Document ID: 31996L0057

DIRECTIVE 96/57/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 September 1996 on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations thereof
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),
(1) Whereas it is important to promote measures aimed at the proper functioning of the internal market;
(2) Whereas in its resolution of 15 January 1985 on the improvement of energy-saving programmes in the Member States (4) the Council invited the Member States to pursue and where necessary increase their efforts to promote the more rational use of energy by the further development of integrated energy-saving policies;
(3) Whereas household refrigeration appliances account for a significant share of domestic electricity consumption in the Community and thus of total electricity consumption; whereas the various models of refrigeration appliances available on the Community market have very different levels of consumption for a given volume and similar features, i.e. extremely variable energy efficiency;
(4) Whereas some Member States are on the point of adopting provisions relating to the efficiency of household refrigerators and freezers, which might create barriers to trade in these products in the Community;
(5) Whereas it is appropriate to take as a base a high level of protection in proposals for the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning health, safety, environmental protection and consumer protection; whereas this Directive ensures a high level of protection for both the environment and the consumer, in aiming at a significant improvement of the energy efficiency of these appliances;
(6) Whereas the adoption of such measures falls within Community competence; whereas the requirements of this Directive are within the limits of its objectives, thus conforming to the requirements of Article 3b of the Treaty;
(7) Whereas, moreover, Article 130r of the Treaty calls for the protection and improvement of the environment and the prudent and rational utilization of natural resources, these two objectives being among those of the Community policy on the environment; whereas electricity generation and consumption account for 30 % of man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and some 35 % of primary energy consumption in the Community; whereas these percentages are increasing;
(8) Whereas, furthermore, Council Decision 89/364/EEC of 5 June 1989 on a Community action programme for improving the efficiency of electricity use (5) has as its twin objectives to encourage consumers to favour appliances and equipment with high electrical efficiency and to improve the efficiency of appliances and equipment;
(9) Whereas in its conclusions of 29 October 1990 the Council set an objective of stabilizing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the Community at 1990 levels by the year 2 000; whereas in order to achieve this objective stronger measures are required to stabilize CO2 emissions within the Community;
(10) Whereas Decision 91/565/EEC (6) established a programme to promote energy efficiency in the Community (the SAVE programme);
(11) Whereas the energy efficiency measures incorporated in the most up-to-date models of refrigeration appliances available do not increase their production costs excessively and can pay for their initial cost through electricity savings within a few years or even more rapidly; whereas this calculation does not take into account the added benefit of the external costs of electricity generation thereby avoided, such as emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants;
(12) Whereas the 'natural` gain in energy efficiency due to market pressures and improved production processes, estimated at around 2 % per year, will contribute to efforts to achieve stricter energy consumption standards;
(13) Whereas Directive 92/75/EEC (7) (the framework Directive) and Commission Directive 94/2/EC (8) (the Directive implementing Directive 92/75/EEC), which require the compulsory labelling of appliances and an indication in other forms of the energy consumption, will increase consumers' awareness of the energy efficiency of household refrigeration appliances; whereas this measure will therefore also encourage the various competitors to offer levels of energy efficiency for their appliances higher than the standards required by this Directive; whereas, however, the provision of information to consumers must nevertheless be accompanied by an indication of the standards in order to achieve full benefit and lead to a real improvement in the total average efficiency of the appliances sold;
(14) Whereas this Directive, which is aimed at eliminating technical barriers with regard to improving the energy efficiency of household refrigeration appliances, must follow the 'new approach` established by the Council resolution of 7 May 1985 on a new approach to technical harmonization and standards (9) which specifically lays down that legislative harmonization is limited to the adoption, by means of directives, of the essential requirements with which products put on the market must conform;
(15) Whereas an effective enforcement system is necessary to ensure that the Directive is implemented properly, guarantee fair conditions of competition for producers and protect consumer rights;
(16) Whereas regard should be had to Council Decision 93/465/EEC of 22 July 1993 concerning the modules for the various phases of the conformity assessment procedures and the rules for the affixing and use of the CE conformity marking (10), which are intended to be used in the technical harmonization directives;
(17) Whereas in the interest of international trade, international standards should be used wherever appropriate; whereas the electricity consumption of a refrigeration appliance is defined by the European Committee for Standardization Standard EN 153 of July 1995 which is based on an international standard;
(18) Whereas household refrigeration appliances complying with the energy efficiency requirements of this Directive must bear the 'CE` marking and associated information, in order to enable them to move freely;
(19) Whereas this Directive is confined to household refrigeration appliances for foodstuffs, supplied by mains electricity, excluding those manufactured on a one-off basis; whereas refrigeration equipment for commercial use is much more varied and not appropriate for inclusion in this Directive,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
This Directive shall apply to new electric mains-operated household refrigerators, frozen food storage cabinets, food freezers, and combinations of these as defined in Annex I and referred to hereafter as 'refrigeration appliances`. Appliances which can also use other energy sources, particularly accumulators, and household refrigeration appliances working on the absorption principle and appliances manufactured on a one-off basis shall be excluded.
Article 2
1. Member States shall take all necessary measures to ensure that refrigeration appliances covered by this Directive can be placed on the Community market only if the electricity consumption of the appliance in question is less than or equal to the maximum allowable electricity consumption value for its category as calculated according to the procedures defined in Annex I.
2. The manufacturer of a refrigeration appliance covered by this Directive, his authorized representative established in the Community or the person responsible for placing the appliance on the Community market shall be responsible for ensuring that each appliance placed on the market conforms with the requirement referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 3
1. Member States may not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market in their territory of refrigeration appliances which bear the 'CE` marking attesting to their conformity with all the provisions of this Directive.
2. Unless they have evidence to the contrary, Member States shall presume that refrigeration appliances bearing the 'CE` marking required under Article 5 comply with all the provisions of this Directive.
3. (a) Where refrigeration appliances are subject to other directives covering other aspects which also provide for affixing of the 'CE` marking, the latter shall indicate that the refrigeration appliances in question are also presumed, unless evidence to the contrary exists, to conform to the provisions of those other directives.
(b) However, where one or more of those directives allows the manufacturer, during a transitional period, to choose which rules to apply, the 'CE` marking shall indicate conformity solely with the provisions of those directives applied by the manufacturer. In that case, the reference numbers of the directives applied, as published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, must be given in the documents, notices or instructions accompanying the refrigeration appliances.
Article 4
The conformity assessment procedures and the obligations relating to the 'CE` marking of refrigeration appliances are laid down in Annex II.
Article 5
1. When appliances are placed on the market, they must bear the 'CE` marking, which shall consist of the initials 'CE`. The form of the marking to be used is shown in Annex III. The 'CE` marking shall be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to refrigeration appliances and, where appropriate, to the packaging.
2. The affixing on refrigeration appliances of any markings which are likely to mislead third parties as to the meaning and form of the 'CE` marking shall be prohibited. Any other marking may be affixed to the appliances, their packaging, the instruction sheet or other documents, provided that the 'CE` marking remains visible and legible.
Article 6
1. Where a Member State establishes that the 'CE` marking has been affixed improperly, the manufacturer or his authorized representative established within the Community shall be obliged to bring the product into conformity and to end the infringement in accordance with conditions imposed by the Member State. Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorized representative is established within the Community, the person who places the refrigeration appliance on the Community market shall undertake these obligations.
2. Where the product continues not to be in conformity, the Member State shall take all necessary measures pursuant to Article 7 to restrict or prohibit the placing on the market of the product in question or to ensure that it is withdrawn from the market.
Article 7
1. Any decision taken pursuant to this Directive which contains a restriction on the placing on the market of refrigeration appliances shall state the precise grounds on which it is based. The party concerned shall be notified without delay of the decision and shall be informed at the same time of the possibilities and time limits regarding the legal remedies available to it under the laws in force in the Member State in question.
2. The Member State shall immediately inform the Commission of any such measure, indicating the reasons for its decision. The Commission shall make this information known to the other Member States.
Article 8
Before the expiry of a period of four years from the adoption of this Directive, the Commission shall make an assessment of the results obtained as compared with those expected. With a view to advancing to a second stage in energy efficiency improvement, the Commission shall then consider, in consultation with the interested parties, the need to lay down a second set of appropriate measures for significantly improving the energy efficiency of household refrigeration appliances. In that case, each energy efficiency measure and the date of its entry into force will be based on energy efficiency levels which can be economically and technically justified in the light of the circumstances at the time. Any other measure judged appropriate to improve the efficiency of household refrigeration appliances shall also be considered.
Article 9
1. Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within a year of its adoption. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.
Member States shall apply these provisions on the expiry of a period of three years counting from the date of adoption of this Directive.
When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
3. During a three-year period following adoption of this Directive, Member States shall permit the placing on the market of refrigeration appliances which comply with the same conditions as those which were applied on their territory at the date of adoption of this Directive.
Article 10
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 11
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 3 September 1996.

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