The Competitiveness and Communications Ministry, through the Consumer and Industrial Goods Directorate of the Malta Standards Authority, has launched a consultation document on a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles.
The proposed Directive is intended to determine the conditions for placing and using pyrotechnic products on the EU market by harmonising the essential requirements. The objective will be to introduce minimum safety requirements to protect the general public and professionals while eliminating or avoiding barriers to trade and preventing distortion of competition due to divergent regulatory systems. The focus is therefore on protecting users while improving the conditions for the functioning of the internal market.
For the purposes of this directive:
‘Pyrotechnic article’ means any article containing substances or a mixture of substances designed to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke or a combination of such effects through self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for both entertainment and other purposes;
‘Placing on the market’ means the first making available on the community market of an individual product intended for end use, with a view to distribution and/or use, whether in return of payment or free of charge;
‘Firework’ means pyrotechnic article for entertainment;
‘Automotive pyrotechnic article’ means articles that contain pyrotechnic substances used to activate safety devices or other devices in motor vehicles.
‘Manufacturer’ means the natural or legal person who designs and/or manufactures a product covered by this directive or who has such a product designed and manufactured, with a view to its placing on the market or for his own professional or private use, under his own name or trademark; or places a product covered by this directive on the market under his own name or trademark.
Since member states are being obliged to “take all appropriate measures to ensure that pyrotechnic articles which fall within the scope of the present directive may be placed on the market only if they comply with the obligations of this directive, they bear the CE marking, and they comply with the obligations relating to the conformity assessment�, this means that, unless the proposal is adopted during the forthcoming discussions in Council, also our traditional ‘festa’ fireworks need to be manufactured according to specific harmonised EN standards, must follow prescribed conformity assessment procedures with the involvement of a Notified Body and CE marked, prior to their placing on the market.
For this reason, Malta, through its Permanent Representation in Brussels, has already made specific submissions to the European Commission in May 2005 to clarify and rectify this matter.
At national level, during the past weeks, the MCMP has already had very fruitful discussions with the Explosives Committee and the Committee of the Ghaqda Piroteknika Maltija.
At EU level, the impacts of this technical harmonization approach on the main pyrotechnic sectors of fireworks and automotive occupant restraint systems is expected to be positive. In the case of fireworks, it is expected to lead to a considerable reduction in costs as a single CE assessment of conformity will replace up to 25 parallel national approval procedures. The main benefits are therefore: reduced burdens on enterprises through a harmonised approval system for the placing of pyrotechnic articles on the market along with the creation of a single market that could be accessed by Maltese economic operators as well, and a high level of protection to consumers.
The consultation closes on 15 March.
The proposed Directive is intended to determine the conditions for placing and using pyrotechnic products on the EU market by harmonising the essential requirements. The objective will be to introduce minimum safety requirements to protect the general public and professionals while eliminating or avoiding barriers to trade and preventing distortion of competition due to divergent regulatory systems. The focus is therefore on protecting users while improving the conditions for the functioning of the internal market.
For the purposes of this directive:
‘Pyrotechnic article’ means any article containing substances or a mixture of substances designed to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke or a combination of such effects through self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for both entertainment and other purposes;
‘Placing on the market’ means the first making available on the community market of an individual product intended for end use, with a view to distribution and/or use, whether in return of payment or free of charge;
‘Firework’ means pyrotechnic article for entertainment;
‘Automotive pyrotechnic article’ means articles that contain pyrotechnic substances used to activate safety devices or other devices in motor vehicles.
‘Manufacturer’ means the natural or legal person who designs and/or manufactures a product covered by this directive or who has such a product designed and manufactured, with a view to its placing on the market or for his own professional or private use, under his own name or trademark; or places a product covered by this directive on the market under his own name or trademark.
Since member states are being obliged to “take all appropriate measures to ensure that pyrotechnic articles which fall within the scope of the present directive may be placed on the market only if they comply with the obligations of this directive, they bear the CE marking, and they comply with the obligations relating to the conformity assessment�, this means that, unless the proposal is adopted during the forthcoming discussions in Council, also our traditional ‘festa’ fireworks need to be manufactured according to specific harmonised EN standards, must follow prescribed conformity assessment procedures with the involvement of a Notified Body and CE marked, prior to their placing on the market.
For this reason, Malta, through its Permanent Representation in Brussels, has already made specific submissions to the European Commission in May 2005 to clarify and rectify this matter.
At national level, during the past weeks, the MCMP has already had very fruitful discussions with the Explosives Committee and the Committee of the Ghaqda Piroteknika Maltija.
At EU level, the impacts of this technical harmonization approach on the main pyrotechnic sectors of fireworks and automotive occupant restraint systems is expected to be positive. In the case of fireworks, it is expected to lead to a considerable reduction in costs as a single CE assessment of conformity will replace up to 25 parallel national approval procedures. The main benefits are therefore: reduced burdens on enterprises through a harmonised approval system for the placing of pyrotechnic articles on the market along with the creation of a single market that could be accessed by Maltese economic operators as well, and a high level of protection to consumers.
The consultation closes on 15 March.