On 19 April 2016, MEP Dr. Andreas Schwab hosted a Parliamentary Breakfast on the state of implementation and possible improvements of the CPR. The breakfast was organised in cooperation with Construction Fixings Europe (CFE), the new designation for the CEO Section Anchor Fixings.
MEP Dr. Schwab and CFE Chairman Dr. Bourgund welcomed MEP Catherine Stihler, EP rapporteur for the CPR, Fulvia Raffaelli, Head of the Unit C1 at the DG GROW of the European Commission, representatives of seven CFE members and representatives of relevant European associations and institutions like EOTA.
In his welcome statement, Dr. Schwab gave a short introduction on the legal framework of the CPR.
During his presentation of the point of view of the industry, Dr. Bourgund pointed out that the ETA route to CE marking, already established under the previous CPD, is considered by the manufacturers as success story.
More than 800 European Technical Approvals (ETAs) have been granted already for fasteners. The assessment methods laid down in ETAGs, which have been developed based on scientific studies, are world-leading and have been taken over also outside Europe, e. g. by the USA, Japan and Australia. The current challenge is the transfer of those proofed methods and of the respective high safety level into the new legal framework of the CPR.
In this context, Dr. Bourgund appealed to improve the communication between EOTA and European Commission in order to speed up the transition process of ETAGs into European Assessment Documents (EADs).
As a result of the breakfast, all participants welcomed the opportunity to exchange information and views and to achieve a common understanding on the next steps and on possible improvements of the legal framework. In his conclusion, MEP Dr. Schwab offered to organise another breakfast to continue the fruitful discussions.
For CFE, this breakfast was an excellent way to built up and to improve its relationships with decisions makers in Brussels which will not only help to solve the current problems but also to contribute to an improvement of the legal framework of CPR.
CFE will continue its contacts to MEP Dr. Schwab, to the Commission Services and other stakeholders.