Hotspot: European Commission Public Consultation on the Review of the Construction Products Regulation 2020

What is it?

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) lays down EU-wide rules for marketing construction products. Industrial valves used in the heating and ventilation or drinking water systems of buildings are examples of products that may fall under the CPR. The European Commission has opened a public consultation as part of a review of the CPR. This public consultation is open until 2020-12-25 at the following address: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-yoursay/initiatives/12458-Review-of-the-Construction-Products-Regulation as stated in the attached document.

The attached document has been circulated by BSI and contains details of the comprehensive questionnaire which my be of interest to any BVAA members who supply these products and are familiar with the requirements of the current CPR.

Why is it Important?

The European Commission is looking at a significant and comprehensive review of the CPR with 5 possible alternative options listed in the attached document. These have been summarised as follows:

1. Baseline - No change.
2. Repair - Amending some aspects of the existing CPR to improve its effectiveness.

• Focusing - Taking the existing CPR and repairing it, but also increasing the focus on aspects such as testing methods.

1. Enhancing - Taking the existing CPR and repairing it, but also adding specific general product requirements. It is then intended to further extend these requirements to refer to specific products at a future date.
2. Repealing - Cancelling the CPR and reverting to general EU mutual recognition principles for construction products.

Some of the possible outcomes will result in a significant increase in requirements via the CPR, whilst others will reduce the requirements, such as in option v) above. If your organisation supplies these products, this is your chance to influence the process by completing the questionnaire expressing and your views.

Published: 29th October 2020