Commission's proposal for the revision of the Machinery Directive in its 2021 Work Programme

Like every year, on 19th October 2020 the Commission adopted its work programme for next year, setting out a list of new legislative initiatives, withdrawal of pending proposals and review of existing EU legislation related to the political objectives of the EU.

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Of relevant interest for the European industry in the 2021 work programme are the legislative initiatives relating to the  green and digital transition, in other words the political priorities of the European industrial strategy.

Starting with  the green transition, the Commission will table a “Fit for 55” package to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030 with the aim to achieve the climate-neutrality target by 2050. This will cover wide-ranging policy areas – from renewables to energy efficiency first, energy performance of buildings, as well as energy taxation, effort sharing and emissions trading. According to the Commission’s plans, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will help reduce the risk of carbon leakage from imports and encourage EU partners to raise their climate ambition.

Moving to the digital transition, the Commission will put forward a roadmap of defined 2030 digital targets, related to connectivity, skills and digital public services. The Commission will also legislate in areas covering safety, liability, fundamental rights and data aspects of  artificial intelligence.

The 2021 Work Program includes an update of the recently launched industrial strategy for Europe, to take into account the impacts of the coronavirus.  

A full list of the 44 new policy objectives are set out in Annex 1  of the 2021 work programme. It is important to mention that that this list is not exhaustive.

In  Annex 2, the Commission sets out the most significant REFIT initiatives including revisions, evaluations and legislative “fitness checks” the Commission will undertake in 2021.  Among them, the Commission mentions the Revision of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC which aims to:

1. address the risks stemming from new technologies while allowing for technical progress

2.  simplify the requirements for documentation, by allowing digital formats, hence reducing administrative burden for economic operators, with an additional positive impact on environmental costs

3. improve the legal clarity of some major concepts and definitions in the current text of the Directive

4. ensure coherence with other Directives and Regulations for products and improve enforcement of the legislation through the alignment to the New Legislative Framework

5. reduce costs of transposition by converting the Directive into a Regulation.

The Commission is now planning to present the proposal for the revision of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC in the second quarter of 2021, and not in Q1 as was mentioned in 2020 work program.