Page 5 - CE Marking

PART 1 CE-Marking
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how that is done, as long as their national legislation is in line with the
requirements of the directives. Measures that are more stringent than
those outlined in the directives are not allowed.
The CE- mark does set minimum conditions for product safety, but it is
not a safety or quality mark in the strict sense of the word. Rather, CE-
marking can be seen as product passport: a CE-marked product may
enter all EU countries. This is the most obvious benefit of CE-marking:
it makes free movement of products possible in all the markets of the
European Economic Area (EEA), which consists of all EU and EFTA
member states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Other advantages
are that CE-marked products can be considered safe for end users and
that the mark reduces the space for possible damage claims.
However, CE-marking is not only about advantages. Many exporters,
especially those in developing countries, struggle with finding the right
road to CE-marking. The first challenge is to find proper information
as to which steps to take and how to interpret the given information.
General information about the various directives is available, but
translating the requirements into action is another matter. To make
matters worse many products are dealt with in more than one directive.
This means that a product has to be manufactured in accordance with
all applicable requirements as well as undergo all testing procedures –
according to all the applicable directives. Some directives refer directly
to the application of other directives. For instance, the directive relating
to lifts refers to the directive relating to machinery. But in some directives
there is no reference whatsoever, though other directives do apply.
European standards bodies have the task of drawing up technical
standards that point the way to complying with the EU obligations. But
the reality is not quite so simple. Amanufacturer is free to choose which
Not Just Advantages
Which Standards