(2)

In order for a construction product to be placed on the market, the manufacturer is obliged to draw a declaration of performance for such product. The manufacturer assumes the responsibility for the conformity of the product with such declared performance. Certain exemptions to this obligation are provided .

(2)

In order for a construction product covered by a harmonised technical specification to be placed on the market, the manufacturer is obliged to draw up a declaration of performance for such product. The manufacturer assumes the responsibility for the conformity of the product with such declared performance. Certain products should be exempted from this obligation , such as individually manufactured or custom-made products .

(4)

It is necessary to establish well-functioning information flows, including via electronic means, to ensure that coherent and transparent information about construction products performances is available along the supply chain. This is expected to increase transparency and to improve efficiency in terms of information transfer. Ensuring digital access to comprehensive information about construction products would contribute to the digitalisation of the construction sector altogether, making the framework fit for the digital age. Access to reliable and durable information would also mean that economic operators and other actors do not contribute to each other’s non-compliance.

(4)

It is necessary to establish well-functioning information flows, including via electronic means and in a machine-readable format , to ensure that coherent and transparent information about construction products performances is available along the supply chain. This is expected to increase transparency and to improve efficiency in terms of information transfer. Ensuring digital access to comprehensive information about construction products would contribute to the digitalisation of the construction sector altogether, making the framework fit for the digital age. Access to reliable and durable information would also mean that economic operators and other actors do not contribute to each other’s non-compliance.

(7)

Pursuing the environmental goals, including the fight against climate change, makes it necessary to establish new environmental obligations and to lay the ground for the development and the application of an assessment method for the calculation of the environmental sustainability of construction products. For the same reason, it is necessary to extend the range of regulated economic operators, since distributors, suppliers and manufacturers all have a role to play in the calculation of the environmental sustainability in the construction sector. That range should therefore be extended into two directions, downstream from the distributors to the economic operators preparing re-use and remanufacturing of construction products and upstream from the manufacturer over the suppliers of intermediate products and/or raw materials. Moreover, certain operators coming into play in the context of dismantling used products or other parts of construction works or remanufacturing and re-use thereof need to contribute to a safe second life of construction products.

(7)

Pursuing environmental goals, including the fight against climate change and the transition towards a circular economy , makes it necessary to establish , without increasing disproportionately bureaucracy and costs for economic operators, especially for SMEs, new environmental obligations and develop and apply an assessment method for the calculation of the environmental sustainability of construction products based on EN 15804 and widely used Environmental Product Declarations (‘EPDs’) by construction product manufacturers. This is essential to ensure the correct calculation of the environmental impact at the building level according to EN 15978 . For the same reason, it is necessary to extend the range of regulated economic operators, since distributors, suppliers and manufacturers all have a role to play in the calculation of the environmental sustainability in the construction sector. That range should therefore be extended into two directions, downstream from the distributors to the economic operators preparing re-use and remanufacturing of construction products and upstream from the manufacturer over the suppliers of intermediate products and/or raw materials. Moreover, certain operators coming into play in the context of dismantling used products or other parts of construction works or remanufacturing and re-use thereof need to contribute to a safe second life of construction products.

(8)

To ensure safety and functionality of construction products and, by extension, of construction works , it is necessary to avoid that items that are not intended by their manufacturers to be construction products are placed on the market as construction products. Importers, distributors and other downstream economic operators should therefore ensure that those pseudo construction products are not sold as construction products. Moreover , certain service providers such as fulfilment service providers or 3D-printing service providers should not contribute to the non-compliances of other economic operators. It is therefore necessary to render relevant provisions applicable also to these services and their providers.

(8)

To ensure safety and functionality of construction products and, by extension, of construction works as well as workers and consumers , certain service providers such as fulfilment service providers should not contribute to the non-compliances of other economic operators. It is therefore necessary to render relevant provisions applicable also to these services and their providers.

(9)

It is possible that different economic operators provide a 3D-printing dataset, a 3D-printing machine or mould, and the material to be used therein, leading to a situation where none of those operators would be responsible for the safety and appropriate performance of the 3D-printed product . To avoid possible safety risks in this respect, it is therefore necessary to lay down provisions for 3D-printing datasets, materials intended to be used for 3D-printing and for 3D-printing services that permit 3D-printing of construction products , so that, by respecting these provisions, the economic operators jointly reach a level of safety similar to the one ensured for ordinary construction products.

(9)

It is possible that different natural or legal persons 3D-print construction products . It is therefore necessary to clarify that a natural or legal person that 3D-prints construction products when placing on the market products for clients should fulfil the obligations incumbent on manufacturers. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that that person uses the appropriate 3D-datasets, as well as that the materials used have undergone the procedures applicable to products and that the information provided by the manufacturer of the 3D-dataset and the information provided by the manufacturer of the printing material coincide .

(10)

In order to ensure safety and protection of the environment and to close a regulatory loophole that would otherwise exist, it is necessary to clarify that construction products manufactured on the construction site for immediate incorporation into the construction works are subject to the same rules as other construction products. Micro-enterprises, however, often individually manufacture and install products on site. Subjecting those micro-enterprises under all circumstances to the same rules as other enterprises would disproportionally affect those micro-enterprises. It is therefore necessary to enable Member States to exempt micro-enterprises from drawing up a declaration of performance in specific situations, where the interests of other Member States are not affected.

(10)

Subjecting micro-enterprises under all circumstances to the same rules as other enterprises would disproportionally affect those micro-enterprises. It is therefore necessary to enable Member States to exempt micro-enterprises from drawing up a declaration of performance in specific situations, where the interests of other Member States are not affected. Local authorities should be provided with the necessary financing mechanisms to help micro-enterprises access and be part of the sustainable product market.

(11)

Ensuring the free movement of kits or assemblies of construction products on the internal market will bring tangible benefits to citizens, consumers and businesses, particularly. However, for reasons of legal certainty, their composition should be precisely defined in harmonised technical specifications or European assessment documents.

(11)

Ensuring the free movement of kits of construction products on the internal market will bring tangible benefits to citizens, consumers and businesses, particularly.

(12)

Creating a Union market for small prefabricated one-family houses has a potential to reduce the price of housing and to have positive social and economic effects. Fairness to consumers remains a priority, specifically but not limited to ensuring affordability of housing in the context of the green transition, in line with Proposal for Council Recommendation on Ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality  (40) , in particular recommendations 7 a)-c). It is therefore necessary to lay down harmonised rules for such small houses. However, small houses are also construction works, for which the Member States are competent. As it might not be possible to integrate cumulatively all national requirements for small prefabricated one-family houses into the future harmonised technical specifications, Member States should have the right to opt out of the application of rules that are to apply to those pre-fabricated one-family houses.

(14)

Construction products that have already been assessed and are reused should not be subject to the rules that apply to new construction products. However, used construction products that have never been placed on the Union market before, should be subject to the same rules as new construction products, given that such products have never been assessed.

(14)

Construction products that have already been assessed and are reused should not be subject to the rules that apply to new construction products. However, used construction products that have never been placed on the Union market before, should be subject to the same rules as new construction products, given that such products have never been assessed. This applies to construction products manufactured on the construction site for immediate incorporation into the construction works.

(15)

To ensure that safety and functionality of construction products is safeguarded, rules applicable to new construction products should also apply to used construction products where the intended use is changed, except to decoration purposes, for used construction products with unclear initial intended use, for used construction products which have undergone an important transformative process and for used construction products for which an economic operator claims additional characteristics or the fulfilment of product requirements.

(15)

To ensure that safety and functionality of construction products is safeguarded, rules applicable to new construction products should also apply to used construction products where the intended use is changed, except to decoration purposes, for used construction products with unclear initial intended use, for used construction products which have undergone an important transformative process , for used construction products for which an economic operator claims additional characteristics or the fulfilment of product requirements and for used construction products that the economic operator is placing on the market for the first time .

(17)

Construction products placed on the market in the outermost regions of the European Union are often imported from neighbouring countries, and are therefore not subject to requirements laid down in Union law. Subjecting those construction products to such requirements would be disproportionately costly. At the same time, construction products manufactured in the outermost regions hardly circulate in other Member States. Accordingly, Member States should have the possibility to exempt construction products placed on the market or directly installed in the outermost regions of the European Union from those requirements.

(17)

Construction products placed on the market in the outermost regions of the European Union are often imported from neighbouring countries, and are therefore not subject to requirements laid down in Union law. Subjecting those construction products to such requirements would be disproportionately costly. At the same time, construction products manufactured in the outermost regions hardly circulate in other Member States. Accordingly, Member States should have the possibility to exempt construction products placed on the market in the outermost regions of the European Union from those requirements.

(18)

In order to strive for a maximum of regulatory coherence, this Regulation should to the extent possible build on the horizontal legal framework, in this case namely on Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council. It follows the recent trend in product legislation to develop a fall-back solution where the European Standardisation Organisations do not deliver harmonised standards which can be cited in the Official Journal . As no harmonised standards for construction products could be cited in the Official Journal since late 2019 and only some dozen since Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 came into force, the new back-up empowerments for the Commission should be even more comprehensive, permitting to optimise the overall output of technical specifications so to catch up the delay in the adaptation to technical progress.

(18)

In order to strive for a maximum of regulatory coherence, this Regulation should to the extent possible build on the horizontal legal framework, in this case namely on Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council. However, in line with other product legislation , this Regulation provides a fall-back solution in exceptional and well-defined cases where the application of a legislative act is at risk . As no harmonised standards for construction products could be cited in the Official Journal since late 2019 and only some dozen since Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 came into force, the Commission in collaboration with European standardisation organisations should establish a workable solution permitting to optimise the overall output of technical specifications so to catch up the delay in the adaptation to technical progress.

(19)

Where harmonised standards lay down the rules for the assessment of performances with regard to essential characteristics relevant for the construction codes of Member States, harmonised standards should be rendered mandatory for purpose of application of this Regulation, as only such standards reach the goal of permitting the free circulation of products, whilst ensuring the Member States’ ability to request safety and environmental, including climate-related, product characteristics in view of their specific national situation. When pursued together, these two goals require that products are assessed by a single assessment method, therefore the method needs to be mandatory. However, voluntary standards can be used to make product requirements, specified for the relevant product family or category by Delegated Acts, even more concrete, following the path of Decision 768/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council. In line with Decision 768/2008, those standards should be able to provide a presumption of conformity with the requirements covered by them.

(19)

Where harmonised standards lay down the rules for the assessment of performances with regard to essential characteristics relevant for the construction codes of Member States, harmonised standards should be rendered mandatory for purpose of application of this Regulation, as only such standards reach the goal of permitting the free circulation of products, whilst ensuring the Member States’ ability to request safety and environmental, including climate-related, product characteristics in view of their differences in climate, geology and geography and other conditions prevailing in the Member States’ specific national situation. When pursued together, these two goals require that products are assessed by a single assessment method, therefore the method needs to be mandatory. However, voluntary standards can be used to make product requirements, specified for the relevant product family or category by Delegated Acts, even more concrete, following the path of Decision 768/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council. In line with Decision 768/2008, those standards should be able to provide a presumption of conformity with the requirements covered by them.

(20)

In order to contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, and to ensure safe construction products, safety being one of the goals to be pursued in the legislation based on Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), inherent product requirements related to safety, functionality and protection of environment, including climate, are necessary. When setting these requirements, the Commission should take into account their potential contribution to achieving Union climate, environmental and energy efficiency objectives. These requirements do not merely relate to the performance of construction products. Contrary to its predecessor Directive 89/106/EC, Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 does not provide for the possibility to establish such inherent product requirements. However, certain harmonised standards for construction products contain such inherent product requirements which can relate to environment, to safety or simply to the good functioning of the product. These standards demonstrate that there is a practical need for such requirements on safety, the environment or simply the functioning of products. Article 114 TFEU as the legal base of this Regulation also imposes the pursuit of a high level of protection of the environment, health and human safety. Thus, this Regulation should (re-)introduce or validate inherent product requirements. Whilst these requirements need to be laid down by the legislator, there is a need for specifying them for the more than 30 product families, each with several categories. Hence, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission to specify the requirements for the respective construction product family or category.

(20)

In order to contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal , the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and to ensure safe construction products, safety being one of the goals to be pursued in the legislation based on Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), inherent product requirements related to safety, functionality and protection of environment, including climate, are necessary. When setting these requirements, the Commission should address the safety risks and take into account the requirements’ potential contribution to achieving Union climate, environmental and energy efficiency objectives. These requirements do not merely relate to the performance of construction products. Contrary to its predecessor Directive 89/106/EC, Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 does not provide for the possibility to establish such inherent product requirements. However, certain harmonised standards for construction products contain such inherent product requirements which can relate to environment, to safety or simply to the good functioning of the product. These standards demonstrate that there is a practical need for such requirements on safety, the environment or simply the functioning of products. Article 114 TFEU as the legal base of this Regulation also imposes the pursuit of a high level of protection of the environment, health and human safety. Thus, this Regulation should (re-)introduce or validate inherent product requirements. Hence, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission to specify those requirements for the respective construction product family or category.

(21)

Manufacturing and distribution of construction products becomes ever more complex, leading to the emergence of new specialised operators, such as fulfilment service providers. For reasons of clarity, certain generic obligations, including on cooperation with authorities, should be applicable to all those involved in the supply chain, the manufacturing, the distribution, own-brand-labelling , the repackaging or secondary trade, installation, de-installation for re-use or remanufacturing, and the remanufacturing itself. Moreover, suppliers should be obliged to cooperate with market surveillance authorities for purposes of environmental sustainability assessment. For those reasons and to avoid repetition of obligations, the term ‘economic operator’ should be defined widely, encompassing all those actors so that basic generic obligations can in one strike be established for all of them.

(21)

Manufacturing and distribution of construction products becomes ever more complex, leading to the emergence of new specialised operators, such as fulfilment service providers. For reasons of clarity, certain generic obligations, including on cooperation with authorities, should be applicable to all those involved in the supply chain, the manufacturing, the distribution, own-brand-labelling or secondary trade, installation, de-installation for re-use or remanufacturing, and the remanufacturing itself. Moreover, suppliers should be obliged to cooperate with market surveillance authorities for purposes of environmental sustainability assessment. For those reasons and to avoid repetition of obligations, the term ‘economic operator’ should be defined widely, encompassing all those actors so that basic generic obligations can in one strike be established for all of them. However, the widening of the scope for such obligations as regards service providers should not be wrongly interpreted as an obligation for those service providers merely concerned with the installation of products as regards CE-labelled products that they are handling in connection with their profession. That obligation will remain exclusively with the manufacturer or any natural or legal persons acting on its behalf.

(23)

In order to improve the legal certainty and to mitigate the fragmentation of the EU market for construction products due to the existence of national requirements and marks, it is necessary to clearly define the area regulated at the EU level, the so-called ‘harmonised zone’, as opposed to the elements remaining within the remit of Member States’ national regulatory sphere.

(23)

In order to improve legal certainty and to mitigate the fragmentation of the EU market for construction products due to the existence of national requirements and marks, it is necessary to clearly define the area regulated at the EU level, the so-called ‘harmonised zone’, as opposed to the elements remaining within the remit of Member States’ national regulatory sphere.

(23a)

Member States set the safety level for construction works on the basis of their responsibilities towards their citizens, while the Union determines the framework conditions for the internal market. The competence to adopt provisions on construction works remains with the Member States. The basic requirements for construction works set out in Annex I, Part A of this Regulation establish the links to construction products that are technically necessary, and serve as a basis for issuing standardisation requests to the European standardisation organisations for the development of standards for construction products, as well as for the development of European Assessment Documents and corresponding delegated acts.

(23b)

The harmonised zone should also apply to public contracts, grants or other positive incentives with the exception of fiscal incentives.

(24)

At the same time, in order to strike a balance between mitigating the fragmentation of the market and the legitimate interests of Member States to regulate construction works, it is necessary to provide for a mechanism to better integrate Member States’ needs into the development of harmonised technical specifications. For the same reason, a mechanism allowing Member State to set, based on imperative grounds of health, safety or environmental protection , additional requirements for construction products should be established.

(24)

At the same time, in order to strike a balance between mitigating the fragmentation of the market and the Member States ’competence to regulate construction works, it is necessary to provide for a mechanism to better integrate Member States’ needs into the development of harmonised technical specifications. Member States are responsible for the safety, environmental and energy requirements that apply to construction and civil engineering works. For this reason, a mechanism allowing Member States to set, based on imperative grounds of health, safety or environmental protection additional requirements for construction products should be established in order to enable Member States to react to special circumstances in their territory .

(25)

A circular economy, the key element of the Circular Economy Action Plan, can be promoted by mandatory deposit-refund systems and the obligation to take back unused products. Member States should therefore be allowed to take such measures.

(25)

A circular economy, the key element of the Circular Economy Action Plan, can be promoted by mandatory deposit-refund systems and the obligation to take back used or unused non-custom-made products. Member States should therefore be allowed to take measures in order to ban the unnecessary destruction of construction products .

(26)

In order to enhance legal clarity and reduce the administrative burden for the economic operators, it is necessary to avoid that construction products are subject to multiple assessments regarding the same aspect of health, safety or protection of the environment, including climate, under different Union legislation. This was confirmed by the REFIT platform recommending that the Commission gives priority to addressing the problems of overlapping and repetitive requirements. The Commission should thus be able to determine the conditions under which the fulfilment of obligations under other Union law also fulfils certain obligations of this Regulation , where otherwise the same aspect of health, safety or protection of the environment, including climate, would be assessed in parallel under this Regulation and other Union law .

(26)

In order to enhance legal clarity and reduce the administrative burden for the economic operators, it is necessary to avoid that construction products are subject to multiple assessments regarding the same aspect of health, safety or protection of the environment, including climate, under different Union legislation. This was confirmed by the REFIT platform recommending that the Commission gives priority to addressing the problems of overlapping and repetitive requirements. The Commission should thus be able to determine the conditions under which the fulfilment of obligations under other Union law also fulfils certain obligations of this Regulation.

(27)

Moreover, in order to avoid diverging practices of Member States and economic operators, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to determine whether certain construction products fall within the definition of construction product.

(27)

Moreover, in order to avoid diverging practices of Member States and economic operators , at the request of one or more Member States , the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to determine whether certain construction products fall within the definition of construction product.

(28)

In particular, in the case of energy-related products included in ecodesign working plans which are also construction products and for intermediary products, with the exception of cement , priority for the setting of sustainability requirements will be given to the [ESPR]. This should be the case for instance for heaters, boilers, heat pumps, water and space heating appliances, fans, cooling and ventilating systems and photovoltaic products, excluding building-integrated photovoltaic panels. This Regulation may still intervene in a complementary manner where needed, mainly in relation to safety aspects also taking account of other Union legislation on products such as on gas appliances, low voltage, and machinery. For other products, in order to avoid unnecessary burden for economic operators, the need may arise in future to determine the conditions under which the fulfilment of obligations under other Union law also fulfils certain obligations under this Regulation. The power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to determine such conditions.

(28)

In the case of energy-related products included in ecodesign working plans which are also construction products and for intermediary products, with the exception of cement priority for the setting of sustainability requirements will be given to the [ESPR]. The intermediary products concerned are heaters, boilers, heat pumps, water and space heating appliances, fans, cooling and ventilating systems and photovoltaic products, excluding building-integrated photovoltaic panels. This Regulation may still intervene in a complementary manner where needed, mainly in relation to safety aspects also taking account of other Union legislation on products such as on gas appliances, low voltage, and machinery. For other products, in order to avoid unnecessary burden for economic operators, the need may arise in future to determine the conditions under which the fulfilment of obligations under other Union law also fulfils certain obligations under this Regulation. The power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to determine such conditions.

(33)

In order to reduce the burden for economic operators and in particular manufacturers, economic operators issuing declarations of performance and declarations of conformity should provide those declarations by electronic means, be authorised to provide those declarations by permalink to an unamendable document or to include in those declarations permalinks to unamendable documents.

(33)

In order to reduce the burden for economic operators and in particular manufacturers, economic operators issuing declarations of performance and declarations of conformity should provide those declarations by electronic means, be authorised to provide those declarations by permalink to an unamendable document or to include in those declarations permalinks to unamendable documents. In order to simplify supply chain communication, declarations of performance and declarations of conformity should additionally be made available in a machine-readable format. This would allow the user via an app to check conformity with the application rules of the Member State where the product is used. An important prerequisite for machine-readable declarations is a standardised IT format, which is required for each harmonised technical specification. The CEN Workshop Agreement CWA 17316 “Smart CE marking for construction products” provides a basis for the development of harmonised XML formats for declarations of performance, which could be used to complement harmonised standards and harmonised technical specifications accordingly.

(33a)

Pending the revision of the harmonised technical specifications in accordance with this Regulation, the declarations of performance and conformity might contain permalinks to unamendable environmental product declarations or other unamendable documents containing the requested information.

(35)

In order to reach alignment with other product legislation and subject to the general principles of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, the CE marking should be affixed to construction products for which the manufacturer has drawn up a declaration of performance or conformity. The manufacturer thereby takes the responsibility for the conformity of the product with the declared performance and applicable product requirements.

(35)

In order to reach alignment with other product legislation and subject to the general principles of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, the CE marking should be affixed to construction products for which the manufacturer has drawn up a declaration of performance or conformity. The manufacturer thereby takes the responsibility for the conformity of the product with the declared performance and applicable product requirements. A CE marking should be sufficient proof of the conformity of a product with the characteristics and requirements laid down by this Regulation. Member States should not therefore introduce any barriers to their markets based on characteristics and requirements that are not covered by the harmonised zone.

(35a)

Markings other than the CE marking, including private ones, might contain additional information that could help users to make an informed choice on which product would be best suited for the needs of their construction works.

(35b)

The procedural rights of all economic operators and natural or legal persons acting on their behalf in relation to measures, decisions or orders taken by competent national authorities should be ensured in line with Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. Member States should ensure that adequate appeal procedures against such measures, decisions or orders are in place.

(36)

To ensure safety, functionality and sustainability of construction products, and by extension of construction works, all economic operators intervening in the supply and distribution chain should take appropriate measures to ensure that they place or make available on the market only construction products which are in compliance with the binding Union requirements. In order to improve the legal clarity, it is necessary to set explicitly the obligations of economic operators.

(36)

To ensure safety, functionality and sustainability of construction products, and by extension of construction works, all economic operators intervening in the supply chain should take appropriate measures to ensure that they place or make available on the market only construction products which are in compliance with the binding Union requirements. In order to improve the legal clarity, it is necessary to set explicitly the obligations of economic operators.

(38)

To avoid misleading claims, any claims made by manufacturers of construction products should either be based on an assessment method contained in harmonised technical specifications or, where no such assessment method exists, on methods representing the best available techniques, where no such assessment method provided by a harmonised technical specification exists.

(39)

Technical documentation about construction products, drawn by the manufacturer, facilitates the verification of those products by authorities and notified bodies against the Union requirements. To enhance access to comprehensive information, that technical documentation should include an assessment of the environmental sustainability of the construction product.

(39)

Technical documentation about construction products, drawn by the manufacturer, facilitates the verification of those products by authorities and notified bodies against the Union requirements. To enhance access to comprehensive information, that technical documentation should include the essential characteristics related to life cycle of the construction product.

(40)

To create transparency for users of construction products and to avoid inappropriate use of those products, construction products and their intended use should be precisely identified by the manufacturer. For the same reason, the manufacturer should make clear whether the construction products are intended for professional use only, or also for use by consumers . To ensure that construction products can be traced back, manufacturers should be indicated on the product or, where this is not possible e.g. due to the product’s size or surface, on its packaging or, where that is not possible either, in a document accompanying it.

(40)

To create transparency for users of construction products and to avoid inappropriate use of those products, construction products and their intended use should be precisely identified by the manufacturer. For the same reason, the manufacturer should make clear whether the construction products are intended for professional use only, particularly where expertise is needed in order to use the product . To ensure that construction products can be traced back, information that enables manufacturers to be identified should be indicated on the product or, where this is not possible e.g. due to the product’s size or surface, on its packaging or, where that is not possible either, in a document accompanying it.

(42)

To optimise the pursuit of the goals of the European Green Deal and of the Circular Economy Action Plan, the manufacturers should be obliged to reach a fair level of environmental sustainability, both for their products and their manufacturing. This obligation requires trade-off-decisions between different environmental aspects and between environmental and safety aspects, whilst both environmental and safety aspects can relate to the product as such or to the construction works. To give manufacturers certainty about how to make these trade-off decisions, this Regulation should set out clear trade-off rules.

(42)

To optimise the pursuit of the goals of the European Green Deal and of the Circular Economy Action Plan, the manufacturers should be obliged to ensure that both their products and manufacturing contribute significantly to the Union's climate and environmental objectives by substantially improving their products' environmental footprint . This obligation requires trade-off-decisions between different environmental aspects and between environmental and safety aspects, whilst both environmental and safety aspects can relate to the product as such or to the construction works. To give manufacturers certainty about how to make these trade-off decisions, this Regulation should set out clear trade-off rules.

(43)

With the goals of ensuring sustainability and durability of construction products, manufacturers should ensure that products can be used for a very long time . Such long use requires adequate design, use of reliable parts, reparability of products, availability of information on repair and access to replacement parts.

(43)

With the goals of ensuring sustainability and durability of construction products, manufacturers should ensure that products can be used for as long as possible . Such long use requires adequate design, use of reliable parts, reparability of products, availability of information on repair and access to replacement parts.

(44)

In view of enhancing the circularity of construction products, in line with the goals of the Circular Economy Action Plan, manufacturers should favour re-use, remanufacturing and recycling of their products. The (preparation for) re-use, remanufacturing and recycling require certain design, namely by facilitating the separation of components and materials at the later stage of recycling and avoiding mixed, blended or intricate materials. As the usual instructions for use will not necessarily reach the economic operators in charge of (preparation for) re-use, remanufacturing and recycling, the necessary information in this regard should be made available in product databases or systems and on the manufacturer’s websites, in addition to the instructions for use.

(44)

In view of enhancing the circularity of construction products, in line with the goals of the Circular Economy Action Plan and the waste hierarchy , manufacturers should prevent waste generation by facilitating and prioritising repair, re-use and remanufacturing . Manufacturers should increase resource efficiency through appropriate use of by-products and should, when products come to the end of their life, ensure recycling of their products. The (preparation for) re-use, remanufacturing and recycling require specific design choices , namely facilitating the separation of products, components and materials at de-installation, deconstruction and demolition and at the later stage of recycling and avoiding mixed, blended or intricate materials and substances of concern . As the usual instructions for use will not necessarily reach the economic operators in charge of (preparation for) re-use, remanufacturing and recycling, the necessary information in this regard should be made available in the Digital Product Passport and on the manufacturer’s websites or by means of QR codes , in addition to the instructions for use.

(45)

To deliver safe, functional and environmentally sustainable construction products, it is necessary to establish comprehensive sustainability and safety obligations for manufacturers. Given the importance of these obligations and achieving the right balance between the functionality, safety and sustainability, the Commission should be empowered to determine the conditions by delegated acts under which, for a specific product family or category, these obligations are fulfilled or presumed to be fulfilled.

(45)

To deliver safe, functional and environmentally sustainable construction products, it is necessary to establish comprehensive sustainability and safety obligations for manufacturers. Given the importance of these obligations , general requirements on the gradual improvement of environmental performance, the preferred use of environmentally friendly materials, recycled content obligations and the availability of information on the use, repair, remanufacturing or recycling of products should be applicable to all manufacturers. In order to specify these requirements for certain product families or categories as well as to set further requirements and to achieve the right balance between the functionality, safety and sustainability, the Commission should be empowered to determine the conditions by delegated acts under which, for a specific product family or category, these obligations are fulfilled or presumed to be fulfilled.

(47)

In order to be able to make informed choices, users of construction products should be sufficiently well informed about the environmental performances of products, about their conformity with environmental requirements and of the degree of fulfilment of manufacturer’s environmental obligations in this regard. Therefore, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts to establish specific labelling requirements which might include the easily understandable traffic light labelling.

(47)

In order to be able to make informed choices, users of construction products should be sufficiently well informed about the environmental performances of products, about their conformity with environmental requirements and of the degree of fulfilment of manufacturer’s environmental obligations in this regard. Therefore, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts to establish specific labelling requirements

(50)

An economic operator who modifies a product in such a way that its performance or safety might be affected should be subject to the obligations of manufacturers, to ensure the verification whether performance or safety of the product are still the same. However, this obligation should not be imposed on an economic operator who repackages products to make them available in another Member State, as otherwise secondary trade and thus free circulation of products would be hampered and repackaging in principle should not affect performance nor safety of the construction product. Still, and with the aim to preserve the performance and safety of products, the economic operator undertaking the repackaging should be responsible for the correct execution of these operations to ensure that the product is not damaged and that the users are still correctly informed in the language set out by the Member State where the products are made available.

(50)

An economic operator who stores or modifies a product in such a way that its performance or safety might be affected should be subject to the obligations of manufacturers, to ensure the verification whether performance or safety of the product are still the same.

(51)

In order to increase compliance of manufacturers with the obligations under this Regulation and to contribute to addressing the identified shortcomings and improve the market surveillance, service providers, online market places and brokers should be empowered and requested to verify certain easily verifiable characteristics of products and their manufacturers , such as determination of product type and drawing up a comprehensive technical documentation, and should actively contribute to ensuring that only compliant products reach the users.

(51)

In order to increase compliance of manufacturers with the obligations under this Regulation and to contribute to addressing the identified shortcomings and improve the market surveillance, fulfilment service providers, online market places , sellers and brokers should be empowered and requested to verify at a documentary level that manufacturers have complied with their obligations as regards technical documentation, and should contribute to ensuring that only compliant products reach the users.

(52)

In order to avoid that 3D-printing is used to circumvent the obligations under this Regulation, 3D-printing service providers should have certain information obligations .

(52)

In order to avoid that the obligations under this Regulation are circumvented in cases where the production technology , for example 3D-printing , could involve several different actors contributing to the design and manufacture of a construction product, it is necessary to clearly define the role of the manufacturer. The natural and legal person printing a construction product should take responsibility under this Regulation for the whole product, unless there is another person who places the product on the market under his name or trademark or who takes responsibility for the product by issuing a declaration of performance and conformity .

(54)

The performance and safety of products also depend on the components used and on the services provided by calibrators or other service providers for their design and manufacturing. For these reasons, certain obligations should be established for suppliers of components and service providers involved in the manufacturing of products. Where a non-compliance or risk might have been caused by a supplied component or service of a certain economic operator, the supplier or service provider should inform thereof his other clients who have received the same component or service, so that non-compliances and risks can be effectively tackled for other products too.

(55)

Certain items used for construction have multiple potential purposes. Their manufacturers should have the freedom to decide whether these items are intended for construction or not, also in order to avoid that they have to undergo performance and conformity assessment where not necessary. However, if they decide that a certain item is not intended for construction whilst it could be used for it (“pseudo product ” ), the manufacturers and other economic operators should ensure that it is not used in construction works. Otherwise some of the items would end up in construction whilst not fulfilling the requirements of this Regulation.

(55)

Certain items used for construction have multiple potential purposes. Their manufacturers should have the freedom to decide whether these items are intended for construction or not, also in order to avoid that they have to undergo performance and conformity assessment where not necessary. However, if they decide that a certain item is not intended for construction whilst it could be used for it , it should be marked as “ not for construction” and the manufacturers and other economic operators should ensure that it is not used in construction works. Otherwise some of the items would end up in construction whilst not fulfilling the requirements of this Regulation.

(58)

Digital technologies, which provide a significant potential for reducing administrative burden and costs for economic operators and public authorities, while also fostering innovative and new business opportunities and models, are evolving at rapid pace. The uptake of digital technologies will also contribute significantly towards achieving the objectives of the Renovation Wave, including energy efficiency, life-cycle assessments and monitoring and of the building stock. Accordingly, the Commission should be empowered to seize further opportunities of digitisation by implementing acts.

(58)

Digital technologies, which provide a significant potential for reducing administrative burden and costs for economic operators and public authorities, while also fostering innovative and new business opportunities and models, are evolving at rapid pace. The uptake of digital technologies will also contribute significantly towards achieving the objectives of the Renovation Wave, including energy efficiency, life-cycle assessments and monitoring and of the building stock.

(59)

As harmonised standards developed for construction products (hereafter: construction products standards) are mostly mandatory, to create legal certainty, these standards should not only be in line with the relevant standardisation requests and with this Regulation, but also with the general principles of Union law.

(60)

In order to ensure a timely citation of references of construction products standards in the Official Journal of the European Union, the European Commission should be empowered to limit in scope or overrule deficient standards for purposes of legal effects under this Regulation by delegating acts instead of refusing to cite their references in the Official Journal.

(61a)

When setting up guidelines on the appropriate form and content of standards, the Commission should build on the important work already done in the EC Guidelines for hENs under the CPR as of 28/06/2018, which has been presented by the Commission in the framework of the Joint Initiative on Standardisation.

(65)

In order to respond to a noteworthy percentage of notifications which were based on incomplete or erroneous assessments, in particular where legal bodies without own in-house technical competence were notified, it is necessary to strengthen the resources capacity of notifying authorities, namely by setting up minimum requirements; to make requirements for notified bodies more precise, namely with regard to their independence, delegation to other legal entities and own ability to perform; to require adequate qualified staffing of notified bodies and to verify the adequacy of the staffing, for which the tool of a qualification matrix has proven to be most efficient; to ensure and verify that the notified body is effectively in control of staffing, attribution of external experts, procedures, criteria and decision making, and not a subcontractor, subsidiary or another company belonging to the same family of companies; and to enlarge the documentation to be provided by bodies when applying for designation as notified body so as to provide a deeper and comparatively fairer basis for decision to notifying authorities.

(65)

In order to respond to a noteworthy percentage of notifications which were based on incomplete or erroneous assessments, in particular where legal bodies without own in-house technical competence were notified, it is necessary to strengthen the resources capacity of notifying authorities, namely by setting up minimum requirements; to make requirements for notified bodies more precise, namely with regard to their independence, delegation to other legal entities and own ability to perform; to require adequate qualified staffing of notified bodies and to verify the adequacy of the staffing, to ensure that the staffing of the notified body is sufficient and independent, and to enlarge the documentation to be provided by bodies when applying for designation as notified body so as to provide a deeper and comparatively fairer basis for decision to notifying authorities.

(68)

In order to avoid involvement between notified bodies’ staff and the manufacturers, notified bodies should ensure rotation between the personnel carrying out different conformity assessment tasks.

(68)

In order to avoid involvement between notified bodies’ staff and the manufacturers, it should be possible for the notified bodies to allow rotation between the personnel carrying out different conformity assessment tasks.

(71)

In view of creating a level playing field for notified bodies and manufacturers, the coordination amongst notified bodies should be enhanced. As only half of the current notified bodies participate on their own initiative in the activities of the already currently existing notified body coordination group, participation thereto should thus become mandatory .

(71)

In view of creating a level playing field for notified bodies and manufacturers, the coordination amongst notified bodies should be enhanced. As only half of the current notified bodies participate on their own initiative in the activities of the already currently existing notified body coordination group, directly or by means of designated representatives, should be ensured by Member States .

(72)

The attempts of establishing simplified procedures for small and medium-sized enterprises in Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 and thus reducing the burden and costs on SMEs and microenterprises have not been entirely effective and have often remained misunderstood or not used due to the lack of awareness or the lack of clarity regarding their application. By addressing the identified shortcomings while building on the previously established rules, it is necessary to clarify and facilitate their application and hence achieve the objective of supporting SMEs while ensuring performance, safety and environmental sustainability of construction products.

(72)

The attempts of establishing simplified procedures for microenterprises in Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 and thus reducing the burden and costs on microenterprises have not been entirely effective and have often remained misunderstood or not used due to the lack of awareness or the lack of clarity regarding their application. By addressing the identified shortcomings while building on the previously established rules, it is necessary to clarify and facilitate their application and hence achieve the objective of supporting microenterprises while ensuring performance, safety and environmental sustainability of construction products.

(74)

To ensure legal certainty in case of safety or performance problems, such recognition should only be permitted where both the two involved economic operators and the two involved notified bodies commit to cooperate and where the economic operator obtaining certification is in technical command of the product .

(74)

To ensure legal certainty in case of safety or performance problems, such recognition should only be permitted where the assessed and verified economic operators agree to cooperate with the recognised notified body , and share the data with it, .

(75)

The evaluation of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 showed that market surveillance activities carried out at national level, widely vary in quality and effectiveness. In addition to measures set out in this Regulation in favour of better market surveillance, the compliance of economic operators, bodies and products with this Regulation should be facilitated by also involving third parties such as by the possibility of any natural or legal person to submit information on possible non-compliances through a complaint portal.

(75)

The evaluation of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 showed that market surveillance activities carried out at national level, widely vary in quality and effectiveness. In addition to measures set out in this Regulation and under relevant Union law in favour of better market surveillance, the compliance of economic operators, bodies and products with this Regulation should be facilitated by also involving third parties such as by the possibility of any natural or legal person to submit information on non-compliance through a complaint portal established and maintained by the Commission .

(76)

To address the identified shortcomings with regards to the market surveillance under Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011, this Regulation should contain more empowerments for Member States authorities and for the Commission that should enable authorities to act under all potential problematic circumstances.

(76)

To address the identified shortcomings with regards to the market surveillance under Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011, this Regulation should contain more justified empowerments for Member States authorities and for the Commission that should enable authorities to act under all potential problematic circumstances.

(78)

To ensure effective enforcement of the requirements and to strengthen market surveillance in Member States, as well as to ensure alignment with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to lay down a minimum number of checks to be performed by the market surveillance authorities on specific product group or family or in relation to specific requirements and to establish minimum resources requirements.

(79)

In addition, to strengthen the on average weak capacities of market surveillance authorities in terms of market surveillance and to further align with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, it is necessary provide more detailed administrative coordination support and to provide them with the right to retrieve costs of inspections and testing from economic operators.

(79)

In addition, to strengthen the on average weak capacities of market surveillance authorities in terms of market surveillance and to further align with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, it is necessary to provide more detailed administrative coordination support and to provide them with the right to retrieve costs of inspections and testing from economic operators if they are in possession of non-compliant products .

(81)

To better serve economic operators, product contact points for construction should become more effective and therefore should obtain more resources. In order to facilitate the work of economic operators, the tasks of product contact points for construction should be fine-tuned and extended so as to include information on product related provisions of this Regulation and on acts adopted in accordance with it.

(81)

To better serve economic operators, product contact points for construction should become more effective and therefore should obtain more resources. In order to facilitate the work of economic operators, the tasks of product contact points for construction should be fine-tuned and extended so as to include information on product related provisions of this Regulation and on acts adopted in accordance with it. Member States should also raise economic operators’ awareness of the product contact points for construction within their territory.

(84)

The centralised registration of product information increases transparency to the benefit of safety of products and the protection of the environment and human health while also reducing administrative burden and costs for economic operators. Accordingly, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 291 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to establish a centralised Union construction products database or system . At this point in time it is not possible to assess the advantages and disadvantages of possible solutions, the Commission should thus be empowered to pursue any of these paths, as appropriate.

(84)

The registration of product information increases transparency to the benefit of safety of products and the protection of the environment and human health while also reducing administrative burden and costs for economic operators. Accordingly, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 291 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to establish a construction digital product passport and a construction product passport registry .

(87)

Business on construction products becomes slowly but steadily more and more international. Hence, situations arise where non-compliances of economic operators based outside the Union need to be countered as well. As third countries hardly are ready to support the enforcement of Union law on their territory where the Union does not in return provide for the possibility to assist them, some empowerments for international cooperation should be provided for in this Regulation .

(87)

Business on construction products becomes slowly but steadily more and more international. Hence, situations arise where non-compliances of economic operators based outside the Union need to be countered as well. As third countries hardly are ready to support the enforcement of Union law on their territory where the Union does not in return provide for the possibility to assist them, some provision should be made in this Regulation for the Commission to engage in international cooperation.

(88)

A certain number of third countries applies Union product legislation or at least recognises certificates issued in accordance with it, be it on the basis of international agreements or unilaterally, both being in the interest of the Union. In order to give these third countries an incentive to continue this practice and other third countries to do the same, certain additional possibilities should be provided to third countries applying Union product legislation or recognising certificates issued in accordance with it. For this reason, it should be possible to support these particularly cooperative third countries by allowing them to participate in certain trainings and to participate in the EU construction products database or system , to the information system for harmonised decision-making and to the information exchange amongst authorities. Moreover, for the same reason, it should be possible to inform these particularly cooperative third countries about non-compliant or risky products.

(88)

A certain number of third countries applies Union product legislation or at least recognises certificates issued in accordance with it, be it on the basis of international agreements or unilaterally, both being in the interest of the Union. In order to give these third countries an incentive to continue this practice and other third countries to do the same, certain additional possibilities should be provided to third countries applying Union product legislation or recognising certificates issued in accordance with it. For this reason, it should be possible, after consultation with Member States, to support these particularly cooperative third countries by allowing them to participate in certain trainings and to participate in the EU construction products database, to the information system for harmonised decision-making and to the information exchange amongst authorities. Moreover, for the same reason, it should be possible to inform these particularly cooperative third countries about non-compliant or risky products.

(90)

In order to enhance the use of sustainable construction products whilst avoiding market distortions and to reach alignment with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Member States’ public procurement practice should target the most sustainable amongst the compliant products. Requirements applicable to public procurement contracts set out by implementing acts should be established according to objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria.

(90)

In order to enhance the use of sustainable construction products whilst avoiding market distortions and to reach alignment with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Member States’ public procurement practice should target the most sustainable amongst the compliant products. Requirements applicable to public procurement contracts that are specifically tendered as green public procurement contracts set out in delegated acts should be established by the Commission based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria , taking into consideration the specific constraints of small local authorities and the needs of SMEs .

(91)

Public procurement amounts to 14% of the Union’s GDP. To contribute to the objective of reaching climate neutrality, improving energy and resource efficiency and transitioning to a circular economy that protects public health and biodiversity, contracting authorities and entities should, where appropriate, be required to align their procurement with specific green public procurement criteria or targets , to be set out in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Regulation. The criteria or targets set by delegated acts for specific product groups , should be complied with not only when directly procuring those products in public supply contracts but also in public works or public services contracts where those products will be used for activities constituting the subject matter of those contracts. Compared to a voluntary approach, mandatory criteria or targets will ensure that the leverage of public spending to boost demand for better performing products is maximised. The criteria should be transparent, objective and non-discriminatory.

(91)

Public procurement amounts to 14% of the Union’s GDP. To contribute to the objective of reaching climate neutrality, improving energy and resource efficiency and transitioning to a circular economy that protects public health and biodiversity, contracting authorities and entities should, where appropriate, be encouraged to align their procurement with specific green public procurement criteria, to be set out in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Regulation. The sustainability criteria could take form of mandatory technical specifications or performance levels, or, as appropriate, selection criteria, award criteria or contract performance clauses, while allowing contracting authorities discretion to decide on the entirety of the criteria needed for the public procurement. The sustainability criteria set by delegated acts for specific product groups could be used not only when directly procuring those products in public supply contracts but also in public works or public services contracts where those products will be used for activities constituting the subject matter of those contracts. The criteria should be transparent, objective and non-discriminatory.

(92)

In order to take into account technical progress and knowledge of new scientific evidence, ensure proper functioning of the internal market, facilitate access to the information and ensure homogeneous implementation of rules, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of establishing and amending product specific technical provisions and requirements; defining the applicable assessment and verification systems; determining the conditions under which obligations under other Union law fulfil certain obligations of this Regulation; amending the declaration of performance and declaration of conformity model; establishing additional obligations to manufacturers; revising and supplementing procedural rules for the development of European assessment documents; establishing minimum requirements to market surveillance authorities; setting up a Union construction products database or system; establishing green public procurement requirements and defining minimum penalties . It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (41) . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(92)

In order to take into account technical progress and knowledge of new scientific evidence, ensure proper functioning of the internal market, facilitate access to the information and ensure homogeneous implementation of rules, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of establishing product specific technical provisions and requirements; specifying the applicable assessment and verification systems set out in Annex V ; determining the conditions under which obligations under other Union law fulfil certain obligations of this Regulation; amending the declaration of performance and declaration of conformity model; specifying additional environmental obligations to manufacturers; revising and supplementing procedural rules for the development of European assessment documents; establishing green public procurement requirements . This empowerment should be limited to what is required to fulfil Member States’ needs identified and included in the working plan . It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (41) . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. When developing those acts, the Commission should aim at reducing the administrative burden for companies and take into account the needs of SMEs.

(93)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission establishing means to transmit information; providing details on how to execute obligations and rights of economic operators; adopting the format of the European technical assessment; establishing minimum resources required by notified bodies and giving access to authorities of third countries to the information systems for harmonised decision-making to the EU construction products database or system and to trainings in the context of this Regulation. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (42) .

(93)

In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission establishing means to transmit information; adopting the format of the European technical assessment; and to trainings in the context of this Regulation. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (42) .

(98)

In order to ensure a high level of compliance with this Regulation, Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to non-compliances and ensure that those rules are enforced. The penalties provided for should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. In order to ensure these goals and harmonised penalties, the Commission should be empowered to establish minimum penalties by acts adopted in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

(98)

In order to ensure a high level of compliance with this Regulation, Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to non-compliances and ensure that those rules are enforced. The penalties provided for should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

(100)

To create legal certainty, it should be clarified for how long products placed on the market on the basis of European assessment documents adopted under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 may remain in the distribution chain and thus be further made available on the market. Similarly to the practice under other product legislation, the appropriate period is considered to be five years after the expiry of the European technical assessment on the basis of which they have been placed on the market. In this way, six years after the entry into force of a harmonised technical specification adopted under this Regulation all products sold to users will comply with that harmonised technical specification and this Regulation.

(a)

rules on how to express the environmental, including climate, and safety performance of construction products in relation to their essential characteristics;

(a)

harmonised rules on how to express the environmental, including life cycle assessment and safety performance of construction products in relation to their essential characteristics;

(b)

environmental , including climate , functional and safety product requirements for construction products.

(b)

environmental, functional and safety product requirements for construction products.

(a)

3D-datasets placed on the market to permit the 3D-printing of construction products covered by this Regulation and 3D-printed construction products and moulds ;

(a)

3D-printed construction products;

(b)

materials intended to be used for the 3D-printing of construction products on or close to the construction site or for the manufacturing using moulds on or close to the construction site;

(c)

construction products manufactured on the construction site for immediate incorporation into construction works, without separate commercial action for the placing on the market;

(f)

kits or assemblies, where their composition is specified in and covered by harmonised technical specifications or European assessment documents (EADs);

(g)

prefabricated one-family-houses of less than 180 m2 surface floor space with one floor or of less than 100 m2 surface floor space on two floors.

(b)

the economic operator has changed the intended use of those used construction products or items from the intended use assigned to those construction products or items by the initial manufacturer in another way than by a reduction in terms of performance or intended uses or to mere decoration” purposes , those purposes being defined by the absence of any structural function for the construction works ;

(b)

the economic operator has changed the intended use of those used construction products or items from the intended use assigned to those construction products or items by the initial manufacturer in another way than by a reduction in terms of performance or intended uses or to mere “ decoration” purposes;

(da)

the economic operator is placing a used construction product on the market for the first time;

(db)

obligations of economic operators de-installing or dealing with used products for reuse are not fulfilled;

(b)

boilers, pipes, tanks and ancillaries and other products intended to be in contact with water for human consumption;

(b)

the hygiene-related quality of boilers, pipes, tanks and ancillaries and other products intended to be in contact with water for human consumption;

(c)

systems treating waste water;

(d)

sanitary appliances;

(e)

traffic signalling products.

(ea)

lighting products subject to Directives 2014/35/EU, 2014/53/EU or 2001/95/EC;

(eb)

electrical and electronic products subject to Directives 2014/35/EU, 2014/30/EU, 2014/53/EU, RoHs Directive or the [XXX] Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.

—

the manufacturing and commercialisation of construction products and or items covered by this Regulation, and

—

to the de-installing, preparation for re-use, remanufacturing and dealing with used construction products or items covered by this Regulation.

(1)

‘construction product’ means any formed or formless physical item, including its packaging and instructions for use, or a kit or assembly combining such items, that is placed on the market or produced for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works or parts thereof within the Union, with the exception of items that are necessarily first integrated into an assembly, kit or other construction product prior to being incorporated in a permanent manner in construction works ;

(1)

‘construction product’ means any product or a kit which is produced and placed on the market or supplied to the construction site for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works or parts thereof within the Union, including 3D-printed products or other items covered by this Regulation in accordance with Article 2(1) to (3) ;

(2)

‘permanent’ means for a duration of two years or longer ;

(2)

‘permanent’ means installed or affixed in such a manner that it may significantly affect the basic work requirements and that it is intended to remain in the construction work or parts thereof and cannot be removed without tools or mechanical force after the completion of the construction or renovation process ;

(3)

‘product’ means a construction product or other item covered by this Regulation in accordance with Article 2(1) to (3);

(5)

‘direct installation’ means the installation of a product into a construction work of a client without prior making available on the market or the installation of a one-family house covered by this Regulation, regardless whether in the framework of providing a service or not;

(7)

‘essential characteristics’ means those characteristics of the product which relate to the basic requirements for construction works as set out in Annex I Part A Point 1 or which have been listed in Annex I Part A Point 2 ;

(7)

‘essential characteristics’ means those characteristics of the product which relate to the basic requirements for construction works as set out in Annex I Part A or the environmental characteristics which have been listed in Annex I Part B ;

(8)

‘product requirements’ means a threshold level or another characteristic with which a product has to comply before it can be placed on the market or installed directly, including those requirements relating to labelling and instructions for use or other information to be provided ;

(8)

‘product requirements’ means a threshold level or another characteristic set out in Annex I Part C 1 and C 2, and specified in accordance with Article 5, with which a construction product has to comply before it can be placed on the market;

(9)

‘economic operator’ means the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer, the distributor, the fulfilment service provider, the 3D-printing service provider, manufacturer, importer or distributor of materials intended for 3D-printing of products, online seller, the broker, the supplier, the service provider, the own-brand-labeller or any other natural or legal person , other than authorities, notified bodies, technical assessment bodies and product contact points for construction who is subject to this Regulation in relation to the manufacturing, de-installation for re-use, re-manufacturing or repackaging of products, or making those products available on the market or installing those products directly in accordance with this Regulation , and economic operators as defined in Article 3, point (13) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council  (44) ;

(9)

‘economic operator’ means the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer, the distributor, the fulfilment service provider, the manufacturer, importer or distributor of materials intended for 3D-printing of products, online seller, the broker, the supplier, the service provider, the own-brand-labeller or any other natural or legal person who is subject to this Regulation in relation to the manufacturing, de-installation for re-use, re-manufacturing of products, or making those products available on the market in accordance with this Regulation;

(10)

‘3D-printing service provider’ means any natural or legal person offering, in the course of a commercial activity, one of the following services: renting or leasing out 3D-printers, printing out 3D-printing datasets, or brokering one of these services, regardless of whether the printing material is provided by that person or not;

(15)

‘buildings’ means facilities, other than containers, giving shelter to humans, animals or objects, which either are permanently fixed to the ground or can only be transported by the help of special equipment whilst having a surface floor space of at least 20m2 on one or several levels;

(16)

‘level’ means the result of the assessment of the performance of a product in relation to its essential characteristics, expressed as a numerical value ;

(16)

‘level’ means the expression of performance without a classification of potential performance or a specified minimum or maximum ;

(17)

‘class’ means a range of levels, delimited by a minimum and a maximum value, of performance of a product ;

(17)

‘class’ means an expression of performance within a systematic division of potential performances ;

(22)

‘assembly’ means a set of at least two separate items, one of which is a product;

(a)

has not been subject to a process going beyond repair, cleaning or regular maintenance, as specified by the original manufacturer in its instructions for use or acknowledged to be necessary according to common civil engineering knowledge;

(a)

has not been subject to a process going beyond repair, cleaning or regular maintenance, as specified by the original manufacturer in its instructions for use or acknowledged to be necessary according to the most up-to-date subject-specific engineering knowledge;

(25)

‘intended use’ means the use intended by the manufacturer , including the conditions for usage, as laid out in technical documentation, on labels, in instructions for use, or in publicity material, whilst usages mentioned only in one of these are already part of the ‘intended use’ ;

(25)

‘intended use’ means the intended use as determined by the manufacturer of the construction product as defined in the applicable harmonised technical specification ;

(26)

‘repair’ means the process of returning a faulty product to a condition where it can fulfil its intended use;

(26)

‘repair’ means the process of fixing a faulty product or replacing its defective components, in order to return the product to a condition where it can fulfil its intended use;

(27)

‘maintenance’ means an action carried out to retain a product in a condition where it is able to function as required ;

(27)

‘maintenance’ means an action carried out to retain a product in a condition where it is able to function as specified ;

(31)

‘product type’ means the abstract model of individual products, determined by the intended use and a set of characteristics which exclude any variation with regard to performance or to the fulfilment of product requirements set-out in or in accordance with this Regulation, produced in a specific production process using a given combination of raw materials or components, whilst identical items of different manufacturers also belong to different product types;

(31)

‘product type’ means the abstract model of individual products, defined by the same set of declared performances;

(32)

‘state of the art’ means a way to achieve a certain goal which is either the most effective and advanced or close to it and thus above the average of ways which can be chosen;

(32)

‘state of the art’ means a way to achieve a certain goal which is either the most effective and advanced or close to it and thus above the average of ways which can be chosen or a performance representing what is currently possible applying common technologies, whether or not it is the most technologically advanced solution ;

(38)

‘harmonised zone’ means the sphere jointly covered by this Regulation, the harmonised technical specifications, and the Commission acts of general applicability adopted pursuant this Regulation;

(38)

‘harmonised zone’ means the sphere jointly covered by this Regulation, the harmonised technical specifications, and Commission acts of general applicability related to construction products adopted pursuant to this Regulation;

(39)

‘Union law’ means the TEU, the TFEU, general principles of law, acts of general applicability referred to in the second, third and fourth paragraph of Article 288 TFEU and any international agreements to which the Union is party or the Union and its Member States are parties;

(42)

‘individually manufactured’ means that, due to the specifications of the client, there is a variation in terms of manufacturing method when compared with all other products produced for other clients by the economic operator in question;

(42)

‘individually manufactured’ means that, due to the specifications of the client, there is a need for readjustment of the production equipment for the manufacture when compared with all other products produced for other clients by the economic operator in question;

(44)

‘custom-made’ means that, due to the specifications of the client, there is a variation in terms of size or material when compared with all other products produced for other clients by the economic operator in question.

(45a)

‘data carrier’ means a linear bar code symbol, a two-dimensional symbol or other automatic identification data capture medium that can be read by a device;

(46)

‘harmonised technical specifications’ means construction products standards established in accordance with Article 4(2) the reference of which has been published in the Official Journal in accordance with Article 34 and thereby were rendered mandatory for purposes of application of this Regulation, and delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 4(3) and (4), Article 5(2) , or Article 22(4) that contain technical prescriptions;

(46)

‘harmonised technical specifications’ means construction products standards established in accordance with Article 4(2) and delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 4(3) and (4), Article 5(1) , or Article 22(4) that contain technical prescriptions;

(48)

‘double use product’ means a product that is , by its manufacturer , intended to be used as product and as an item with another intended use that would fall outside of the scope of this Regulation if it had only that other intended use;

(48)

‘double use product’ means a product that is intended by its manufacturer to be used as a product or as an item with another use that would fall outside of the scope of this Regulation if it had only that other intended use;

(51)

‘full-time equivalence’ means the work-power of one person employed full-time as defined by the Member State concerned or the work-power of several persons employed part-time working together the same number of hours per day or week;

(57)

‘broker’ means any natural or legal person providing an intermediation service for the placing on the market or direct installation of products;

(57)

‘broker’ means any natural or legal person providing an intermediation service for the placing on the market of products;

(69)

‘authority’ means the European Commission, its agencies, and any notifying authority, designating authority or market surveillance authority, unless specified otherwise in the respective provision: regardless of in which Member State it is located;

(70)

‘product presenting a risk’ means a product that, whenever during its entire life-cycle and even when created indirectly , has an inherent potential to affect adversely the health and safety of persons, the environment or the fulfilment of basic requirements for construction works when incorporated in those works, to a degree which, taking account of the state-of-the-art, goes beyond what is considered reasonable and acceptable in relation to its intended use and under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use;

(70)

‘product presenting a risk’ means a product that, whenever during its entire life-cycle, has an inherent potential to affect adversely the health and safety of persons, the environment or the fulfilment of basic requirements for construction works when incorporated in those works, to a degree which, taking account of the state-of-the-art, goes beyond what is considered reasonable and acceptable in relation to its intended use and under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use;

(71a)

‘decorative purposes’ means purposes defined by the absence of any structural function or basic requirements for the construction works as listed in Annex I;

(71b)

‘by-product’ means a ‘by-product’ within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2008/98/EC;

(71c)

‘recyclability’ means the ability of waste materials or products to be effectively and efficiently separated, collected, sorted and aggregated as defined waste streams in preparation for recycling, and then recycled through relevant industrial processes and reprocessed into recycled materials or products, whilst minimising quality or functionality losses compared to the original material or product.

(-a)

the Commission has requested one or more European standardisation organisations to draft a harmonised standard for the requirements and the request has not been accepted by any of the European standardisation organisations;

(a)

there are undue delays in the adoption of certain standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2)by the European standardisation organisations, whilst an undue delay is given where the European standardisation organisation does not submit a standard within the time-frame set out in the standardisation request;

(a)

there are undue and unjustified delays in the adoption of certain standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) by the European standardisation organisations, whilst an undue delay is given where the European standardisation organisation does not submit a standard within the time frame set out in the request but not longer than 2 years after having received the standardisation request;

(b)

there is an urgency for the adoption of more harmonised technical specifications that cannot be matched with standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) alone;

(c)

one or more essential characteristics referring to basic work requirements set out in Annex I Part A , Point 1 or included in Annex I Part A, Point 2 are not covered by the standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) the references of which are already published in the Official Journal;

(c)

one or more essential characteristics referring to basic work requirements set out in Annex I Part A or included in Annex I Part B are not covered by the standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) the references of which are already published in the Official Journal and the European standardisation organisations refused to revise or amend the relevant standard in due time ;

(d)

the standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) are for other reasons considered not sufficient to cover regulatory needs of Member States or the needs of economic operators;

(da)

there is a need to revise or amend the standard referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) in order to cover the regulatory needs of Member States, or to align with the Union safety, environmental, circularity and climate objectives, and the European standardisation organisations refused or were unable to revise or amend the relevant standard in due time;

(e)

the standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) are not in line with EU climate and environmental legislation and ambition;

(f)

references to standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) cannot be published in the Official Journal for the reasons set out in Article 34(4) or other legal reasons ;

(f)

there is a need to adapt a standard or part of it which has been adopted by a European standardisation organisation but which cannot be published in the Official Journal in accordance with Article 6a(8) ;

(g)

references to standards referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4(2) have been withdrawn from the Official Journal or were published with a restriction.