Directive 1987/404 - Harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to simple pressure vessels - Main contents

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Council Directive 87/404/EEC of 25 June 1987 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to simple pressure vessels

Official Journal L 220 , 08/08/1987 P. 0048 - 0059

Finnish special edition: Chapter 13 Volume 16 P. 0200

Swedish special edition: Chapter 13 Volume 16 P. 0200

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 25 June 1987 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to simple pressure vessels (87/404/EEC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),

Whereas Member states have the responsibility of ensuring the safety on their territory of persons, domestic animals and property with regard to the hazards resulting from the leakage or bursting of simple pressure vessels;

Whereas, in each Member State, mandatory provisions define in particular the safety level required of simple pressure vessels by specifying design and operating characteristics, conditions of installation and use and inspection procedures before and after placing on the market; whereas these mandatory provisions do not necessarily lead to different safety levels from one Member State to another but do, by their disparity, hinder trade within the Community;

Whereas the national provisions ensuring such safety must be harmonized in order to guarantee the free movement of simple pressure vessels without lowering existing and justified levels of protection in the Member States;

Whereas Community legislation as it stands at present provides that, notwithstanding one of the fundamental rules of the Community, namely the free movement of goods, barriers to intra-Community movement resulting from disparities in national laws on the marketing of products have to be accepted in so far as those provisions may be recognized as necessary to satisfy essential requirements; whereas the harmonization of laws in the present case must therefore be confined to those provisions needed to satisfy the essential safety requirements for simple pressure vessels; whereas, because they are essential, these requirements must replace the corresponding national provisions;

Whereas this Directive therefore contains only mandatory and essential requirements; whereas, to facilitate proof of conformity with the essential requirements, it is necessary to have harmonized standards at European level in particular as to the design, operation and installation of simple pressure vessels so that products complying with them may be assumed to conform to the safety requirements; whereas these standards harmonized at European level are drawn up by private bodies and must remain non-mandatory texts; whereas for that purpose the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) are recognized as the competent bodies for the adoption of harmonized standards in accordance with the general guidelines for cooperation between the Commission and those two bodies signed on 13 N°vember 1984; whereas, for the purposes of this Directive, a harmonized standard is a technical specification (European standard or harmonization document) adopted by one or both of those bodies upon a remit from the Commission in Accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations(4) and the abovementioned general guidelines;

Whereas a check on compliance with the relevant technical requirements is necessary to provide effective protection for users and third parties; whereas the existing inspection procedures differ from one Member State to another;...

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