17th EMCWP meeting - Brussels

The 17th meeting of the working party on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMCWP) was held last 13 December in Brussels. It was chaired by Luís Filipe Girão and attended by about 45 participants representing the member states.

The following issues stood out at the meeting:

• Alignment of the EMC Directive with the New Legislative Framework (NLF) - The text submitted by the European Parliament and by the Council with the revision of Directive 2004/108/EC to align it with Decision 768/2008/EC is open to comments. This alignment will likewise be applied to the Low Voltage Directive (LVD). It is difficult to predict when the new EMC Directive will be ready;
   
• Standardisation of powerline telecommunications (PLT) - The draft standard pr-EN50 561-1 for PLT technology subject to a vote was not approved. Question: what to do with this kind of technology? The European Commission holds that there is a future for such technology. The various players in the area, namely manufacturers, operators and standardisation bodies, should therefore reach a consensus. The standard will be reworked and subject to a new vote in February/March 2012;
   
• Market inspection campaign (LED bulbs) - The report from the fourth European market inspection campaign focusing on LED bulbs was presented. The campaign, carried out per the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive, aimed to gauge product conformity with respect to technical and administrative requirements. It was conducted from 1 January to 30 June 2011 with the participation of 18 member states. Only 46 of the 163 items tested complied with the technical and administrative requirements; 10 percent of them did not carry the EC label; 125 products did have the Declaration of Conformity (DoC) but only 39.9 percent of those declarations were correct. It is therefore recommended that the member states be encouraged to conduct market inspections regarding such products.