Construction Products Directive and standards
"Mandated" and "harmonized" standards
The properties which construction products have to feature in order to comply with the essential requirements are not listed in the Construction Products Directive, but in the so called Interpretative Documents.
Based on these documents the Commission of the EU issued and issues mandates to the european organisation of standardisation CEN.
The Guidance Papers present a more detailed description of the Interpretative Documents.
Based on the mandates, e.g. M/124 for Road Construction Products, "mandated" standards are being developed which allow CE-marking of construction products.
By publishing a "mandated" standard in the official journal of the EU (OJEC) it becomes a "harmonized" standard.
Co-existence period
Based on a harmonized standard CE-marking is possible starting with the date of applicability (example: April 1st, 2001).
At this day the co-existence period starts (transition period). During the co-existence period producers are supposed to change to the system of CE-marking.
At the end of the co-existence period (example: April 1st, 2002) CE-marking is required for putting a construction product in circulation.
