Cableways Impact Assessment Study - Final Report - saferail.nl

IA Study Concerning the Revision of the Cableways Directive
5.3.5 Problem Area E: Alignment with the NLF: Obligations of Economic Operators
Summary of the Aims of Intervention and of the Relevant Policy Options
The Cableways Directive is to be aligned with the obligations of economic operators
given in the NLF. To this end, the following policy options are considered:
Option E2: Including a description of requirements on economic operators as
given in Articles R2 to R7 of the NLF Decision (Decision 768/2008/EC) into the
Application Guide; and
Option E3: Amending the Cableways Directive in accordance with Articles R2 to
R7 of the NLF Decision.
Articles R2 to R7 of the NLF Decision define specific obligations of manufacturers,
importers, authorised representatives and distributors. These NLF provisions are
reviewed and compared with the Cableways Directive in Annex II to this report. By
means of summary, the main difference between the Cableways Directive and the
NLF appears to be that the Cableways Directive currently does not provide specific
guidance with regards to the roles and responsibilities of importers and distributors.
The Cableways Directive states that where “obligations are not fulfilled by the
manufacturer, they are to be fulfilled by the company that places the product on the
market”, thus effectively obliging importers and distributors to ensure compliance
with the relevant requirements where this is not done by the manufacturer or its
authorised representative. The NLF thus provides greater transparency as regards
obligations of importers and distributors (as well as other economic operators) making
it more likely that all economic operators are aware of their specific responsibilities.
There are specific paragraphs within Articles R2 to R7 of the NLF Decision which
can be considered as being significantly different to the current cableways framework
but for which exemption could be considered for the cableways sector. For example,
Article R2, Paragraph 4, states that “…manufacturers shall, to protect the health and
safety of consumers, carry out sample testing of marketed products”. Although this
could be seen as being different to the existing Directive, it is not feasible for the
cableways sector. Consequently, an exemption could be considered. Exemption from
Paragraph 6 of Article R4 (which requires importers to conduct sample testing) may
also be useful for importers for the same reasons.
This is also the case in Paragraph 7 of Article R2 and Paragraph 4 of Article R4 which
require manufacturers and importers to “…ensure that the product is accompanied by
instructions and safety information in a language which can be easily understood by
the consumers and other end-users”. Such a requirement may go beyond the
Cableways Directive; however, an exemption could be considered as instructions and
safety information are most often required by installers and operators within the
cableways sector and rarely (if ever) by consumers.
Additional Information on the Significance of the Problem to be Addressed
The key questions with regard to the impacts of Options E2 and E3 are as follows:
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