Guide to the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC

Version of 20 April 2009

This Guide is intended to serve as a manual for all parties directly or indirectly affected by the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC. It should assist in the interpretation of the Directive but cannot take its place; it explains and clarifies some of the most important issues related to the Directive’s application.

The Guide also aims to disseminate widely the explanations and clarifications reached by consensus among Member States and other stakeholders.

The Guide is based on the R&TTE Directive and on the “New Approach” described in the “Blue Guide”. The provisions of the New Legal Framework1 have not been taken into account in view of the difficulty of determining their impact on the R&TTE Directive.

The Guide will have to be reviewed accordingly at a later date.

The text of this Guide is publicly available, but is not binding in the sense of a legal act adopted by the Community. In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of the R&TTE Directive and this Guide, the provisions of the RTTE Directive prevail.

Finally, your attention is drawn to the fact that all references to the CE marking and EC Declaration of Conformity relate to the R&TTE Directive only and that the freedom to place an apparatus on the EU single market is only guaranteed when all relevant legislation is complied with. Reference is therefore made, whenever necessary, to other directives.