2005/323/EC: Commission Decision of 21 April 2005 on the safety requirements to be met by the European standards for floating leisure articles for use on or in the water pursuant to Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document number C(2005) 1209) (Text with EEA relevance)

• Published date: 23 April 2005
• Subject Matter: Marché intérieur - Principes,protection des consommateurs,Mercato interno - Principi,tutela dei consumatori,Mercado interior - Principios,protección del consumidor
• Official Gazette Publication: Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 104, 23 avril 2005,Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 104, 23 aprile 2005,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 104, 23 de abril de 2005

23.4.2005 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 104/39

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COMMISSION DECISION

of 21 April 2005

on the safety requirements to be met by the European standards for floating leisure articles for use on or in the water pursuant to Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

(notified under document number C(2005) 1209)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2005/323/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety (1), and in particular Article 4(1)(a),

Whereas:

(1) Directive 2001/95/EC lays down an obligation for producers to place only safe products on the market.

(2) According to that Directive a product is to be presumed safe as far as the risks and risk categories covered by relevant national standards are concerned when it conforms to voluntary national standards transposing European standards.

(3) According to Directive 2001/95/EC, European standards should be established by European standardisation bodies. Such standards should ensure that products satisfy the general safety requirement of the Directive.

(4) The Member States and the Commission, in close cooperation with the European standardisation bodies and after consultation of stakeholders, have identified floating leisure articles for use on or in the water as a group of products for which European standards should be drawn up on the basis of a mandate to be given by the Commission pursuant to Directive 2001/95/EC. The floating leisure articles identified exclude those floating articles covered by Council Directive 88/378/EEC (2) concerning the safety of toys, by Council Directive 89/686/EEC (3) relating to personal protective equipment and by Directive 94/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) relating to recreational craft.

(5) Safety requirements for those products should be drawn up in the light of those consultations and discussions with Member States authorities.

(6) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee set up under Directive 2001/95/EC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Products and product definition

This Decision applies to the floating leisure articles for use on or in the water set out in Part I of the Annex, which are not covered by any product-specific EU legislation. In particular, floating leisure articles covered by Directive 88/378/EEC, by Directive 89/686/EEC and by Directive 94/25/EC are excluded from this Decision.

Article 2

Safety requirements

The safety requirements for the products referred to in Article 1 are set out in Part II of the Annex.

Article 3

Addressees

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 21 April 2005.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU

Member of the Commission

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(1) OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4.

(2) OJ L 187, 16.7.1988, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 93/68/EEC (OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1).

(3) OJ L 399, 30.12.1989, p. 18. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(4) OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 15. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003.

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ANNEX

Safety requirements for floating leisure products for use on or in the water

PART I

Product definition

The floating articles covered by this Decision are leisure articles for use on or in the water whose floatation is ensured by buoyancy through inflation or inherent buoyant materials. These articles are not covered by any product-specific EU legislation, which are used on and in the water for leisure activities such as playing in the water, water sports, boating, diving and learning to swim, beyond the most typical and traditional products in that sector. Some of those products have been established on the European market for years whereas others are new, with new products appearing constantly.

Most of these products are in part modified traditional...