EU Machinery Legislation: Current and Proposed Product Regulation
Whitepaper Overview
At present, Directive 2006/42/EC regulates the placing on the market – and putting into service – of machinery in the EU. This legislation is, however, poised for change. The Directive will soon be replaced by a new EU law, the proposed Machinery Products Regulation.
Anticipated to apply from January 2027, the new law will bring many regulatory changes. There will be much more to manage in the years ahead, and for a wider range of economic operators (e.g., EU importers and distributors of machinery will, for the first time, have obligations to fulfil).
The whitepaper introduces Directive 2006/42/EC before discussing how the proposed Machinery Products Regulation will likely build upon it.
This Whitepaper Covers
Key points discussed in this whitepaper include:
- The scope of Directive 2006/42/EC, also what is excluded from scope (e.g., household appliances intended for domestic use)
- The requirements of Directive 2006/42/EC (e.g., CE marking)
- Changes on the horizon with the imminent adoption of the proposed Machinery Products Regulation (e.g., the modification of a piece of machinery is set to be better addressed in EU law)
*This whitepaper was originally published on 9th May 2023. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.
Update: June 29th, 2023
On 29 June, the new EU Regulation on Machinery was published in the Official Journal of the European Union as Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 constitutes the new legal framework applicable to machinery, related products and partly completed machinery in the European market. Compared to the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, it provides more clarity on the products in scope and redefines the essential health and safety requirements for machinery, taking into account digital transition and risks arising from new technologies.
The new Regulation will enter into force on 19 July 2023 (on the twentieth day following that of its publication) and will apply from 20 January 2027, date on which Directive 2006/42/EC will be repealed.
Author
Dr Alex Martin, Principal Regulatory Consultant, RINA
Dr Alex Martin is Principal Regulatory Consultant at RINA.
He consults on various regulations affecting electrical and electro-mechanical products, from EU product safety laws like the Low Voltage and Machinery Directives through to EU environmental laws like ecodesign, RoHS, REACH, and WEEE.
Alex also consults on international equivalents to these laws and works on product policy studies for clients including the European Commission and the UK Government.
He can be contacted at alex.martin@rina.org
