Article 1 Scope
1. This Directive establishes a framework for the harmonisation of national measures on end-user information, particularly by means of labelling and standard product information, on the consumption of energy and where relevant of other essential resources during use, and supplementary information concerning energy-related products, thereby allowing end-users to choose more efficient products. 2. This Directive shall apply to energy-related products which have a significant direct or indirect impact on the consumption of energy and, where relevant, on other essential resources during use. 3. This Directive shall not apply to: (a) second-hand products; (b) any means of transport for persons or goods; (c) the rating plate or its equivalent affixed for safety purposes to products.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purpose of this Directive: (a) ‘energy-related product’ or ‘product’ means any good having an impact on energy consumption during use, which is placed on the market and/or put into service in the Union, including parts intended to be incorporated into energy-related products covered by this Directive which are placed on the market and/or put into service as individual parts for end-users and of which the environmental performance can be assessed independently; (b) ‘fiche’ means a standard table of information relating to a product; (c) ‘other essential resources’ means water, chemicals or any other substance consumed by a product in normal use; (d) ‘supplementary information’ means other information concerning the performance and features of a product which relate to, or are helpful in evaluating, its use of energy or other essential resources based on measurable data; (e) ‘direct impact’ means the impact of products that actually consume energy during use; (f) ‘indirect impact’ means the impact of products that do not consume energy, but contribute to energy conservation during use; (g) ‘dealer’ means a retailer or other person who sells, hires, offers for hire-purchase or displays products to end-users; (h) ‘supplier’ means the manufacturer or its authorised representative in the Union or the importer who places or puts into service the product on the Union market. In their absence, any natural or legal person who places on the market or puts into service products covered by this Directive shall be considered a supplier; (i) ‘placing on the market’ means making a product available for the first time on the Union market with a view to its distribution or use within the Union, whether for reward or free of charge and irrespective of the selling technique; (j) ‘putting into service’ means the first use of a product for its intended purpose in the Union; (k) ‘unauthorised use of the label’ means the use of the label, other than by Member State authorities or EU institutions, in a manner not provided for in this Directive or a delegated act.
Article 3 Responsibilities of Member States
1. Member States shall ensure that: (a) all suppliers and dealers established in their territory fulfil the obligations laid down in Articles 5 and 6; (b) with respect to products covered by this Directive, the display of other labels, marks, symbols or inscriptions which do not comply with the requirements of this Directive and of the relevant delegated acts is prohibited, if such display is likely to mislead or confuse end-users with respect to the consumption of energy or, where relevant, other essential resources during use; (c) the introduction of the system of labels and fiches concerning energy consumption or conservation is accompanied by educational and promotional information campaigns aimed at promoting energy efficiency and more responsible use of energy by end-users; (d) appropriate measures are taken in order to encourage the relevant national or regional authorities responsible for implementing this Directive to cooperate and provide each other and the Commission with information in order to assist the application of this Directive. The administrative cooperation and exchange of information shall take the utmost advantage of electronic means of communication, shall be cost-effective and may be supported by relevant EU programmes. Such cooperation shall guarantee the security and confidentiality of processing and the protection of sensitive information provided during that procedure, where necessary. The Commission shall take appropriate measures in order to encourage and contribute to the cooperation between Member States referred to in this point. 2. Where a Member State ascertains that a product does not comply with all the relevant requirements set out in this Directive and its delegated acts for the label and the fiche, the supplier shall be obliged to make the product compliant with those requirements under effective and proportionate conditions imposed by the Member State. Where there is sufficient evidence that a product may be non-compliant, the Member State concerned shall take the necessary preventive measures and measures aimed at ensuring compliance within a precise time-frame, taking into account the damage caused. Where non-compliance continues, the Member State concerned shall take a decision restricting or prohibiting the placing on the market and/or putting into service of the product in question or ensuring that it is withdrawn from the market. In cases of withdrawal of the product from the market or prohibition on placing the product on the market, the Commission and the other Member States shall be immediately informed. 3. Every four years, the Member States shall submit a report to the Commission including details about their enforcement activities and the level of compliance in their territory. The Commission may specify the details of the common content of these reports, through the setting of guidelines. 4. The Commission shall regularly provide a synthesis of those reports to the European Parliament and the Council for information.
Article 4 Information requirements
Member States shall ensure that: (a) information relating to the consumption of electric energy, other forms of energy and where relevant other essential resources during use, and supplementary information is, in accordance with delegated acts under this Directive, brought to the attention of end-users by means of a fiche and a label related to products offered for sale, hire, hire-purchase or displayed to end-users directly or indirectly by any means of distance selling, including the Internet; (b) the information referred to in point (a) is provided in respect of built-in or installed products only where required by the applicable delegated act; (c) any advertisement for a specific model of energy-related products covered by a delegated act under this Directive includes, where energy-related or price information is disclosed, a reference to the energy efficiency class of the product; (d) any technical promotional material concerning energy-related products which describes the specific technical parameters of a product, namely, technical manuals and manufacturers’ brochures, whether printed or online, is provided to end-users with the necessary information regarding energy consumption or shall include a reference to the energy efficiency class of the product.
Article 5 Responsibilities of suppliers
Member States shall ensure that: (a) suppliers placing on the market or putting into service products covered by a delegated act supply a label and a fiche in accordance with this Directive and the delegated act; (b) suppliers produce technical documentation which is sufficient to enable the accuracy of the information contained in the label and the fiche to be assessed. That technical documentation shall include: (i) a general description of the product; (ii) where relevant, the results of design calculations carried out; (iii) test reports, where available, including those carried out by relevant notified organisations as defined under other Union legislation; (iv) where values are used for similar models, the references allowing identification of those models. To this end suppliers may use documentation already established in accordance with requirements laid down in relevant Union legislation; (c) suppliers make the technical documentation available for inspection purposes for a period ending five years after the last product concerned was manufactured. Suppliers make available an electronic version of the technical documentation on request to the market surveillance authorities of the Member States and to the Commission within 10 working days on receipt of a request by the competent authority of a Member State or the Commission; (d) in respect of labelling and product information, suppliers provide the necessary labels free of charge to dealers. Without prejudice to the suppliers’ choice of system for delivery of labels, suppliers promptly deliver labels on request from dealers; (e) in addition to the labels, suppliers provide a product fiche; (f) suppliers include a product fiche in all product brochures. Where product brochures are not provided by the supplier, the supplier provides fiches with other literature provided with the product; (g) suppliers are responsible for the accuracy of the labels and fiches that they supply; (h) suppliers are considered to have given consent to the publication of the information provided on the label or in the fiche.
Article 6 Responsibilities of dealers
Member States shall ensure that: (a) dealers display labels properly, in a visible and legible manner, and make the fiche available in the product brochure or other literature that accompanies products when sold to end-users; (b) whenever a product covered by a delegated act is displayed, dealers attach an appropriate label, in the clearly visible position specified in the applicable delegated act, and in the relevant language version.
Article 7 Distance selling and other forms of selling
Where products are offered for sale, hire or hire-purchase by mail order, by catalogue, through the Internet, telemarketing or by any other means which imply that the potential end-user cannot be expected to see the product displayed, delegated acts shall make provision to ensure that potential end-users are provided with the information specified on the label for the product and in the fiche before buying the product. Delegated acts shall, where appropriate, specify the way in which the label or the fiche or the information specified on the label or in the fiche shall be displayed or provided to the potential end-user.
Article 8 Free movement
1. Member States shall not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market or putting into service, within their territories, of products which are covered by and comply with this Directive and the applicable delegated act. 2. Unless they have evidence to the contrary, Member States shall consider labels and fiches as complying with the provisions of this Directive and the delegated acts. Member States shall require suppliers to provide evidence within the meaning of Article 5 concerning the accuracy of the information supplied on their labels or fiches when they have reason to suspect that such information is incorrect.
Article 9 Public procurement and incentives
1. Where a product is covered by a delegated act, contracting authorities which conclude public works, supply or service contracts as referred to in Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts ( 8 ) , which are not excluded by virtue of Articles 12 to 18 thereof, shall endeavour to procure only such products which comply with the criteria of having the highest performance levels and belonging to the highest energy efficiency class. Member States may also require the contracting authorities to procure only products fulfilling those criteria. Member States may make the application of those criteria subject to cost-effectiveness, economical feasibility and technical suitability and sufficient competition. 2. Paragraph 1 shall apply to contracts having a value equal to or greater than the thresholds laid down in Article 7 of Directive 2004/18/EC. 3. Where Member States provide any incentives for a product covered by a delegated act they shall aim at the highest performance levels including the highest class of energy efficiency laid down in the applicable delegated act. Taxation and fiscal measures do not constitute incentives for the purpose of this Directive. 4. Where Member States provide incentives for products, both for end-users using highly efficient products and for industries which promote and produce such products, they shall express the performance levels in terms of classes as defined in the applicable delegated act, except where they impose higher performance levels than the threshold for the highest energy efficiency class in the delegated act. Member States may impose higher performance levels than the threshold for the highest energy efficiency class in the delegated act.
Article 10 Delegated acts
1. The Commission shall lay down details relating to the label and the fiche by means of delegated acts in accordance with Articles 11 to 13, relating to each type of product in accordance with this Article. Where a product meets the criteria listed in paragraph 2, it shall be covered by a delegated act in accordance with paragraph 4. Provisions in delegated acts regarding information provided on the label and in the fiche on the consumption of energy and other essential resources during use shall enable end-users to make better informed purchasing decisions and shall enable market surveillance authorities to verify whether products comply with the information provided. Where a delegated act lays down provisions with respect to both energy efficiency and consumption of essential resources of a product, the design and content of the label shall emphasise the energy efficiency of the product. 2. The criteria referred to in paragraph 1 are the following: (a) according to most recently available figures and considering the quantities placed on the Union market, the products shall have a significant potential for saving energy and, where relevant, other essential resources; (b) products with equivalent functionality available on the market shall have a wide disparity in the relevant performance levels; (c) the Commission shall take into account relevant Union legislation and self-regulation, such as voluntary agreements, which are expected to achieve the policy objectives more quickly or at lesser expense than mandatory requirements. 3. In preparing a draft delegated act, the Commission shall: (a) take into account those environmental parameters set out in Annex I, Part 1, to Directive 2009/125/EC which are identified as significant in the relevant implementing measure adopted under Directive 2009/125/EC and which are relevant for the end-user during use; (b) assess the impact of the act on the environment, end-users and manufacturers, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in terms of competitiveness including on markets outside the Union, innovation, market access and costs and benefits; (c) carry out appropriate consultation with stakeholders; (d) set implementing date(s), any staged or transitional measures or periods, taking into account in particular possible impacts on SMEs or on specific product groups manufactured primarily by SMEs. 4. The delegated acts shall specify in particular: (a) the exact definition of the type of products to be included; (b) the measurement standards and methods to be used in obtaining the information referred to in Article 1(1); (c) the details of the technical documentation required pursuant to Article 5; (d) the design and content of the label referred to in Article 4, which as far as possible shall have uniform design characteristics across product groups and shall in all cases be clearly visible and legible. The format of the label shall retain as a basis the classification using letters from A to G; the steps of the classification shall correspond to significant energy and cost savings from the end-user perspective. Three additional classes may be added to the classification if required by technological progress. Those additional classes will be A+, A++, and A+++ for the most efficient class. In principle the total number of classes will be limited to seven, unless more classes are still populated. The colour scale shall consist of no more than seven different colours from dark green to red. The colour code of only the highest class shall always be dark green. If there are more than seven classes, only the red colour can be duplicated. The classification shall be reviewed in particular when a significant proportion of products on the internal market achieves the two highest energy efficiency classes and when additional savings may be achieved by further differentiating products. Detailed criteria for a possible reclassification of products are, where appropriate, to be determined on a case-by-case basis in the relevant delegated act; (e) the location where the label shall be fixed to the product displayed and the manner in which the label and/or information are to be provided in the case of offers for sale as covered by Article 7. Where appropriate, the delegated acts may provide for the label to be attached to the product or printed on the packaging, or for the details of the labelling requirements for printing in catalogues, for distance selling and Internet sales; (f) the content and, where appropriate, the format and other details concerning the fiche or further information specified in Article 4 and Article 5(c). The information on the label shall also be included on the fiche; (g) the specific content of the label for advertising, including, as appropriate, the energy class and other relevant performance level(s) of the given product in a legible and visible form; (h) the duration of label classification(s), where appropriate, in accordance with point (d); (i) the level of accuracy in the declarations on the label and fiches; (j) the date for the evaluation and possible revision of the delegated act, taking into account the speed of technological progress.
Article 11 Exercise of the delegation
1. The powers to adopt the delegated acts referred to in Article 10 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years beginning on 19 June 2010. The Commission shall make a report in respect of the delegated powers not later than six months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of powers shall be automatically extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council revokes it in accordance with Article 12. 2. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 3. The powers to adopt delegated acts are conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in Articles 12 and 13.
Article 12 Revocation of the delegation
1. The delegation of powers referred to in Article 10 may be revoked by the European Parliament or by the Council. 2. The institution which has commenced an internal procedure for deciding whether to revoke the delegation of powers shall endeavour to inform the other institution and the Commission within a reasonable time before the final decision is taken, indicating the delegated powers which could be subject to revocation and possible reasons for a revocation. 3. The decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the powers specified in that decision. It shall take effect immediately or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of the delegated acts already in force. It shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Article 13 Objections to delegated acts
1. The European Parliament or the Council may object to the delegated act within a period of two months from the date of notification. At the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council that period shall be extended by two months. 2. If, on expiry of that period, neither the European Parliament nor the Council has objected to the delegated act, it shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force on the date stated therein. The delegated act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force before the expiry of that period, if the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission of their intention not to raise objections. 3. If the European Parliament or the Council objects to a delegated act, it shall not enter into force. The institution which objects shall state the reasons for objecting to the delegated act.
Article 14 Evaluation
Not later than 31 December 2014, the Commission shall review the effectiveness of this Directive and of its delegated acts and submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council. On that occasion, the Commission shall also assess: (a) the contribution of Article 4(c) to the aim of this Directive; (b) the effectiveness of Article 9(1); (c) in the light of technical evolution and the understanding by consumers of the label layout, the need for amending Article 10(4)(d).
Article 15 Penalties
Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and its delegated acts, including unauthorised use of the label, and shall take the necessary measures to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The Member States shall notify these provisions to the Commission by 20 June 2011 and shall notify the Commission without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting those provisions.
Article 16 Transposition
1. Member States shall bring into force, by 20 June 2011 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions. They shall apply those provisions from 20 July 2011. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. They shall also include a statement to the effect that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to Directive 92/75/EEC shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated. 2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Article 17 Repeal
Directive 92/75/EEC, as amended by the Regulation indicated in Annex I, Part A, is repealed with effect from 21 July 2011, without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law and application of that Directive set out in Annex I, Part B. References to Directive 92/75/EEC shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex II.
Article 18 Entry into force
This Directive shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . Points (d), (g) and (h) of Article 5 shall apply from 31 July 2011.
Article 19 Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.