Construction products: Application of the directive 89/106/EEC

In adopting the report by Mr Werner LANGEN (PPE, D) on application of the 'Construction Products' Directive, the European Parliament calls on the Commission to: - do everything in its power to reduce appreciably the period of at least five years it forecasts for the completion of standards relating to many construction products and to agree with the European standardization institutions on clear timetables for the establishing of standards; - adopt the standardization mandates and implementing decisions relating to the outstanding product groups by mid-1998; - ensure that the interests of consumers and persons concerned with environmental protection are upheld in the EU's standardization bodies. It proposes that, when handing down a standardization mandate, the Commission should at the same time enter into an agreement which imposes daily penalties if the deadline for the completion of a standard is not observed and, conversely, provides for a bonus if the European Standardization Committee (CEN) completes a standard before the deadline. Parliament is particularly critical of the lack of progress in the mutual recognition of test procedures for construction products, for which the Member States' obstructiveness is to blame. It calls for an end to over-regulation and excessive burdens on the manufacturers and users of construction products. Finally, it calls for a ban on the use of chrysotile asbestos in construction products. �