EK postponed the notification of Prague's building regulations by three months

Publisher
ČTK
24.02.2016 20:00

Prague - The European Commission has postponed the notification process for Prague's building regulations until May 24. Prague must clarify the rules for flue pipes by that time. Due to concerns about discrimination against importers, the Commission is asking for justification as to why the regulations approved last year require exhaust outlets on the roof when there are devices such as boilers or gas under-window heaters. The Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) informed ČTK about this today. Prague will align its building regulations with European rules, stated city spokesperson Vít Hofman.

The notification process has been postponed by three months; it was originally supposed to end today, the ministry reported, citing information from the Office for Technical Standardization, Metrology and State Testing (ÚNMZ), which is a partner of the European Commission in this matter. "The European Commission's goal is primarily to ensure that foreign importers are not discriminated against in the Czech Republic," MMR explained.

According to the ministry, Prague did not copy the paragraph regulating flue pipes from the national decree on technical requirements for buildings. "Prague merged two paragraphs of the relevant decree into one, thus misleading the European Commission into believing that all flue pipes must be discharged above the roof," stated MMR. If Prague had copied the two paragraphs literally, the commission would not have had a significant objection, as the national decree was indeed notified.

City spokesperson Hofman pointed out that the notification is precisely intended to clarify and eliminate similar issues. "Prague will, after consultation with the Ministry of Regional Development, align the proposal for Prague's building regulations with the relevant directive of the European Commission," he told ČTK.

The city's council prepared the long-discussed Prague building regulations for submission for notification to Brussels at the end of October last year. In an extraordinary meeting, they incorporated suggestions from the MMR beforehand. The council, at that time, met in a smaller composition after Prague councilors had recalled four of the 11 council members the previous night.

The regulations, which were presented by Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) following a competency dispute with her former deputy Matěj Stropnický (SZ/Trojkoalice), were approved by the city council in early August. They are expected to come into effect this year after notification.

The building regulations are an implementing regulation of the construction law. They generally define requirements for land use and technical requirements for buildings. The validity of the original building regulations was suspended by MMR for 15 months last January. Prague has had its building regulations as the only city in the country for more than 100 years.

EK postponed the notification of Prague's building regulations by three months

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