Germany told to change rules

The European Commission has said that Germany’s Bauregelliste rules for construction materials are in breach of European Union Single Market rules and has asked for the national legislation to be changed.

Many of the standards in Bauregelliste are higher than those specified by CE marked materials and as a result many products produced elsewhere in Europe that meet CE standards are refused in Germany. According to the EC, this places Germany in breach of rules that allow free movement of goods across the EU area.

The EC has said that the German authorities often demand ex-ante approval and further additional certifications, such as the German Ü mark (“Ü-Zeichen”), for construction products, which have already proven to satisfy all applicable requirements via the CE marking. “As a result, construction products with the CE marking from other Member States are often denied access to the German market,” said the EC in a statement. “In addition, the German legislation in question is not updated frequently enough to provide manufacturers with sufficient legal certainty in relation to the applicable requirements for construction products.”