Low Voltage CE

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (2), Whereas: (1) Council Directive 73/23/EEC of 19 February 1973 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (3) has been substantially amended (4). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified. (2) The provisions in force in the Member States designed to ensure safety in the use of electrical equipment used within certain voltage limits may differ, thus impeding trade. (3) In certain Member States in respect of certain electrical equipment, the safety legislation takes the form of preventive and repressive measures by means of binding provisions. (4) In other Member States in order to achieve the same objective, the safety legislation provides for reference to technical standards laid down by Standards Bodies. Such a system offers the advantage of rapid adjustment to technical progress without neglecting safety requirements. (5) Certain Member States carry out administrative operations to approve standards. Such approval neither affects the technical content of the standards in any way nor limits their conditions of use. Such approval cannot therefore alter the effects, from a Community point of view, of harmonised and published standards. (6) Within the Community, the free movement of electrical equipment should follow when this equipment complies with certain safety requirements recognised in all Member States. Without prejudice to any other form of proof, the proof of compliance with these requirements may be established by reference to harmonised standards which incorporate these conditions. These harmonised standards should be established by common agreement by bodies to be notified by each Member State to the other Member States and to the Commission and should be publicised as widely as possible. Such harmonisation should, for the purposes of trade, eliminate the inconveniences resulting from differences between national standards. (7) Without prejudice to any other form of proof, the compliance of electrical equipment with the harmonised standards may be presumed from the affixing or issue of marks or certificates by the competent organisations or, in the absence thereof, from a manufacturer's declaration of compliance. In order to facilitate the removal of barriers to trade, the Member States should recognise such marks or certificates or such declaration as elements of proof. With this end in view, the said marks or certificates should be publicised in particular by their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. (8) As a transitional measure, the free movement of electrical equipment for which harmonised standards do not yet exist may be achieved by applying the safety provisions or standards already laid down by other international bodies or by one of the bodies which establish harmonised standards. (9) It is possible that electrical equipment may be placed in free circulation even though it does not comply with the safety requirements, and it is therefore desirable to lay down suitable provisions to minimise this danger. (10) Council Decision 93/465/EEC (5) establishes the modules for the various phases of the conformity assessment procedures which are intended to be used in the technical harmonisation Directives. (11) The choice of procedures should not lead to a lowering of safety standards of electrical equipment, which have already been established throughout the Community. (12) 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 V, Part B,