On March 29, 2014, eight new directives were published to harmonize and improve access to and functioning of the European Union (EU) internal market for manufacturers of lifts/safety components; equipment and protective systems in possible explosive atmospheres; simple pressure vessels; measuring and weighing instruments; products that can cause electromagnetic disturbances; and low voltage electrical equipment. The 28 Member States of the EU are given until 19 April 2016 to transpose the directives into national law that will take effect on 20 April 2016; current legislation applicable to these sectors will be repealed as of that date. The transition period also was designed to accommodate supply of stock already in the distribution chain.

The new directives are intended to streamline and harmonize rules, allowing operators to provide a single declaration of conformity per product and to demonstrate product compliance more easily through, inter alia, provision of technical information to market surveillance authorities by electronic means. The legislation addresses conformity assessments by manufacturers in accordance with specified safety elements and provides formats for declarations of conformity. It also clarifies the respective responsibilities of manufacturers; authorised representatives designated by manufacturers; importers; and distributors. At the same time, the legislation seeks to improve consumer safety through a traceability system and increased possibilities for authorities to stop and track potentially dangerous products from non-EU countries.

The new directives are as follows:

Directive 2014/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market and supervision of explosives for civil uses (recast)
Directive 2014/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of simple pressure vessels
Directive 2014/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility (recast)
Directive 2014/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of non-automatic weighing instruments
Directive 2014/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of measuring instruments (recast)
Directive 2014/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts and safety components for lifts
Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (recast)
Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits

EU Aims to Reduce Administrative Burden for Eight Industry Sectors