The Ministry of Regional Development proposes to allow developers to use Eurocodes in construction on an alternative basis. The corresponding draft government resolution has been sent to departments for approval.

On December 24, the Ministry of Regional Development published on its website a draft government decree allowing developers to use European building codes and regulations (Eurocodes) on an alternative basis, subject to the requirements of the technical regulations “On the safety of buildings and structures.” As noted in the explanatory note to the project, the document was developed in order to “reduce the time frame for incorporating the best European experience into Russian design practice.” It is expected that the adoption of the resolution “will allow, until the adoption of building codes and standards of European countries as national standards (codes of rules) and the completion of the update of SNiP, to simplify their application on the territory of the Russian Federation.” As the Ministry of Regional Development explained to Kommersant, the project is at the stage of coordination with departments and will be submitted to the government no earlier than the beginning of 2011.

The National Association of Builders (NOSTROY) explained to Kommersant that it is possible to use Eurocodes in construction today, but this requires the development of special technical conditions for each such facility. The Ministry of Regional Development has repeatedly proposed simplifying this procedure - in particular, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Regional Development Konstantin Korolevsky announced the preparation of this document at a board meeting on December 2. NOSTROY, however, is skeptical about the document, believing that it will not be agreed upon by departments, since it contradicts the law “On Technical Regulation,” which sets out the procedure for using foreign standards. According to NOSTROY experts, it will not be possible to systematically solve the problem with such a document; this is possible only within the framework of the “Program for the harmonization of Russian and European systems of regulatory documents in construction until 2014,” which is currently being signed by the head of the Ministry of Regional Development. Let us note, however, that First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has repeatedly spoken about the need for the rapid introduction of Eurocodes. It is possible that the document from the Ministry of Regional Development is necessary for the rapid implementation of the project for the introduction of Eurocodes, contrary to the opinion of NOSTROY.

Alexander Gudkov

The Ministry of Regional Development proposes to allow Eurocodes in Russia