Activites

• 2004/08/06 Additional information
• #X019
• 2003/11/27 Council Meeting
• 1999/10/27 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The European Parliament confirmed as the first reading the text voted on 19.04.1994 on the proposal for a Directive on articles of precious metal, for which the numbering of the legal base has changed due to the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty.�

• #1838
• 1995/03/30 Council Meeting
  • 1838 summary

    The Council held a policy debate on the proposal for a directive on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to articles of precious metal. The basis for the debate was a compromise suggested by the Presidency involving two main points, namely: - a requirement that the symbol of the notified body (the assay office) be struck on the article; - the possibility, subject to clearly-defined conditions including the one mentioned above, of the manufacturer himself certifying that his articles conform to the essential requirements of the Directive. The Council noted that there was still disagreement over these basic features of the Directive and instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee to continue examining the proposal with the aim of bringing the delegations’ positions closer together.

• 1994/06/30 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1994)0267 summary

    1) SUBSTANCE 1. The articles covered by the proposed Directive are: * those made of gold, platinum, palladium and silver, and the same coated with other precious metals, where such articles are intended for the Community consumer; * semi-finished articles of precious metal or those coated with precious metals intended for use in the manufacture of the abovementioned articles. 2. The proposal for a Directive: * establishes the objectives or "essential requirements" (e.g. marking) to be met by the abovementioned articles during manufacture and before they are placed on the market; * lays down the rules relating to the marking of such articles and to certification procedures. 3. Harmonised European standards were drawn up on the basis of the essential requirements by the European standardisation bodies. These standards, which are not compulsory, are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 4. The procedures for attesting the conformity of articles of precious metal to the essential requirements are based on the modular approach set out in Council Decision 93/465/EEC. Conformity is assessed by the bodies designated by the Member States in accordance with the minimum assessment criteria and notified to the Commission and to the other Member States. 5. Before being placed on the market, articles of precious metal must be struck with: * a fineness mark indicating that they meet the requirements of this proposal; these articles need not, therefore, bear the EC mark. This mark covers the specific surrounds used for each precious metal to identify the metal used; * a sponsor's mark, registered by the Member States and accompanied by a small letter "e", which makes it possible to identify the applicant, the notified body chosen by the applicant, the conformity procedure applied and the date of registration. 6. Where marking is technically difficult, it is replaced by an EC certificate of conformity issued by the manufacturer or by his authorised representative. It indicates the standard of fineness of the precious metal or metals concerned. 7. Any traditional mark may be struck on an article provided that it does not lead to confusion with a fineness mark or sponsor's mark or the letter "e". 8. Penalties are imposed by the Member States where they or the notified bodies find that a fineness mark has been affixed improperly or that an EC certificate of conformity has been issued improperly. 2) OBJECTIVE To ensure the free movement of article of precious metal in the internal market by harmonising national laws on consumer protection and fair trading. Source : European Commission - Info92 - 02/96 �

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/', 'title': 'Internal Market and Services'}],
• #1769
• 1994/06/16 Council Meeting
  • 1769
• 1994/04/19 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T3-0216/1994 summary

    In adopting the report by Mr PIERROS (PPE, GR) with 159 votes in favour, 26 against and 15 abstentions, Parliament made several amendments to the Commission proposal. They aimed to strengthen protection for consumers through greater transparency and harmonisation at Community level. It was particularly important that proposals be made on the conditions for placing articles of precious metals on the market. Due to the extremely frequent fraud in certain third countries, the rapporteur stressed that rigorous checks should be carried out at the borders of the European Union. In order to easily identify the party responsible for placing the articles on the market, the report proposed that the mark of a notified body, which should be established in the Community, be struck on the articles. Further, consumers should be able to identify easily both the manufacturers and the notified bodies. To this end, a register containing all the symbols and marks should be available to them. �

• 1994/04/18 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1994/03/29 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A3-0191/1994
• 1993/11/16 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1993/10/14 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1993)0322 summary

    1) OBJECTIVE To ensure the free movement of articles of precious metal in the internal market by harmonizing national laws on consumer protection and fair trading. 2) CONTENTS 1. The articles covered by the proposed Directive are: * those made of gold, platinum, palladium and silver, and the same coated with other precious metals, where such articles are intended for the Community consumer; * semi-finished articles of precious metal or those coated with precious metals intended for use in the manufacture of the abovementioned articles. 2. The proposal for a Directive: * establishes the objectives or "essential requirements" (e.g. marking) to be met by the abovementioned articles during manufacture and before they are placed on the market; * lays down the rules relating to the marking of such articles and to certification procedure. 3. Harmonized European standards were drawn up on the basis of the essential requirements by the European standardization bodies. These standards, which are not compulsory, are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. 4. The procedures for attesting the conformity of articles of precious metal to the essential requirements are based on the modular approach set out in Council Decision 93/465/EEC. Conformity is assessed by the bodies designated by the Member States in accordance with the minimum assessment criteria and notified to the Commission and to the other Member States. 5. Before being placed on the market, articles of precious metal must be struck with: * a fineness mark indicating that they meet the requirements of this proposal; these articles need not, therefore, bear the EC mark. This mark covers the specific surrounds used for each precious metal to identify the metal used; * a sponsor's mark, registered by the Member States and accompanied by a small letter "e", which makes it possible to identify the applicant, the notified body chosen by the applicant, the conformity procedure applied and the date of registration. 6. Where marking is technically difficult, it is replaced by an EC certificate of conformity issued by the manufacturer or by his authorized representative. It indicates the standard of fineness of the precious metal or metals concerned. 7. Any traditional mark may be struck on an article provided that it does not lead to confusion with a fineness mark or sponsor's mark or the letter "e". 8. Penalties imposed by the Member States where they or the notified bodies find that a fineness mark has been affixed improperly or that an EC certificate of conformity has been issued improperly. Source : European Commission - Info92 - 02/96�

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/', 'title': 'Internal Market and Services'}],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1993)0322
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A3-0191/1994
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T3-0216/1994
• Debate in Council: 1769
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1994)0267
• Debate in Council: 1838
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)