Strasbourg, 22/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 15 December, the European Parliament adopted at second reading a resolution approving the Council's common position on rationalisation of the “machines” directive (Schwab report). The text approved increased legal security by specifying the scope and the meaning of the directive, thereby eliminating a number of ambiguities, that could lead to different interpretations, with, for example, the “lifts” directive or the “low voltage” directive. It should become easier to oversee the market and product certification bodies thanks to greater coordination at EU level and better follow-up at national level. Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for enterprise and industrial policy, welcomes the vote and says: “The EU is a major world exporter of machinery and mechanical equipment: this new directive will facilitate the life of companies and step up their competitiveness”.
Directive 98/37/EC, the so-called “machines” directive, aims to harmonise the design and the production of machines in order to increase the safety of machine operators and ensure free movement of machines within the internal market. It applies to many goods, small products for the consumer market as well as large-scale equipment for professional use. The essential elements on which it is based are: compulsory requirements on health and safety, voluntary harmonised standards, conformity assessment procedures and EC marking (the machines bearing this mark may move freely within the European Economic Area).