Directive 96/58/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 3 September 1996 amending Directive 89/686/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to personal protective equipment

DIRECTIVE 96/58/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL of 3 September 1996 amending Directive 89/686/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to personal protective equipment
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (3),
Whereas Directive 89/686/EEC (4) requires that all personal protective equipment (PPE) bear the 'CE` marking and that this marking be accompanied by additional information corresponding to the year in which the marking was affixed;
Whereas this indication of the year is not a factor beneficial to the safety of the user of the PPE; whereas this indication might be confused with the date of obsolescence which must be affixed to PPE subject to ageing;
Whereas affixing this indication of the year is a burden on the manufacturers of PPE; whereas the cost of this burden is far from negligible;
Whereas, in view of the principle of subsidiarity, the simplification resulting for manufacturers from abolishing the requirement to indicate the year in which the 'CE` marking was affixed can be achieved only by means of a Directive amending Directive 89/686/EEC,