EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2023) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
amending Directive 2000/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards the methods to measure airborne noise emitted by equipment for use outdoors  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
This draft has not been adopted or endorsed by the European Commission. Any 
views expressed are the preliminary views of the Commission services and may not 
in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the Commission.    
EN 1  EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  REGULATION   
Directive 2000/14/EC on outdoor noise emission1 (‘the Directive ’) was adopted on 8 May 2000 and 
became applicable on 3 January 2002. The EU legal framework relating to noise emission by outdoor 
equipment was introduced by merging seven specific product directives and two directives on test 
procedures2. 
The Directive establis hes the legal framework to harmonise rules and procedures related to noise emission 
in the environment by equipment for use outdoors placed in the EU market. It aims to protect human health 
and well -being of citizens as well as to protect the environment, by reducing noise emission by equipment 
for use outdoors, and to contribute to the smooth functioning of the internal market, by harmonising 
requirements for outdoor equipment with respect to noise emission in order to prevent obstacles to the free 
movemen t of such equipment.  
The Directive is ‘ Old Approach’ legislation. It prescribes technical requirements and specifications 
(including references to standards), different from the ‘ New Approach’ legislation that lays down general 
essential requirements while  leaving the use of technical specifications to the manufacturer’s discretion. In 
particular, the Directive sets out harmonised noise limits for an exhaustive list of equipment, detailed 
methods to measure outdoor equipment’s noise levels, conformity asses sment procedures and marking 
requirements.  
Annex III, which accounts for half of the text of the Directive, contains the description of the noise 
measurement methods that the industry needs to comply with for the design and the conformity assessment 
of out door equipment. These methods are currently outdated and t his proposal  would allow bringing this 
significant part of the Directive in line with the technical progress and it would simplify the work of 
manufacturers and notified bodies by using the currently available version of the standards  adopted  under 
                                                 
1 Directive 2000/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of 
the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors ( OJ L 162, 3.7.2000, p. 
1), amended by Directive 2005/88/EC (OJ L 344, 27.12.2005, p. 44), by Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 (OJ L 87, 
31.3.2009, p. 109), and by Regulation (EU) 2019/1243 (OJ L 198, 25.7.2019); corrected by Corrigendum (OJ L 165, 
17.6.2006, p.  35 (2005/88/EC)). Original text: https://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32005L0088 ; 
consolidated text: https://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02000L0014 -20190726 . Commission’s 
sectoral webpage on Noise Emission by Outdoor Equipment: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/mechanical -
engineering/noise -emissions_en . 
2 Council Directive 79/113/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the 
determination of the no ise emission of construction plant and equipment (OJ L 33, 8.2.1979, p. 15;  
Council Directive 84/532/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to 
common provisions for construction plant and equipment (OJ L 30 0, 19.11.1984, p. 111);  
Council Directive 84/533/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the 
permissible sound power level of compressors (OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 123);  
Council Directive 84/534/EEC of 1 7 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the 
permissible sound power level of tower cranes (OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 130);  
Council Directive 84/535/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the 
permissible sound power level of welding generators (OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 142);  
Council Directive 84/536/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the 
permissible sound power level of power generators (OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 149);  
Council Directive 84/537/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the 
permissible sound power level of powered hand -held concrete -breakers and picks (OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 156);  
Council Directive 84/538/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the  laws of the Member States relating to the 
permissible sound power level of lawnmowers (OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 171);  
Council Directive 86/662/EEC of 22 December 1986 on the limitation of noise emitted by hydraulic excavators, rope -
operated excavators, d ozers, loaders and excavator -loaders (OJ L 384, 31.12.1986, p. 1).   
EN 2  EN Directive 2006/42/E C on machinery3 (‘the Machinery Directive’) . In addition, the new noise measurements 
would set a more robust basis for the update of the noise limits through a future revision of the Directive.  
This proposal is a result of the Commission’s power , according  to Article 18a of the Directive, to adopt 
delegated acts amending Annex III to adapt it to technical progress and  is based on the conclusions of the 
REFIT evaluation of the Directive4 published on 16 November 2020, after consulting the Commission 
Expert G roup on Outdoor Noise Emission5 (‘the expert group’) . 
The Directive complements the requirements of the Machinery Directive  with respect to airborne noise 
emissions. 55 out of the 57 equipment categories that are covered by the Directive fall also under th e scope 
of the Machinery Directive . The Machinery Directive  follows the ‘New Approach’ legislative technique , 
where  manufacturers that apply the relevant harmonised standards benefit of presumption of conformity 
with the essential health and safety require ments.  According to Annex I,  section 1.7.4.2  (u) manufacturers 
could also use the methods indicated in the harmonised standards to measure airborne noise unless 
otherwise indicated in other Union D irectives , which is the case of the Outdoor Noise Directive  for those 
55 equipment categories . However,  the noise measurement methods laid down in Annex III of the Directive 
are on many occasions outdated  because Annex III has not been revised since the Directive was adopted .   
In line with the EU strategy to reduce noise at source, the development of the Directive is included in the 
action list of the Zero Pollution Action Plan under Flagship 2, for the years 2022 -2023, which is one of the 
components  of the European Green Deal.  
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
On 16 November 2020 the Commission published the REFIT evaluation of the Directive6. 
The evaluation’s overall conclusion was that the Directive is generally considered effective, efficient, 
relevant, and c oherent, and has EU added value. The Directive was and still is the primary force driving 
noise emission reduction for outdoor equipment.  
Nevertheless, the evaluation identified several issues that affected the operation of the Directive : scope, 
noise lim its, noise measurement methods, conformity assessment procedures, collection of noise data and 
the alignment to the New Legislative Framework7, and pointed out the need either for a revision of the 
Directive or for the enactment of the Commission’s empower ment to adopt delegated acts to adapt the 
noise measurement methods to the technical progress (Article 18(a) of the Directive).  
On 17 March 2021, the Commission presented the results of the evaluation of the Directive to the expert 
group. Many of  the indus trial associations and the European standardisation body expressed their support to 
the amendment of Annex III through a delegated act swiftly followed by a complete revision of the 
Directive. A very reduced number of  industrial associations expressed thei r support to go directly for a 
complete revision of the Directive. The latter was also  initially the preferred option for many Member 
                                                 
3 Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on machinery, and amending 
Directive 95/16/EC  (OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 24 –86), amended by Regulation (EC) No 596/2009  (OJ L 188, 18.7.2009, p. 
14), by Directive 2009/127/EC (OJ L 310, 25.11.2009, p. 29), by Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 
1), by Directive 2014/33/EU (OJ L 96, 29.3.2014, p. 251) and by Regulation (EU) 2019/1243 (OJ L 198, 25. 7.2019); 
corrected by Corrigendum (OJ L 076, 16.3.2007, p. 35 (200 6/42/EC)). Original text: https://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32006L0042 ; consolida ted text: https://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02006L0042 -20190726 . 
4 https://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2020:715:FIN   
5 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert -groups -register/screen/expert -groups/consult?lang=en&groupID=3673   
6 https://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2020:715:FIN   
7 Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the 
requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation 
(EEC) No 339/93 (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30) and Decision No 768 /2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 9 July 2008 on a common framework for the marketing of products, and repealing Council Decision 
93/465/EEC (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 82).   
EN 3  EN States , with some  exception s, but eventually they agreed to pursue the amendment of Annex III through a 
delegated act first, with the condition that  it would then be followed by the revision of the Directive.  
While the amendment of Annex III through a delegated ac t will not address all the problems iden tified by 
the evaluation, it will solve more quickly , in comparison with a complete revision of the Directive, one of 
the most critical issues , which is the update of  the noise measurement methods in line with the technical 
progress and consequently also i n line with the standards used under the Machinery Directive.  
The amendment of Annex III of the Directive has been discussed with all stakeholders, including Member 
States, industrial associations, notified bodies, European standardisation organisations, and individual 
experts on standardisation of noise measurement methods.  
The consultation with stakeholders took place through the expert group with the help of the collaborative 
platform CIRCABC8 for communications and the distribution of information and d ocuments.  The expert 
group met in three different occasions to discuss the modifications of Annex III.  
Stakeholders have widely agreed with the new noise measurement methods proposed.  
The main concern of the expert group was the fact that the adoption of the delegated act is linked to the 
condition that there should not be any direct impact on the results of the noise measurements of equipment 
subject to noise limits (Article 12 of the Directive). By default, if the noise meas urement methods change, 
the resulting noise levels of the equipment may also change. For equipment under Article 12, this could 
lead to potential non compliances with the Directive if the new noise values are higher than the established 
noise limits even though  the equipment has not changed. To avoid this, the Commission proposed, for  these 
particular cases, to give  the possibility to manufacturers to declare the noise values measured according to 
the original methods established in the Directive, as long a s the noise limits laid down in Article 12 are not 
revised.  
Another point that was thoroughly discussed during all the meetings of the expert group was the 
methodology to calculate the uncertainty factor , that the Directive did not include. Due to the lac k of 
progress in the standardisation forum on this subject it was not possible to include a methodology on this 
subject.  
For the evaluation  of the Directive , different data sources were used, various Member States and 
stakeholders’ consultations in the re levant working parties were carried out, as well as several studies were 
undertaken, to collect updated information on the performance of equipment in the scope and to explore the 
need and possibility for revision:  
 the “Study on the experience in the imple mentation and administration of Directive 2000/14/EC 
relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors” (the 
“NOMEVAL” study)9 in 2007;  
 the “Impact assessment on possible policy options for reviewing the Outdoor Equipment Nois e 
Directive” (the “ARCADIS” study) in 200910; 
 the “Study on the merger of the Directive on noise from outdoor equipment, 2000/14/EC, with the 
Machinery Directive, 2006/42/EC” (the “CEPS study”) in 201311; 
 the “Study on the suitability of the current scope an d limit values of Directive 2000/14/EC relating 
to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors” (the “ODELIA” study)12 
in 2015 -2016;  
                                                 
8 https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/597bb16c -7f1d-48ea -9afe-3d5248208547   
9 https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/1639   
10 https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/1635   
11 https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/4985   
12 https://ec.europ a.eu/docsroom/documents/18281    
EN 4  EN  the “Supporting study for an evaluation13 and impact assessment14 of Directive 2000/14/EC on 
noise emi ssion by outdoor equipment” (the “VVA study”) in 2017 -2018.  
The information about the noise measurement methods collected during the evaluation of the Directive, in 
particular the information included in the NOMEVAL study, the ODELIA study, the opinions su bmitted by 
the stakeholders , and also the current standards including noise measurement methods identified for all 
equipment categories , have served as a basis  for the preparation of the delegated act.  All comments and 
positions papers received f rom the di fferent stakeholders during the preparation process  of this delegated 
act have been distributed to all the members of the expert group through CIRCABC and discussed during 
the expert group meetings . 
The Commission did not find necessary to perform an impac t assessment of the proposal. The 
modifications that this proposal introduce are limited to the replacement  of the noise measurement methods 
already used by manufacturers and notified bodies with new ones, without introducing any additional 
burden. The eco nomic impact w ould be therefore limited to the one -time investment made by these 
stakeholder s to adapt their facilities to the new methods and to perform the new noise measurement for the 
existing models on the market.  The models of equipment placed on the market are not expected to change 
as a consequence of the new methods. Manufacturers will still be required to design the ir machines to keep 
the noise emission s at the lowest level to comply the Machinery Directive as indicated abov e. Therefore, 
there is no environmental or social impact expected.  
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  REGULATION  
The objective of this d raft delegated regulation is to amend Annex III on method of measurement of 
airborne noise emitted by equipment for use  outdoors to adapt it to technical progress  as set out in Article 
18(a).  
More specifically, Article 1 8(a) provides that the amendment cannot have any direct impact on the 
measured sound power level of equipment listed in equipment described in Article 12,  in particular through 
the inclusion of references  to relevant European standards.  
In addition, the draft delegated regulation seeks the coherence  with the state of the art reflected in the 
harmonised standards, which references are published in the Official Journal of the European Union , that 
give presumption of conformity with essential requirement 1.7.4.2. (u) on information on airborne noise 
emissions  as set out in the Machinery Directive .  
The proposed date of applicability of the delegated regul ation is 24 months from its entry into force and the 
delegated regulation will therefore not affect equipment placed on the Union market before that date of 
applicability.  
The draft delegated regulation has no implications for the EU budget.  
  
                                                 
13 https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu -law-and-publications/publication -detail/ -/publication/ 90f4d795 -e192 -11e8 -b690 -
01aa75ed71a1   
14 https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu -law-and-publications/publication -detail/ -/publi cation/69de2e48 -e17d -11e8 -b690 -
01aa75ed71a1    
EN 5  EN COMMISSION D ELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
amending Directive 2000/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the 
methods to measure airborne noise emitted by equipment for use outdoors  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Havi ng regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union , 
Having regard to Directive 2000/14/EC  of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2000 on 
the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by 
equipment for use outdoors15, and in particular Article 1 8(a) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Pursuant to Article 4 of Directive 2000/14/EC , Member States are to ensure that  equipment as 
referred to in Article 2(1) is not placed on the market or put into service until the manufacturer or its 
authorised representative established in the Union ensures that the equipment bears the indication of 
the guaranteed sound power level, which pursuant to Article 3(f) shall be dete rmined in accordance 
with the requirements laid down in Annex III.  
(2) Pursuant to Section 1.5.8, second paragraph, of Annex I to Directive 2006/42/EC of the European 
Parliament and of the Council16, Member States are  to ensure that manufacturers assess the lev el of 
noise  emission s of machines . Pursuant to Section 1.7.4.2, point  (u) of that Annex, Member States 
are to ensure that manufacturers  provide information on airborne noise emissions , including 
information on the method used to measure airborne noise , which should be the most appropriate 
method for the machine ry when harmonised standards are not applied, unless the  method is 
specified in other Union legislation  and its use is mandatory, which is the case of Directive 
2000/14/EC . Manufacture rs of e quipment  that fall s under the scope of both Directive 2006/42/EC 
and Directive 2000/14/EC are therefore required to measure the noise emissions of such equipment 
in accordance with  the metho ds established in Directive 2000/14/EC . 
(3) Article 12 of Directive 2000/14/EC  contains a Table in which the permissible sound power level of 
equipment for outdoors use is laid down. That Table has been updated by Directive 2005/88/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council17. The methods to measure noise , which are  laid down  
in Annex III to Directive 2000/14/EC , have  however  not been updated since  its adoption . It is 
therefore necessary to bring these methods in line with technical progress  and progress in European 
standardisation.   
(4) Different measurement methods may have different conditions or limitations which can impact the 
calculated sound power level. The permissible sound power levels in Article 12 of Directive 
2000/14/EC were established using  the measurement methods adopted in year 2000. If guaranteed 
sound power l evels of equipment listed in Article 12  are calculated in accordance with the  new 
                                                 
15 OJ L 162, 3.7.2000, p. 1.  
16 Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on machinery, and amending 
Directive 95/16/EC (recast) ( OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 24 ). 
17 Directive 200 5/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2005 amending Directive 
2000/14/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by 
equipment for use outdoors (OJ L 344, 27.12.2 005, p. 44).   
EN 6  EN measurement method s, and the permissible sound power levels have not been updated accordingly, 
then both noise values may not be fully comparable and the variation of the cal culated guaranteed 
sound power level due to the change of the noise measurement method could lead to a change in  the 
conformity  of the equipment . Where doubts about the conformity  of equipment arise  due to a 
change of the noise measurement methods , it is t herefore necessary , for the sake of comparability, 
to provide for  the calculation of the sound power levels with the same measurement methods used 
to establish the permissible sound power levels . 
(5) Directive 2000/14/EC should therefore be amended accordingly . 
(6) It is necessary t o provide economic operators with sufficient time to adapt to the new requirements . 
The applic ation of this Delegated Regulation  should therefore be deferred,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1 
Annex III to Directive 2000/14/EC  is replaced  by the text in the Annex to this Regulation.  
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official 
Journal of the European Union . 
It shall apply from [Note to PO: insert exact d ate – […] 24 months after entry into force of this 
Regulation ]. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 The President  
 Ursula VON DER LEYEN