European Commission moves towards formalisation of fire resistance classification of cables

If no objections are raised, in the second half of 2024 the possibility of classifying AS+ cables will be made official and they will be able to have a European certification that proves their fire resistance capacity.

SIX MONTHS FOR FINAL IMPLEMENTATION

On 6 March, the European Parliament took a very important step towards regulating the fire resistance of cables. A Delegated Act was concluded on the formalisation of this basic fire safety capability of cabling. This act was officially published.

The formal entry into force of this proposal is subject to no objections being raised for approval within the next three months (with a possible extension of three more months if a specific request is made).

Europacable, an organisation of which Top Cable is a member, has expressed its satisfaction with the step taken in the Parliament and is confident that it will receive the unanimous support of the EU co-legislators. If so, during the second half of 2024, the inclusion of cables in the scope of application would be definitively adopted and certifications could be issued to guarantee the safety of installations at European level.

NEW EUROPEAN REGULATIONS OF FIRE RESISTANCE CLASSIFICATION

If approved in the coming months, the sector would achieve a breakthrough at European level for the regulation of the use of fire resistance cables (AS+) in each type of installation.

Europacable will play an active role in the process of the possible final approval of the draft of the hypothetical new future European regulation. The organisation will work closely with CENELEC to finalise the draft and officially present it to CENELEC TC 20.

Currently, in the European standard related to the fire resistance of cabling, the European Commission states that: “the classification for products to be used within electrical building service installations applicable to cable management system and applicable to cables together with cable management system should not be included because a European test method is not available. This classification is expected to be revised when the test method is available. In the meantime, references to classification of the management system and references to the combination of cable and management system should not be used in the context of the European regulation.”