ANNEX XIII - DEFINITION OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

For the purposes of this Directive:

1) ‘technical specification’ means one of the following:

a) in the case of public works contracts the totality of the technical prescriptions contained in particular in the procurement documents, defining the characteristics required of a material, product or supply, so that it fulfils the use for which it is intended by the contracting authority; those characteristics include levels of environmental and climate performance, design for all requirements (including accessibility for disabled persons) and conformity assessment, performance, safety or dimensions, including the procedures concerning quality assurance, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking and labelling, user instructions and production processes and methods at any stage of the life cycle of the works; those characteristics also include rules relating to design and costing, the test, inspection and acceptance conditions for works and methods or techniques of construction and all other technical conditions which the contracting authority is in a position to prescribe, under general or specific regulations, in relation to the finished works and to the materials or parts which they involve;

b) in the case of public supply or service contracts a specification in a document defining the required characteristics of a product or a service, such as quality levels, environmental and climate performance levels, design for all requirements (including accessibility for disabled persons) and conformity assessment, performance, use of the product, safety or dimensions, including requirements relevant to the product as regards the name under which the product is sold, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking and labelling, user instructions, production processes and methods at any stage of the life cycle of the supply or service and conformity assessment procedures;

2) ‘standard’ means a technical specification, adopted by a recognized standardization body, for repeated or continuous application, with which compliance is not compulsory, and which is one of the following:

a) ‘international standard’ means a standard adopted by an international standardization organization and made available to the general public,

b) ‘European standard’ means a standard adopted by a European standardization organization and made available to the general public,

c) ‘national standard’ means a standard adopted by a national standardization organization and made available to the general public;

3) ‘European Technical Assessment’ means the documented assessment of the performance of a construction product, in relation to its essential characteristics, in accordance with the respective European Assessment Document, as defined in point 12 of Article 2 of Regulation EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 1);

4) ‘common technical specification’ means a technical specification in the field of ICT laid down in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation EU) 1025/2012;

5) ‘technical reference’ means any deliverable produced by European standardization bodies, other than European standards, according to procedures adapted to the development of market needs.