The Commission submits to the Council an amended proposal. There are two main types of amendments:
-one group of amendments provides useful additional detail and clarification of the initial proposal;
-a second group of amendments strengthen the proposal by enhancing the protection offered to the health and safety of workers.
The Commission’s amended proposal retains the general structure and objectives of the initial proposal but extends and expands on certain provisions. Of the 41 amendments adopted by Parliament, 31 have been accepted, 4 of these in part.
Six amendments have been rejected because they sought to exclude audible acoustic fields (Annex 1) from the scope of the proposal. The Commission has not accepted these amendments because they are contrary to the Commission’s obligations under Article 10 of Directive 86/188/EEC and under the European Parliament resolution of 13 September 1990 which requires the Commission to put forward a proposal on a directive on the basis of Article 118A of the Treaty with regard to the risks arising from noise and vibration and other physical agents.
The Commission has also refused an amendment which imposes upon it an obligation already fulfilled by the Commission in producing its annual report on the implementation of Community legislation.
Three amendments could not be accepted because their extremely binding nature would impose additional costs on employers yet not contribute to enhancing the health and safety of workers.