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© Europacable 2019
Policy Areas > Construction Products Regulation (CPR)

«Our industry, has been working for more than a decade with the European Commission and Member States to achieve higher fire performance requirements for power, control and communication cables. We are proud that our products can contribute to an improved safety level for European citizens.»

Hans Niemann, Chair

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TOPICS

CPR in a nutshell: A common language for safety requirements for cables

Since 1st July 2017, the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) governs any cable product that is intended for use in construction works. This has been a key milestone in decennial active work of the cable and wire industry with the European Commission and Member States to achieve higher fire performance requirements for power, control and communication cables. As a first step the citation of the relevant Harmonized Standard covering reaction to fire performance in the Official Journal of the European Union was taken in June 2016.

The CPR provides a common language to all construction professionals for assessing and classifying different levels of fire performance of cables which both enhances market transparency & increases safety. In particular the CPR allows for:

  • the adoption of CPR classes of performance into national installation laws, wiring regulations, fire safety regulations and into voluntary and/or customer specific standards;
  • one harmonized assessment and classification of performances for every product for construction or civil engineering applications put on the EU market (produced in the EU or outside the EU);
  • 3rd party testing and certification of constancy of performances by Notified Bodies and Notified Testing Laboratories;
  • The mandatory use of the CE-marking of cables and their Declaration of Performance as a legal prerequisite for placing cable products on the EU market as well as a passport for their circulation within the EU;
  • market surveillance activities by National Authorities aimed at preventing any circulation and installation of non-compliant products as well as wrong usage of cables for different applications;
  • a legal means to prosecute dangerous practices and to withdraw non-compliant products from the market, including introduction of a product blacklist within the EU.

Enhancing Safety with the Construction Products Regulation

Europacable is strongly committed to the success of the CPR.

A high-quality and CPR compliant cable infrastructure plays a key role in promoting fire safety and providing continuity of power and communication to all crucial devises in case of a fire. Please visit our dedicated website on CPR Awareness and Compliance. (https://cpr.europacable.eu/en)

In this respect, significant efforts and investments both in terms of innovation and product certifications have been undertaken with the aim at designing and manufacturing products that would contribute to improve safety levels for European citizens.
The European cable industry has developed a range of Low Fire-Hazard cables which in the event of fire show a very low emission of smoke and a considerably lower amount of dangerous gases, just to mention one of the innovative solutions in this field. Furthermore, electrical systems and communication infrastructure using cables will play an essential role in contributing to the decarbonisation of the building stock through electrification and digitalisation.

Safety and sustainability as two sides of the same coin. The European wire and cable industry strongly believe in the alignment of CPR with the European Green Deal in order to supply safer and more sustainable construction products for the benefit of European citizens.

Europacable commitment to CPR is not only linked to the product compliance per se, but also to the need for a constant and active cooperation with relevant stakeholders because the sole presence of strict rules is not a tool for success: The enforcement of legislation is of the essence. Therefore, the European wire and cable industry is fully engaged to make sure that:

  • CPR rules and standards are properly developed and implemented: Europacable highlights the key role of industry in the standardisation process as well as the importance of having a homogenous application of rules by all relevant actors, starting from Notified Bodies to whom is a trusted partner;
  • All relevant market actors need to be aware of their obligations stemming from the CPR as Fire Safety is a common responsibility. In this respect, Europacable is running an awareness programme aiming at educating relevant stakeholders in the cable supply chain, notably wholesalers, specifiers and installers about their legal responsibilities for safety in the case of fire and compliance with the CPR. For more information visit the section on CPR Awareness and Compliance Campaign;
  • CPR rules are fully respected: Europacable strongly believes that is paramount to ensure a smart and effective market surveillance in all European countries to promote a level playing field in the enforcement of EU legislation. With this in mind, the Association is currently running a programme focussing on compliance aiming at both supporting and strengthening the activities of National Market Surveillance Authorities in this field. For more information, visit the section on CPR Awareness and Compliance Campaign.

Fire Safety and effective enforcement of CPR rules are a shared responsibility

The European wire and cable industry is fully committed to the success of CPR. Accordingly, Europacable is taking an active role in educating electrical professionals about their responsibility stemming from the CPR. Europacable is also undertaking concrete actions to promote a smart and effective enforcement of CPR to make sure that only compliant cables are sold on the European market. Please visit our dedicated website on CPR Awareness and Compliance