Is Mandatory CE Marking a Step Nearer?

The Council of the European Union has published the latest version of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). This document sets out how the performance of construction products can be declared in a uniform way by all EU member states. CE marking is intended to show customers and specifiers how similar products compare through a declaration of their performance made against uniform tests and methods of classification. The levels of performance required in each EU member state will be controlled locally. The Council is not attempting to control Building Standards or Regulations centrally. The assessment of construction products will be made in accordance with harmonized European Standards, where they exist, and European Technical Specifications where there is not an existing Standard.  There will be particular rules applying to small and medium organizations, which will reduce the burden of the product assessments for these companies. One issue that has been raised by the fenestration industry in the UK and for which we require clarification, is the issue of the CPR applying to products that are ‘placed on the market’ in the EU.  There is a view that products that are made to an order and supplied directly to the customer have not been ‘placed on the market’ and so will not require to be CE marked.  The BWF will look to get clarification on this point as it will affect many of our Members. It is still considered likely that CE marking, for those products where it will apply, will become mandatory in about three years time. This will coincide with another round of amendments to the Building Regulations. To avoid Members being hit with a ‘Double Whammy’ of legislation we will keep members informed of the progress towards CE marking and the developments of any consultation procedures for the changes to the Building Regulations.