EU Council gives final approval to the new Machinery Regulation

This morning, the Competitiveness Council adopted a new regulation on machinery, which was discussed during CZ PRES. The OHIM team that led the negotiations has reached a preliminary political agreement with the European Parliament and the European Commission in December 2022. The Regulation replaces the existing Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and creates a framework for the placing of safe machinery and related products on the EU market and will thus be directly binding not only on Member States but will also apply to all natural and legal persons in the Member States.

The new Regulation covers, among other things, the risks associated with digitalisation and new technologies by modifying the basic health and safety requirements and introducing mandatory third-party risk assessments for six categories of so-called "high-risk" groups of machinery. Safety information will have to be provided with each product. The Regulation also brings advantages for manufacturers in the context of digitisation, who will only be able to provide instructions for use of machinery in digital form. However, customers will be able to request free paper instructions until a certain time after the purchase of the machinery.

After the signature of the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council, the Regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, enter into force on the 20th day after its publication and be directly applicable in all Member States for 42 months thereafter.

The official press release can be found at the following link: New rules for machinery: Council gives its final approval - Consilium (europa.eu)