1//Y
'
3
II
N'f:'*./ed
ProposaL
for
aCOUNCIL DECISION
Laying down
a
procedurefor
the provision
of
information
in
the fieLd
of
TECHNICAL STANDARDSAND REGULATIONS
(submitted
to
the
CounciL bythe
Commission)Io which have taken place
the
Connrrnityia
recentyearg.
Ibr
more tha.nfifteen
years
it
has been end.€evouringto
remove guchbaniers
betweentho
MenberStateg.
TLrefree
movementof
gor:d.sis
oneof
the
principles
uniLerLyingthe
ConnunityrJust
as
the creatioa
of
asingle narket
is
an ind.ispense,ble elamentof
the
projecfuit
seeksto
pronote i.nvarious
fi.eld.s"fn
1958,the
Comroissionsent
the
CormoiL a,proposal
for
a
general pro-grartrme onthe
removalof
technical
baniers
to
trade.
Sincethis
wasadopted.,
it
has regui-arl.y subnltted. proposaLsfor
d.irectives
d.esi.gned.to
inplenent the
progradn€tit
nonitors thd
cornect
inplenentation-by
theMernber
States
of
d.irectives
aLready ad.opted anditself
ad.optsd.irectives
designed.
to
bring
Comnunity J.egC.sLationinto
Line
with
technical
d.evelop-ments.
ft is
now apparentthat
meaaures takenin this fieId,
with
the
assistarceof
the
MenberStates
and.tie
two
sid.esof
iad.ustryr
have formed. an ad.egrrateeoonomic
basis
in
several ind.ustria1 sectors
which has ene,bl-ed.then
to
increase conpetitlveness
irr
reLation
to their
conpetitors
in
aon-Menbercountries .
Neverthel€ssr.
prevailing
economic trend.s havenot
always induced theMenber States
to
continue
thelr
efforts
t9
create the
neeessary Comrnr:nitybasis
fron,which
the
va,:rioue branchesof
industry
eould meetconpetition
from non-Member
countries.
In
sofue caseEeven,
several. MemberStates
seemtenpted.
to
ereot
d.ejure
or
d.efacto
baniers
aroundtheir
own marlcets byocploitiqg the
teohalcaL requi.rements,ancl stand.ard.s 1aid. d.ownin
this
field.
a,t nationa.Llevel.
This
approecb wouLd.oonstitrrte a
d.angerif it
wereto
persist
since,
asa resuf.t
of
sin:iler
mea,surea takenby the'other
Menber Sta,tes,it
would. Iea.d.the
ind.ustries
concemed.to
faLl
ba.ck and. concentrate oni;heir
national
territory,
therebypreventing
consumers fbomenjoying the
bene-:
The Comnission ie.concer.ned.
by the
developnentsIf
SrlrepqnLn*rutrtrrlJ,ttr
eflsnottlrfl
:S,vrntagnEf
thr
H0onnuEity dltntilF sioattto
increaaeproduotion,
they are
at
a
d.isadvarrtage compared.witb
conpetilors
$hoalready
have acceesto
a
vast narket;' Their
e4rort
opportr::rities
are
red.uced,rrith resultant
adverseelfEote
antha
eooaonlesof all-the
Menber States.Wif,h
the
na.chlnery ava"ilableto it at
nr3sentr the
Clonnj.ssion feeLs r:nable ..to
achieveits
goal
cighalting
this
d,eveLopment.[hls
highl.ights the
need.to
sgpplementthe
measures aLreed.ytakel.fhus,
a.ftet'
nouglrlytea
yearsof
appLyingit,'th"
Comnissionis of
the
opluion thaft
the
ggneraL programneought
to
be
suppJ.enentedl.in at
Lea.st two respects.@
If.
a)
I{herea.sit is
easyto
d.raw up teohnicaLepecific,ations
at
nationa,l3"weL,
the
qorreepond.ing Connunity proced.ureis
cumbersome axrdpro-t:raoted. because
of
the
nupberof
eqrerts
to
be
coasuLted. and. theinstitrrtions
and. bod.i'e* 1rr1rg1vqd. Agreements having: eeonomioreper-cussims
ha,veto
be
obta.ined.fbon
al-l
the
goverunents coucomeclin
by,
the
Agrement'pro:nid.lngfor
stand,stiLl
and.aotiflcatton
to
theConmisston(*) have preved inadeqr.rate
f,or
this
purpose.fire bamiers
!ilhich naybe
caughtby the
directives
in
question
are:
'
those bagedcr
Lams,regulatlons
oEadniat'stra.tive
proyieions.
Tet
'the
tech:rioa1 standard.s issued.by the
nationa,L stanilardsinstitutes,
Trr. sertrsral trsernber Sta,teo, standard.s
csnstitute the
trruLesof
tha
tradetfa.nd,
lroducts
confonri.ngto
theeerulee
€nrjoy aonsiderable advantagesifor.
examgrllqthe naufactrmer
corserrrecl need. no:longsr
prornide er;dd.enceof
coqfliaqce
wlth
eaf,etyregrilatiouar. whseas
provision
of
such erri-d.enceftequsqtly
involves a
Lengthy,d.ifficu-lt
and expensive proced.r:refor
a
namrfaoture:r' p:rod.uciugarticleE
to
a foreiga
stand.ard.. AlthoughI
.1
I
national
stand.ardsr wJrichare
d.ram -upin
cLose cooperationwith
Looal producers and. broughtinto
liae
with
their
technical innovations,
naystErrlon$,tf
*i,vl
[uohnrntstgturtrr
r
d,col,liw advanta$
l,n
thElr
ewamarkets,
this
has been d.ininished.by the
flnagnentationof
the
Comnnnityinternal
market,
Sirnila.r roa.chinery, exLstsin
virtr.rali.y
a1Lthe
MenberStates
and,
in
the finaL analysis, the lack
of
coordination
between measures ad.opted.at
nationa.l.level
has adverse impaot on Acononic oer-forma^nce.fhe
d"ecisionsof
the
Cour!_of Justice.IfI.
Asa
result
of
the
guid.eJ.ines containedin
the Courtts interpretations
of
the
i-amrtechnical
regrrLationsrelating
to
good.s which iraped.e thenarketing
of
prod.ucts legaLJ.y ma.nufaotured and. so1d.in
another MenberState
maybe
a.d.opted. onJ"yif,
they
are
neoessaryto
nee*
essentiaLre-guirenents
and have a.nobjective
in
thd
pubJ.icin*erest
of
whichthey
constitute the
main gr:aralrtee.fhe creation
and. maintenanceof bagiers
*o
tra.d.e betweenthe
MeuberStates
arising fron
tb,eappLication
of
national regulations
cagr beavoid.ed, by
virtue
of
these d.eci.sions prornided.they are
suppLernented. bymore broadLy-based. measuros
whichprelud.e
the creation
of
technical
baniersr
particuLarly
thoseresulting froq
the
Lackof
coord.inationbetween the nati onal. sta.nd.ard.s
institutes.
fle
Comnissionts p?oposalfV. ntio.g
I97g
and LpB0,the
Commission convened roeetingsof
the
seniorofficials
responsibl.ofor
standartlization
in
the various
Mernber Statesand. exanined.
the report
whichlhey
sent
to
the
head.sof
industry'd.epart-ments and. which
the
la*ter
approved..All
these
consid^sra,tions pronptedthe
Commi-ssionto
submitthe
attached' proposal-for
a
dociEion*o
the
CornrciL. Asthe
roord.fuegind.icatesrthe
proposal reLates mainLyto
*he
iud.ustrial sector,
wherethe
problensrefsrred.
to
ha;ye becorneperticularly
aoute.
[leie'is
'thena.inr
if
notthe
excLus,ive,field of
activity,
of
the
na,tiona.l atrcl &hropean stand.ard-sinstitutes;
a" different.a3rproachis
adopted i-n respe,stof
specifice'tions
conoerrriug
agricuJ-tural
prod.ucts pnd nand.atoryhealt,h,
veterinary
orplant-protectiou
regu.Lations"It
tberefore
seens pre,ferabJ-eat
presentto
excLrd.e themfnon
the
soopeof
this
d,ecirion,
whichis
based. on thefolLowing
consid.erq"ti oas cA.
IS!0RI{ASIOSthe
Comissioa nr.rst ensxrrethat
techaica.l.reg*lations
and stard'ard.e d'onot
createba.:riers. I:r
this
co:rtext,
it
ca,rr onJ"yact
in
sofar
as
thereLevant i-:r.fornatioa
ie
contrllete and avail-ableia
tirae. &r the
basis'of
at
exami:eationof
both the teeh:rical
'nd.the
eco:xo&i'caspects,
it
canpropos€
aotion
at
Ccunnr:nity 1enre1 and.subnit
conmentsto
the national
authq-rities il
aneffort
to
prevent
their
coarteuplaied. me,asr:res fromd.isnrpting
intrar-Conrn:ity
trada.
It is
also
essential"tha.t
ea,ch :MenberState
be
in-forned...National
stand.ard.s and. technioa^L requirenesris na,ygive
rise
to
ba^lflriers whicb
are
subseguentlyertrmely
ilifficrflt
to
removeif
thespecifications
in'
questiou. donct
frcm
ths
outset take
a.ccouatof
procer.rres
euployed.in
the
other l{erber
States.
ffr s
ha.s happened. on se\rera1occasions
recatly4" foreign prducers are
tdken xmawa,reeby the
intro-dr:ction
sf
a, u6npr<x.ision,
they
are
forced.to
rnake suddenalterations
to their
1rodrc.t.efo:r
elrglortto
efinctries
where.the :new req&irementappl,ies,
dt& alt
the
eoEts aad eoarEtra.iats whiehthis
elxtails,
or
to
-relingni-sh
their
qhsreof
the
-a.-l(tst.../..
(*)
oJ Ifro6 ?t-od
e4$d
rSor
s'
&:(**)
'
tbe
menbersof
CS
aad. CffiLEEare tbe
aati.ora"l staadard,sinstitutes
d
tJrs'EFfllr
&a&.er$tates, $lairr
and (EnEEse't
t
t_l
The
prior
exchangeof
infomation
is
therefore
nocessa^ryto
pre"r'ent the val'l"ouslnd.ustrlee
belng: oonfrontcdby
uno:cpcoted, ruaaaurc; orrtire pant
of,partner
countriesrHor+ shouLd.
this
inforraation be
exchanged. and what shouldthe effect
be?A
d.istinotion
shouLd be na.d.e between stand.ard.s drawn upby
stand.ard.ein-stitutes
and techrrica1 regrrlati.ons a.d.opted.by
governnents.J.. Stanlards
a)
Stanaaras a.redetailed., precise
technicaL
texts
which
ca.nnot be d.rarrn uprapid.ly,
evenby the largest
na,tionaL sta.nd.a,rd"sinstitutes.
At
the
beginning
of
every J[Qarr ea.chof
these
institutes is
awareof
its
work progranmefor
the
comingnonths,
which carr bevery
heavy sincesome
are
obliged.to
copewith
several
hrind.red., aad.occasionally
moretha.n
a
thousand., new stalrd.ard.sa
year.Ttre Cornnission proposaL
requires
d.etaiLsof
the
programnesto
be
sub-nitted.
to
the
ComrnisEion and.the
Menbe:r States.t) ttris
iaformation
rnustbe
in
a
for.ro which makesconparative
exa.rninationpossibLe
in
ord.erto
aLLow in-d.epth stud.yof
the
progranunes.TheCon-m:ission
is
considering
aslcingthe
CEIrI andthe
CENELECto
collect
this
infornation
in
a forn
whichwill facilitate
comparison. There area.dvantages
in
assigring
this role to
the
CB{or
the
CtrISffEC; sincethey are the
umbrella
organizaticinsof
the
Cornmunityts stand.ard.sinstitutes,
tbey
shou.ld.be
able
to
obtain
from a,nnongtheir
nen,bership ad.equate infor"uai;ion andthe services
of
experts
capableof
inten-preting the
progratmnes submitted..With a
mininwaof effort,
the
CSIshouLd.
be
abl-eto
d.evelop aninforroation
networkof
the
ttrpe wkichalready
exists
within
C$fET,EC wherethe
Latter
rs
or{:r.responsibilities
The
conposition
of
these
tr'robcdiesr
bow€ver,is
$uchthat
they
covera
wid.er g€ographicaL a.reatban
the
Connunity.lhey
shorrld.therefora
€s+ablishappropriate interr:ral
proqedures (w,U:.cfralready
exist to
someextent
in
CHffiLtr) by
wlr-tehonly
institutes ln
theMember
States car
hold.neetings
on questionsa,rlsing
fron
Comrrnitywork progranmes.
\*
o)
EVeryquarter,
eachnationaL
lnstitute
wiLl
sendthe
Comrnission thedraft
sta.nd,ard,sit
has prepareA, accornpaniedby.ar
assessmentof their
origina}ity
conparedwith
interna,tionaL
and. E\:ropealrstandards.
Themole
a
stdlrdard. d.eparts frominternationaLly
accepted.specifiee,tions,
the
more J.ikeJ-yit is to
creat+bamiers.
Thei:rstitute
shouLd alsosupity aLI the
appropriate
jnfolnation
of
a
generalaature
onthe
pro*
g?ess
of
its
work progra&me.d.) Hence:
-
wherea
givu
subject
is of
interest
to
ouLy a. stca.ll. numberof
ia-stitu*ions,
the l-at*er
uay decideto
d.raw upthe.ir
nationaL
reqgire-ments
joiatly;
if it
seens more .appropriateto
aLLow someinsti'tutes
to
d.raw uptheir
proposed. stand.arcLsat
nationaL leveL
aayo'ther
institutes
in-terested.
in
the
prelraration
of
suchtexts
ltay
send paseive obsenrers;- if
a par?icular subject
is
'of
i.nterest
to
the
maJority
of
the
MenberStates, they
canjos:rply
d.raw rrpe
L\ropean standard.witbln
*he
ft^a.ne-work
of
the
:*
sr
th,e brye,Ec"In
this
Gtrs€.ra
Srreoisebrief
prepared.by the
Ccnnmissionafter
consulting
the
na,iirpa.rties
ooaoerned. xd11:. haveto
be sent
to
the
Srropea.norgani-'zation;
for their part,
the national
bod.ies.wiLl
rafrain
fromtaking
action
wbile
ryorkis
jJaprogr€,6.
at
the
E\ropeanllwel.
e) In
orfler
to aonltsr
lihs oqrrsot
lapi.ementatlon of,tho
abov. :;*$tJ,snsd.principles,
the
Cornmission woul-dl-ike
to
convene period.ical)-'g;u:rd.at least
twice
&year
a
standing
cournitteethe
membersof
whichwo'dd be appointed.
by the
Member -States. The Committde would. exe.ninerepor*s.received.
fron
the
CElf arldthe
CISIE"LEC a.nd,together
wi-ih thenational
sta.ndardsorganizations,
would.attempt
to
provid.e soluticinsto
the
problen
of barriers
whichnight
be
created.by
soneof
the
pro-posed.
national
stand.ards(".g.,
preparation
of
a
Ehropean sta,nd.arcL,its
anendrnentor
the
postponementof its
introd.uction).
Although
it
doesnot
eqrect
thesediscussions
arid meetingsto
eliminate
cuFent
problens
completely and iurmed.iate3.y,the
Comnissionis
convinceC.'-
that
a
3-arge numberof d.ifficulties
ca^nbe
overcomeia this
way. The nere
fact that
informatioa
on sta.nd.ard.s whichare being
d.raftedis
availabl-e' in sufficient
tirne
to
enabLethe ind.ustries
of
the
oth€r
Member Statesto
preparefor their
introd.uction
oa.n,in itself,
eliminate
a
Largeproportion
of
the
bami'ers
whichthey
wouLd.othe:*rise
create2,
Ifational_technicgi_"gq*gtions-a) in this
casB,the
problen
is d.ifferent.
Secause thesetexts
are
generally
less detaiieC, they
ca,n be d.ralu:r up much morerapid.ly
than
sta.nd.ard.s and.their
prepa:'ation
is
less
centraLized si:rce
ei 3.arge'numberof
govern-nent
departmentsnay,
eachin its
ownparticular field.,
be responsibl-efo.*
drafting
textsoIt
wor:-ld.therefore
bed.i'fficult for
goverruf,entsto
subnit a
prograrnmerelating to this field at
the
beg'inningof
each yea,r,since
their
intentions
iaay be real"ised.in
a
period.of
rnuch l-ess thana year
in
the
absenceof
a
d.efini'te
work programme onil:e
subject"Clr
ihe
other
har.nd., becauseof thelr
1ega3.1y bind.ingnature,
tecir.nical reS3ri"ationsai'e
eYetx mor"eIikoly to
ereate
barriers
than
stairlard.s.' Tn. ponorl *ra'dqv'iru
yea:'sr
\/atic some cama TvTam'har Q*a*o^ MemberStates
'a-r"^have created. ser.ious adaptation problensfor
producersin
the
resf,
of
the
Commr:::ityby
chargingtheir
a,pp:r6oi6bls red,uctioa ovetr ssve:ral month.s
of
eryorte
to
one suohstate
in
the sectors
concerrtedadra.nce
of
the
ad,optioaof
sueh measrunes"b) In
L96g,the
lrteraber Sta,tes thenselves raised.thi.s
problen
in
theCogncil,
seekingto
a,rrive
at
a
soLution witbj..lrthe
fra.neworkof
th,e Agreenent
prorriding
for
stand.stil-l
endnc,tification
to
theConnission.
Sqlerience
gained overten
years
has showr.thatt
"
althoughthis
agreement has provedwell
vrortll
while,
it
need.sto
be
supple,raentedin
several
respects.3.
A}.TENDINENST OF THE STAI{DSMLI AMTMIilSTI'irst, it is
necessa^ry rmd.erthe
agreernentto
i::.forn
the
Meraber Statesa3d.
the Coqission
not
onJ,yof
d,raft
technicaLregulations but
a,Lsoof "any
intention
to
prepare sneha regrrlation.
Tltedrafts crrrently
subnitted.
to
the
Coromission which forwardsthen
to
the other
l,IenberStates
are
in
many cases alread.yin
a
moreor
l-e'ssd.efinitive
form, . laclciag onLya
ratifying'
signatr:re,
whichis
soa,etimes provid.ed.in
the next
f,ew da3rs,ft is
almost i.npossibl-eto
ex;ert eayinfluence
onthe
oontent-of
tbesetscts. It
wor:,ld,often
be ad:risa,bLeto
act
whil,ethey are
being prepa,red,bef6re
they
bave beearfinalized, in
ord,e:rto
lrarn
the
i{emberStates
of
any aspectof
inportalce
aE regard.s thefree
movenentof
goods.ft is
af,.soisportartt
that
the
tixe lin:its
Laid. downin
the
Lt5p Agree-roent shorrld.be
srtend.ed soas
to
apply
to all
inclustrial
prod.ucts and.not merely
to
those
ccnreredby the
General hoggamme drar^na upat
that
dateCr:ment
priority
€ureas m€lJrno
J.onger includ.esectors
which were reFg?rded as
pri.ority
areaetw.
3rearsagg.
&:riag
theseten
trrears, numerousnl
1.
2.
consid.erations have led.
the
Menber Stateeto
adopt technicaLregu-Lations as
a
result
of
greater
awarenessof
such questionsas
theenvironment, consuner
protection
andthe
:rational- useof
enerry. Sinceit is
d.ifficuLt
to
pred.ict
wherethe nain
areasof
concernwill
Lie
in
the
future,
it is
inpo::tant
to
cover aLJ" prod.uctsan$
'the
correspond.ingtechnical
regrrLations which raayaffect their
narketing.
3.
Bcperience'has shorrnthat
the
d.ead.l,ines imposed onthe
Commissionanrd.
the
Coi:ncilTespeciai.lythe
l-atter,
are
too short following
theamendments ma.de
in
1973("). It
has beendifficult f6r
the, Comnissionto
meet these d.ead.Lines, sothat'it
hasonly
na^nagedto
conplywith
then
inrareinstancesi
the
Cor:neiL,for its part,
has aever beenabLe
to
neet
the
d.eadLines whichit
hasset
for itself.
l,IhiLe
the
Connissionis
avrareof
the
MernberStatesr
d.esirefor
speed.in this
matter,
it
hopesthat
notification of
intentions
to
Legis-late
will
raakett
possibl.eto
commence workat
Comnn-:nity Leve1at
anearLy stage so
that
proposal.s -canbe
d.rar,nr up rapid.Ly. AccordingJ-y,the
Commissionis
only
proposinga Linited. extention
of
the
deadlines.v.gwslg
This
proposal
for
a
Cor:nciL Decisionwil"l
supplementthe
activities
aL-read.y r.md.ertaken
in
pursr:.&Iceof
the
resoLutions which formed*he
L959Genera,l- Prograrnne.
[t
re]-atesto
the acquisition
and d.isseminationof
greater info:mation
in
respect
of
nationaL
stand.ard.s andtechnical
regu-lations
whichare
in
the
corirseof
preparati.on and.the
establishnent
of
procedures
for
the
nanagementof this
information
in
order-to
obviatoany a.d-verse
effects
onthe
movementof
good.s.The Cornmissioa reguests
tha* the
Counci.l.r when edopt:Lugthe
proposal,
,forna1"1y
take
ncrteof
the
Cornmissiontg sta,tenent 1-aylag d,ownthe
proce-d.r:res
for its
inplementation"
ThaComission
doesnot
hanreat
its-
dis-Bosala
sufficieat
nrnber
of
sui.tabLy q'{rali*ied. s+af:lfor
the
properinpLenentati.oa
of
the
&ecis:on as regard.F conrparative stud.yof
national
stalrdard.s. As has beenpointed
out,
howevery sechsttr,ff are
avaiLa'blein
the
naticnra.l- standards bod.ies whichare
affiliateti to
tho
CHf and.the
CSrIfliEC.It
therefcre
see&s rea,eonablsto
assiry
to
then
a
cer*-taiu
nunber'.of
tasks
i:r thie field.,
a.ted.the
Coinaissj.onintends
to
no-tify
the
Cbrlncilof
its.d.eaisions
onthis
subject.
lhe
Conqission doegnot
elcpect these mq4"suresto
bring
aboutthe
immed.iateremoval
of
al.Ltech:rical
barriers
to
trad.e,
Other ba.rlriers d.erive frorn the Menrber Sta,testcertification
re'quirements and-,beinga"ctively
exa,ninedin
cooperatioa
with
the
se$io?sfficiaLsl
responsible
fo::
st€nda.rdiLation,.It is
prohabletbat
d.i.fferent
procedures wiLl- be reqrrired.to
solve
tbis'
entireLy
eeparate prablern.Moreover,
the
es*Ehlishrnent aad.the
actuaJ. manag:eneni;of
the ,infqrnoations;irsten wlr,ich
the
Conmissioawisirs
to
i-utroducer,ril.l
ru:dqrrbted.J.ycall for
ef.forts
onthe
part
of
the
Conciosion,the
Menrber Stcltes a.nd.tbe stan;
dards organiza'Lioas concern,ed.,
I{ewertheless,
the
Comralssicrris
ea&\ri$ee*that
adop*i:onbli the
Cor:nciL .of
the
atta"chedd.ecision,
i:rdiceting the
i;rtenJian.*oll
the
CounisEion,the
Counc{l andthe
Sembe,r Statesto
take aII.
poes:[b]:e n€&slr]eeto
ensxrreits
proper impl.werrt-a.tlioa, w:i,1,1eanstitute
,asigntfi.cEat
etagc
i:r
.t&e prooegsof
renovingteehnical barriere
to
t:rad,e andwill
corx$equently representa
**l'ther
etep
torard.sthe
achienmecet of,the
Cornnun:i.tyisi:rterrtal
market.i
ii
i
ir
t
l'
l
THE,C0JI'ICIL 0F TriE EIIROPEAII CC${I,IUNITIES,
Havlng rogaxd
to
the tneaty
esta,blighiag
the
f,hropean Economie Conmr:nity,edr in particular
ArticLe
2LJthereof,
Having regard
to
the
pr6posal
fron
the
Comission,Whereas
the
prohibition
of
guantitative
restrictions
onthe
movenentof
good.s and.
of
measures having aneqtrivalent
effect is
oneof
the
basicprinciples
of
the
Comrounitytltrhereas technicaL
regulations
reLating.to
prod.ucts,, whene they.impede thefree
movenent of goods LegaLLy manufactured and soLdin
a
Mernber StatezareLarvfuL
only
if
they
are
necessaryin
ord.erto
neet essential
requirements and have anobjective
in
the
public
iiterest
of
whichthey cons*itute
the main g'uara.ntee;lrlhereas
it is
essentiaLfor
the
Comuissioato
havethe
necessaryprelininary
informatioa
at its d.isposal;
whereas consequentlythe
Member States, which are requi redto faeiLitate
the
achievementof
its
task
prrrsuantto
Article
5
of
the
EECTreaty,
mustnotify
it of their
intentions
andprojects
in
the
field of
technical.
reguJ.ations;Ifhereas
alL
the
MemberStates
mustalso
.be informedof
the technical
regu-lations
contempLated.by
any one MemberState;
Irlhereas
the
Commission and.the
Menber Statesuust also
be allorvedsufficient
tine
in
whichto
propose a,,mend-nentsto
a
contempLatedmeasure/
in
ord.erto
renove
or
reduce arrybamiers
whichit
nigbt
create
to
the
freo
movenentof
good.s,Whereas
the
Commissionnust also
havethe option
of
proposingor
aclopting a Comnr:nityd.ireotive
governingthe eubject
of
the national
rneasi:reI{hereas,
in
tbe
two instaaces,set
out
above,the
MenberState,in
questionmust, pwErrant'
te
the
gpsrer€;l. obl,igationElaidl
d,own :LnArtlcle I of
th,e*rea.ty,
defer
impLernentatiogof
the
contenplated mea,surefor
a
periodsufficient to
all"<nseither/joint
exarninationof
the
proposed. a,msrdmentsths '
!rrE
sp/Iirepa"Fation
of
the
proposalfor
a,dj-rective
or
oll a
Comrunltyd.irec-,
tivel
and. whereasthe
tine limits
l"aid
d.ownin
the
llgreenent
of
the Represeatativesof
the
Governrnqrtsof
the
lfieraberSt:ltes
neeting
in
theConncil-
of
28 lfiay 7969providing
for
sta,nd.stilL andnot'ificatioa
to
the1)
Comrnission
(')r"r
a^nend,edby
the
Agreemgntof
5
March 1.973(')rhave
proved.inad.equate
in
the
cases concerned a.nd should accord.jJlglybe
extend.ed.;Whereas,
in
practice,
nationaL
techpical
sta.nd.ard.s nray havethe
sameeffects
'
as techni caL reguLations;
I,lh.ereas
it
uouLd ther:eforeAppear
necessaryto
inllorn the
Conriissiobof
draft
standard.e und.ersinilar
cond.itior:,sto
those whichapply'to
.technical
regulationsl
wheneas,
pr:rsr.rantto Article
-2L3of
the
ffiC
Treaty,
theConmission
nay, wi.thia
tbe
limits
and. und,erthe
coad"itions Laid. .d.orrrreby
.:the
Co1nci],in
aecordance withtheprovisions of
theTreaty,
coLLect anyinfor"-nation
andcarry
out
any checks. reguired.for
the
performanceof
the
tasksentrr:sted.
to it,
\
Whereas
it is
also
necessaryfor
the
MemberStates
and,their
stand.ard.sinstitutionsto
be
i.:rformed.of
stand.ards coatemplated.by
sta^nd.ard.sinsti,,,utions
in
the
oth.er Menher Statee;Whereas
it is
necesaaryto
set
upwitbin
th€
Coruoissiona
Stand.ing Connittee,the
a*brs'
of'rrhieh
will
be appaiated btrrthe
Mb,nbErState*
with
the task of
(')
or c
f;6.e 1?-6"f969r-,p-
9-2hel.ping
the
Cownissionto
examine d.ra^ftnational.
sta.ndard.s a.rrd. cooperatingin its
efforts
to
lessen a.ny a.dverseeffeote thereof
ontbe
free
movementof
goods;(
HAS ADOPTtrDfIilS
DECTSION3Article
l-The Menber
States
shall
take
aL1
measures necessaryto
ensurethat
the competentnational
standardsinstitutiong.
submittheir
standands pro-grarnmesto
the
Cornruission ennua L Lynot
Later than
31Januany.
A
List
ofrelevant
bod.iesis
annexedhereto.
The Commission may amendor
suppLement such L ist.
Article
2Sefore l-
March
eachyear,
the
Commissionshall
nrakeavailabLe
to
theI.{enber States atrd.
natioual
stand.ar4ginstitutions
the pnogrammes which havebeen commr:nicated.
to it in
a forn
rvhich makespossible
th.e comparisonof
thesevarious
prog?anmes.Articl-e
3The Member
Siates
sha1l
enslrrethat,
before
3. May eachyear,
their
sta,nd.ard.sinstitutions
inform
the
Commission whetherthey
wish- to
en joy
assoc'iatestatusi
or- to
pantic'ipate by
sending an obsenvento activities
pLanned by otherstandarCs
institutions;
or-
a
European standardto
be preparecj ona given
subjectArticle.jL
The ilenber
Siates
shall"
ensurethat their
stanrd.ardsinstitutions
inform theoil,al
:ta;rdards
institutions
andthe
Commissionof thein draft
standarcs eachc;,rarte"r,
siating:
r-) whethez'
the
standard.ln
q-uestionis
nerely the tra*rsposltion
of
anintertrational.
or
EBopean staJrdard.with
a
numberof
a.mend'mente,c)
wbetherthe
stand.ard.ia
question
is
of
nati.oaal
origin
and. represents;*
the
a,roend.ment of ,an eocistiag stand'ard';- a
[€!rI stand.ard.Ar!-relel
Withia
the.Cs@lssion,
a
Stand.iqg Conroittee sha1lbe
set
uprthe
m.enbersof
which sh.al.l.be
appoint€d.by
the
MemberStates.
fhe
Chai]man a.ndSecreta-riat
ei'
such gonrmittee shal-l be represeata,tivesof
i;he Comrission.Artiele
6fhe
Conrrn'issiwshafl
submit
a
report
sithin
the
Con*rnittee on:-
requestsf,sr
infornation
anfl. cooperation nadeby
na{f6ne.l
sianriard.siustitut
1 ons;r- whsther
a
Errrogean gtandardis
p.oseible, a.ad.if
s<1,, horrit
shorrld bearaltn up.
Ar*'iple
7-Tbe Oonni* ee
ehall neet
a,t l-eas* hri.coa
Jrea;r r,r:iththe
nati.onal
stand.a"rcsinstitutions in
o,rder,to:-
cotxsiderjointly
o.bjeotion" rora"by
Flember States,,the
Commission, stan-dardsinsti.tutions,
i-nd.i:s'i;ria1 associa.tioarsor
i-:rd.ivid.ira,J-s.to
anyd.raft
,s*€nd.Erd.'m
stanAsra rsbich has besn aitopted.;i-
plopose, wbereaptrropriate,
that
the
Comission
d.r:awup
terrnsof
ref.:r..:ce
for
tbe
tr}rrr$os€sof
estabLis'hing a European st.aadard.?
)
I
i
d
!l
I
{
{
Article
8Tha l{anher Ftr,tos
rho1l
trtrcor11 approprletf
m€alwaEtp
enlure
thet tholr
-
instjtutiong
stand.ard.d""'/
-
undertakenot
to
drawup
or
introd.ucenationaL
stand.ard-son
a
subjeot
coveredby
termsof reference.
-This undertaking shaLL Lapse unLess aE\rropeanr stand.ard has been introd.uced
within six
nonthsof
the
final
tine-table
d'ate
Laid downin
the tenmsof reference,
Thi s timetabLe may be extendedby
agreement betweenthe
parties
concernedmlting in
the
Co.mmittee'The Menber
States
shaLL .forr^rard.to
the
Comnission:-
a
brief
communicationnotifying
their
intention
of
drawing up technicaLreguJ-ationsrelating
to
certain ind'ustrial
productst
.'
-
aLLdnaft
technicaL
neguLations rel.ating
to
ind'ustrial
prod'ucts,stating
the essentiaL requi rements which have Led themto
contempLate such measures.The Con:nission
shalI inforn
the other
MenberStates
of
the
notifications
of
intent
and.d.raft
regUlations
which haVe been forr'rarfledto it
It
may al"so subnr:itthen
to
the
Cornmitteefor
an.
opinion'.Article
1O1.
The Memberstates
shall
postpone the adoptionof
draft
technical regulations
for
six
months fromthe
d.ateof
their.communications as providedfor
in
AnticLe 9if
the
Corarrissionor
another Mernber.State d.el-iversa
reasoned' opinionwithin
two monthsof
that
date
to
the
effect that
the
contenplated' measureshould
be
anended.ia
ord.erto
renoveor
reduce a^lxybarriers
whichit
rnight [image:16.594.44.582.19.583.2]of
tlra
'e6$mu$ioa*;ionprgvided fgr
in
ArtisLe
9sths
gsifrralssionnatif,ies
i-bs
intention
to
proposeor
ad.opta d.ireciive
onthe
subject.
Articl,e
11This
Decisionis
addressedto
the
l4ember States.)
t
appended
to
the
CounciL DecisionLey'ing down
a
FroeEdurcfor
tha provlrlon
of
{nforrnatlon in
the fieLd
of
technicaL standards*rd
reguLationst
,',
a
The Commi ss i on,-
Being awareof
the
needto
improvethe
pnovision
of
information
with'inthe
Community concern'ingthe
preparation
andfjnaL
estabLishmentof
standards reLating 'to.
industriaL
products drawn upby
the
standardsinstitutions
of
the
Member States;-
Having rggardto
the
CounciL DecisionreLating
to
technicaL
standards andreguLations,
which assignsit
a
numberof
tasks
in
th'is
fieLd;
-
t^Jhereasit
cannot,
at
present,
provide
the
necessaryquaL'ified
staff
from
within
its
own departmentsto
impLement such Decision;-
Whereas aLLthe standards'institutions
of
the
MemberStates
aremembens
of
the
Eunopean Committeefor
Standardization
(CEN) and theEunopean ELectrotechnicaL
Standardization
Committee (CENELEC); wheneasthose
committeesare
empoweredto
rnakea
comparison andcriticaL
examination
of
texts
reLating
to
standards,hereby dec Lares:
-
Aspart of
the
dut'ies
ass'ignedto it
by
the
Counci L Decision ontechnicaL
standards andreguLations,
the
Commissionintends
toconcLude
a
subcontractwith the
CEN andthe
CENELEC.Such
contract
wi L Lorovide
inten aLia
for:
.
the
transmissionto
theseinstitutions of the
information
pnovidedfor in
ArticLe
1
of
the
Decis'ionin
cases where such informationin
whichthey
canbe
eompared, ae provided.f,or
in
Artiele
2;..
the provision
of
infOrnation
f
the
CSI andthe
CflWLEC concerningrequests nsd"e
by the
Menler$tates
prrrsuant'to
ArtfcLe
3;
$
-4 aL^ .:-3,^-^&: *
..
the
commrm.ica.tionto
the
CSI andthe
CISIffECof
the inf'omation
suppl-ied.
t
by the
Me,nberStates
pr:rsuantto
ArticLe
{
trhere surchinfornation
has-aot
been suppl.iedd.irectlY;
.
th9preparation
by the
CE'I and.the
CsfH,ECof
the report
provid.ed.for
in
Artioi-e
6;.
theparticipation by the
CB{ andthe
CmfU.ECi:r
the
activities of
tb.eConnuittee
referred,
to in Article
5 whenthe
Latter
discusses thematters
referred.
to
in Article f;
.
the prepara,tionhy tbe
CBfor
th.e C${ELECof
the
&ropenrr sta-nd.ard.sto
be d'rawnup
onthe
basisof
the
termsof
reference
ref'erred'to in
Articl-e ?'
-
tlre
Conmissionr*il-l
exs,nir.e whetherit is
necessary t;o a.mendor
suppl.enenttbe contract
d,ramr upwith
the
C-Hf a.nd.the
CInELmin
the
f.igbt
of
the
re*
List of
the national
standar6s,institutions
of
the
Member ,Statesof,the
E\.ropean Oonununities
AFI{OR (nrance)
Association
F?angaisede
lrtorm:lj5s!!rn
tlor:r
E\rrope-
Cdiex 7F
-
92080 PARIS I.A DEFEIISEBEI (Itrlited
Kbqdon) Eitish
StandardsInstitut^ion
2,
ParkStreet
@
-
IXNDON WlA 2BSDS
(Danturk)
Dansk Standardiseringsradeurehdjrcj
12Postboks 77
DK
-
29OO HELLERUP 12DIN
(Deutschtard)
DeutschesInstitut fiir
lrlonrurg e.V.,
)
Brrggrafenstrasse
4-10Postfach 1107
D
-
1OOO BERLIN 30I
IBN/BIN
.. 'Institut
Belge de l.Jrrrnalisation(BeLgique'SeLgib)
Eelgisch
Instituut
voor
t'Iormalisatie29.. avenue de
la
Brabanqonne (laan) B-
1O4O BRIIXELLES./
BRUSSELIIRS
(IrefanC)
Institute
for
Industrial.Research
and StandardsBallynr:n Road
EI
-
UJBLTN 9tC,lI
(Nlederlard)
lrtrederlardstlormalisatie-Institrart
Folakureg
5
-
Postbirs 5810'
,
Nt
-
2280 Flv RrJswr;K zHI.[.II
(Italia)
frite
NazionaleItatiano
di
t.trificazione
Pj.ag,za ArmandoDiaz
2.
r-20123
},11lA1r0I
'1b
Brussels, 5 April L980
PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION
laying down a procedure for the provision of information
in the field of TECHNICAL STANDARDS and REGULATIONS
FINANCIAL RECORD
(Presented by the Commission to the Council)
t-FINANCIAL RECORD
foR
rHE'proposaL
for
a
Co_uncfLDecision
Laying downa
procedurefor
the
provision
of
information
in
the
fieLd
of
technicaI
standards andregulations,
Contract
Hith
CEN .(European. Committeefor
Standardization)
and CENELEC(European Committee
for
ELect'ro-technicaLStandardization)
for
theassignmentofcertainyorkofatechnicaL.nature
BACKGROUND
-
0n 25 August1980,
the
Commfssionof
the
European Communitiessent
to
theCounc'iL
a prop ;aL
for
a,decision
Layingdorn
a
procedurefor
the
provision
-
By
Letter
of
19 Seltember 1980rthePresident
of
the
CounciI
consulted'
Parl"iament onthi
s
proposa[.-
Duringits
par\-session
of
February 1981, Partiament adopteda
Resotutionin
whichit
stt'essedthe
vatue.of
the
project
pLannedby the
Commissionin
pleventing'the creation
of
net.lbarri"ri to
irade
and'approved the'
assignmentof
certain tasks
invoLvedin
the
information
procedureto
the
European Committeefor
Standardization
(CEN) andto
the
European.
Committeefor
Etectro-technicaI
Standardization
(cENELEC)in
accordancerri
th
the
Commi ssi on ts
ui shes .In
the
sameResotution,
moreoven parLiament:l'
drev
attention
to
ihe
fact
that
the
CommiSsion'propbsal doesnot
mention ]the costs involved
in this
,information'procedure andinvited
the
Commis-sion.to
inform
Partiamentof
the extent
to
uhich
the costs
wiil"
bedefrayed from
the
Communit'y Budget andto"present
the
re[evant
finan'ciijL'record
as
soon aspossibte.
In
compLianceHith
this
request, the
Cornmissi.onheretJith
foruards
.the financ,iaLrecord
to
the
European pqrLiament.Nevertheless,
it
feets
boundto
repeat
the
commentsit
addressedto
Partiament
at
the time
of
adoption
of
the
above-mentionedReso[ution
:at
the
present stage
in
the,dfscussions
this
financiaL
record
can,be regardedonty
as
a
first estimate.
'Atthough
the
Comm'issionii
resolved
to
maintain
its
position
andto
askthe
Councitto
adoptthe
proposeddecision,
it
cannotbe
ru[ed out that
the
suggested procedureriLL
be amendedin
the
courseof
discussion
ifi
the
Councit.
uith
C,Et{ ain4 tE$tiLgC, utto haveindicst€d
their
support
for
the
iupfea'ff
t,ition
of
thie
ProPoial'.llieyerthe{ess,
it
seefistiicety
that
the order
of
oaEnitudeof
the
coststo
be defravedfroa
the foonunity
budgetri
Lt
bethat
indicqted
iqr
tfte;;#r;i'
;;;r;" ,.il1"i,-*t";;r;;t;on-asoBteo
tos€ther. uith its
piopbsat;
;;;;i;-";;;;
t". r*t ;d;i;iilng
it
eanliel'*as
th€
cofmissiofl's
cautistllith
reEardto its
oro
assess*dnt't
i
I
'*
CounciL
Decision
laying
downa
procedurefor
the
provision
in
the fieLd
of
teehnicaL gtandards andregutations.
Proposal
for
aof
informationContract
Hith
CEN (European Committeefor
(European Committee
for
ELectro:technicatassignment
of
certain york
of
a
technicaLStandardi
zation)
and CE!.IELECStandardization)
for
thenature
1.
Budget headings cofrcerned:Art i c Le .374
:
Teqhni caI
rutesin
pespectof industiiat
p'roducts.E3i+=:
Decision
to
be adoptedby
the
CounciL Laying downa'procedure
for
the prdvision
of
information
in
the
fietd of
technicaI
standardsand ,r€gutat
ions'.
:GeneraL
objective
of
the project
To
prevent
technic'at.barriers
to.
trade
fromarising
by providing
advance
information
on work undertakenor
ptannedin
the Member
lStates!
Spg.q i f i c.'object i..ves :
Under Commi'ssion
supervisi'on,
tb
provide
CEN.and CENELECr"iith
some"
of.the
resourcesrequired
for
coLLectlng and comparinginformation
on
the technicaI
standardsbeing
preparedin
the various
Member States,for
reporting
onthe
subjeit
and, ,urhere necessary and whenso
instruc-ted
by
the
Commissionrforpreparing
Europeantechnica[.
standards,Justif,icatiqn
of
the
project ,
;As
the
Commissionpointed
out
in
the declargtion
which was appendedto*-the
proposal
for
a decision
andof
whichit
asked'the Councit
to
takenote;
it is
not
in
a
position
to
provide
from
withinits
own departmentthe
necessaryquatifibd
staff to
imp.lementthe
technicdL
part
of
theproject
envisaged.0n
the other
hand, CEN and CENELEC,to
which thestandardization
institutions
of
the
MemberStates are
affi[iated,
do have
the
necessaryquatified
staff.
-Financiat
impLications
of
the
project
in
respect
of
expenditure:This
uitt
bea
fohg:term,project
commeneingin
1981or
possibty
1982(the
date
wiLL depend onthat,of
the
adoption
by the
counciL-of
theproposed
decision).
a-. 3. 4. 5. ir : -1 f
of
th'i.s ft€t{Broiect
:
therofk€d
out
in
consijttrt{on
CENELEC.
'detai
.rlitr
ts of
+h6 ptocedu'r:e .haveyet
to
:b€
thc'lrlambcr$tates rnd
Hit'h
Cg'il andconcerned,
if
the
CounciLdecision
is
adoptedat
a portion
of
the
appropqiations
envisagedvitt
beft
ts
rhich
have ta'kenHorever, on
the basis
of
the pretininary'contac
;i;;-; in.
tot"1
appnqpriationp
requi,redfsr
the
Launchi'ngof
this
nev
project
can be estimatedas
fo[tous
:
'
,.
1981-
100 000 EUA* r 198?,-
110 000 EUA 1985-
122 000 EUAFo,ri
the
subsequent y.eaissince
it is
intended.that
this
proje.ct
be.r"ntinrear
the
ndedtoi
any amendnentsuitt
hqyeto
bejudged
in
thetight of
the
results
obtained.{h
i ; ii.'l
&,,,t'
5.1.
tsethodbf
ca Icu,Lat i on:These
appropriations
represent onLya.parl.
of.the
totat
cssts
t'hatCEft and CE$IELEC
riLt
incur
in
peq"formingthe
technical,
tasks";;";;;J,;;;
;y
ir,'
co*",.*t:u.t'":_:::.:
:]':
^:::":::""
t-the-instattation'ofatermina[providingaLinkriththe
'Euronet and
Isonet (Information
NetuqrkoJ
the
InternationaL
Standan'dization Organi
zation)
net'uprksl-
the
recruitm€nt
of
th'e necessaryadditionaL
staff
(currentl-y
estimated
"i
four
persons)rtwoof
uhom must be 'univerrSitygr'adqates
to
coILect,
cohpare andpresent
the-informati,on received f,romthe
.various standardizatien bedigs/
to
ta:ke.p€rt
in
meetings arrangedby
the
Commission andto
superviseit"
execution
5y 'CEN a.tC CettelECof
the
tasks
a,ssiEned 'to. thembythecommjssion,.inBarticuLarthoseneLqtingtothe.pre5iara-*lgn
of
Europeanstandards.
-above, honever,
these
figures
mustbe
regarded as*Jl;":"lulil
esti,mare.:
they wirL lrltimatery
dependon
decisions cEncerningthe
procedureto'be
apptied-.eE|l anrJ cENEL€c
rhich
are
directLy'f
inanced- and contr:sLLed bythe
standardization
ti,odiesof
the
FlemberStates"
have dectaredtheir
readinessto
participate
in
the
effort
necessaryto
€xe-cute
the project
,proposedby
the
eommigsion' uhosecontribution
shoutdin
principLe
cover snLy part(apppo.x,tQU)of
the
t,ot€texpenditur,e
to
belinqurred
by
C€N and {E}I€L€Cfor this
prrrpose.('l)
Asfar
as
:1981is
a
Latedate^
onty5"e.
Add'itionaI
staff
reguired'
It is
not
thought
at
this'
stegethdt,arly. additionaL
Commissionstaff
wiIL
be needed" TheofficiaLs
concernedwith
the
removaL'of
technicaLbarriers
to
trade
in
indrAtr:iaL products
shouLd bein
a position
to
copewith
this
neutask,
the very
existenceof
which shor.iLdretieve
themof
the
necessity
to
undertake dd hoc workreLating
to
the e[imination
of
suchbarriers,
sineethe
ain
of
the
proi.e.ctis
prrecisely
to
prevent
it
from
arising,
6.
Typeof
control
.to
beapp[ied
:Supervision
wiLI
beexercised
by
the
competent departmentsof
Commission
assisted
uherethe
evaLuationof
the quaLity
andLeveL
of
servicbs
is
concernedr.bythe
Committeeset
upby
the thetechni cei L
Counci L
F.', t ''
+rlt'
lif
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under