval for each reading measured,

         – for Classes II and III, ± one scale interval for each reading measured.

8.2.  Verification shall be carried out at a minimum of three points in the nominal scale range.

                                            ê 82/624/EEC Art.1

9.    THERMOMETERS USED IN DETERMINING ALCOHOLIC STRENGTH

9.1.  Thermometers incorporated in the instrument used to determine alcoholic strength

      If the instrument used to determine alcoholic strength belongs to Class II or III, a thermometer of the mercury-expansion type  with  glass
       casing may be incorporated therein.

9.1.1.      The thermometer shall be graduated to 0·1 or 0·2 or 0·5 °C and it need not have any scale mark at 0 °C.

9.1.2.      The minimum scale spacing shall be:

      0·8 mm in the case of thermometers graduated to 0·1 and 0·2 °C;

      1·0 mm in the case of thermometers graduated to 0·5 °C.

9.1.3.      The thickness of the lines shall not be more than one fifth of the scale spacing.

9.1.4.      The maximum permissible error, positive or negative, shall be:

      0·10 °C if the thermometer is graduated to 0·1 °C;

      0·20 °C if the thermometer is graduated to 0·2 or 0·5 °C.

                                            ê 82/624/EEC Art.1 (adapted)

9.1.5.      During EC initial verification, the error of the incorporated thermometer shall be determined at a minimum of  three  points  in  the
       scale range.

                                            ê 82/624/EEC Art.1

9.2.  Thermometers not incorporated in an instrument used to determine alcoholic strength

9.2.1.      If the instrument used to determine alcoholic strength belongs to Class I, the thermometer employed in conjunction with it shall be:

         – either of the metallic resistance type, enabling the temperature of the mixture of water and alcohol to be determined with a  maximum
           permissible error of ± 0·10 °C,

         – or of the mercury-expansion type with a glass casing graduated to 0·1 or 0·5 °C.

      Mercury thermometers shall have a scale mark at 0 °C, the minimum scale spacing shall be 0·8 mm and the thickness of the  lines  shall  not
       be more than one fifth of the scale spacing.

      The maximum permissible error, positive or negative, shall be one scale interval.

9.2.2.      If the instrument used to determine alcoholic strength belongs to Class II or III, the thermometer employed in  conjunction  with  it
       shall be of the mercury-expansion type with glass casing.

9.2.2.1.    The thermometer shall be graduated to 0·1 or 0·2 or 0·5 °C. It shall have a scale mark at 0 °C.

9.2.2.2.    The minimum scale spacing shall be:

      0·8 mm in the case of thermometers graduated to 0·1 or 0·2 °C;

      1·0 mm in the case of thermometers graduated to 0·5 °C.

9.2.2.3.    The thickness of the lines shall not be more than one fifth of the scale spacing.

9.2.2.4.    The maximum permissible error shall be:

      ± 0·10 °C if the thermometer is graduated to 0·1 °C;

      ± 0·20 °C if the thermometer is graduated to 0·2 or 0·5 °C.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC

10.   MARKINGS

                                            ê 76/765/EEC (adapted)

      On the back of alcoholometers and alcohol hydrometers a space must be left on the upper third of the body for the EC  initial  verification
       mark.

      In accordance with 3.1.1 of Annex II to Directive 71/316/EEC and by way of derogation from the general rule laid down in section 3 of  that
       Annex, the EC initial verification mark must, due to the special marking requirements for glass instruments, consist of a series of  signs
       having the following meaning:

                                            ê 76/765/EEC

         – a small letter «e»,

                                            ê 76/765/EEC (adapted)

         – the last two digits of the year of EC initial verification,

         – the identifying letter or letters of the State where the EC initial verification was carried out,

                                            ê 76/765/EEC

         – if necessary, the identifying number of the verification office.

      When the marking is carried out by sandblasting, the letters and numbers shall be applied so as not to impair their legibility.

                                            ê 76/765/EEC (adapted)

      Example:

|e 75 D 48:         |EC initial verification carried out in 1975 by Bureau 48 Germany.                                        |

                                                                 _______________

                                            é

                                                                     ANNEX II

                                                                      Part A

                                                      Repealed Directive with its amendment
                                                            (referred to in Article 4)

|Council Directive 76/765/EEC                                        |(OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 143)                                      |
|Commission Directive 82/624/EEC                                      |(OJ L 252, 27.8.1982, p. 8)                                  |

                                                                      Part B

                                     List of time-limits for transposition into national law and application
                                                            (referred to in Article 4)

|Directive                                    |Time-limit for transposition                 |Date for application                         |
|76/765/EEC                                   |2 August 1978                                |1 January 1980                               |
|82/624/EEC                                   |1 May 1983                                   |_                                            |

                                                                 _______________

                                                                    ANNEX III

                                                                Correlation table

|Directive 76/765/EEC                                                |This Directive                                                      |
|Articles 1 - 3                                                      |Articles 1 - 3                                                      |
|Article 4                                                           |_                                                                   |
|_                                                                   |Article 4                                                           |
|_                                                                   |Article 5                                                           |
|Article 5                                                           |Article 6                                                           |
|Annex                                                               |Annex I                                                             |
|_                                                                   |Annex II                                                            |
|_                                                                   |Annex III                                                           |

                                                                 _______________

                                                             -----------------------
[1]   COM(87) 868 PV.
[2]   See Annex 3 to Part A of the Conclusions.
[3]   Carried out pursuant to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the  Council  –  Codification  of  the  Acquis
      communautaire, COM(2001) 645 final.
[4]   Annex II, Part A of this proposal.
[5]   OJ C Ö […], […], p. […] Õ .
[6]   OJ C Ö […], […], p. […] Õ .
[7]   OJ L 262, 27.9.1976, p. 143. -.678@Acjr¤¸¹Ð

      Directive as amended by Commission Directive 82/624/EEC (OJ L 252, 27.8.1982, p. 8).
[8]   See Annex II, Part A.
[9]   OJ L 202, 6.9.1971, p. 1. Ö Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 807/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 36) Õ .
[10]  Beyond the range of the nominal scale the scale lines may be of a different colour.