EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 26.7.2011 
COM(2011) 456 final 
2011/0197 (COD)   
Proposal for a 
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
on recreational craft and personal watercraft 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
{SEC(2011) 958 final} 
{SEC(2011) 959 final} 
  
EN 1   EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL  
General context 
The Recreational Craft Directive1 was adopted in 1994 to regulate the placing on the market 
of pleasure boats on the European  market. It lays down essent ial safety requirement that 
manufacturers shall respect when designing watercraft in order to  place those safe watercraft 
on the EU market. The manufacturers must fulfil several obligations in order to show that 
their product complies with the Directive, including a Declara tion of Conformity of the 
watercraft with the essential requirements of the Directive, affixing the CE marking on the 
product and providing the users with informati on on the use and mainte nance of the product. 
Directive 94/25/EC was amended by Directiv e 2003/44/EC which introduces a set of limit 
values for exhaust emissions fo r propulsion engines and noise levels for watercrafts with 
propulsion engines, for both the compression igniti on (CI) engines and the spark ignition (SI) 
engines. The key air pollutants regulated in the Recreational Craft Di rective are: Nitrogen 
Oxides (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HC) and the Pa rticulates (PT). Furthermore, Directive 
2003/44/EC enlarges the scope of  the Recreational Craft Direct ive to cover also personal 
watercraft. 
The same amending Directive provides a review cl ause (Article 2) which aims at reinforcing 
emission limits to reflect the technological prog ress of recreational marine engines as well as 
the need to harmonise the limits worldwide, pa rticularly with the US. At the same time the 
vulnerable position of the SMEs should be taken into  account as this sector  consists mainly of 
small and medium enterprises (more th an 95% of businesses are SMEs).  
The SMEs active in the sector are mainly invo lved in boat building or engine marinising 
(modifying and fitting the on road or non road e ngine into the boat). There are also few small 
volume engine manufacturers operating on a nd supplying solely for the EU market.  
The review clause (Article 2) also stipul ates that the Commission shall report on the 
possibilities of further improving the environmental characteristic s of engines and, if deemed 
appropriate in the light of this report, put forward appropriate propo sals to the European 
Parliament and the Council. The Commission issued a repor t in 2007 (COM(2007/313) in 
which it announced that it w ould assess options to further reducing the exhaust emission 
limits of recreational marine engines.  
Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union 
The Recreational Craft Directiv e is embedded in a framework of European Legislation 
combining marine safety and environmental aspects.  
                                                 
1 Directive 94/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 1994 on the 
approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to 
recreational craft (OJ L 164, 30.6.1994; p.15)  
EN 2   EN One of the flagship policies defined in the Europe 2020 strategy2 aims at establishing a 
resource efficient Europe to meet the climate/energy targets. The integrated maritime policy3 
streamlines the protection of the environmen t in every Union policy, especially those 
affecting the maritime environment. The Recrea tional Craft Directive revision takes place in 
this general context. It also  contributes to the objective of  the 2010 International Year of 
Biodiversity.  
The Recreational Craft Directive is in line with  the objectives of the Clean Air for Europe 
(CAFE) initiative4 which provides an integrated and long term strategy for reducing the 
adverse impact of air pollution on human health and environment as specified in the Directive 
2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe.5  
The Recreational Craft Directive only covers health related pollutants from engines exhaust 
emissions such as particulates matters (PT), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC). It 
does not address CO 2. Today no inventory or da ta is available on CO 2 emissions from 
recreational craft engines. Nevertheless, CO 2 emissions from engines in this sector might be 
addressed in the future in line with the recen t developments in the ro ad sector, either by 
voluntary or regulatory measures.  
2. CONSULATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT  
Consultation of interested parties 
The revision has been under consideration si nce 2008 and has been th e subject of a wide 
ranging consultation, namely in the framewor k of the Standing Committee for recreational 
craft with the Member States authorities an d other stakeholders like industry, costumer 
associations, standardisation organisations a nd representatives of conformity assessment 
bodies. 
A public internet consultati on was organized in May/July  2009. The Commission services 
received 32 responses to the que stionnaire published in English only. The results of the public 
consultation are published at: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/ cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=3088&tpa_id=160&l
ang=en  
The replies to this consultation revealed su pport to introduce more restrictive limits for 
exhaust emissions while taking into account th e position of SMEs. The respondents indicated 
that limits should be common not only for the EU/EEA, states but also for other parts of the 
world, the United States in partic ular. The survey also confirme d that a further reduction of 
noise limits of watercrafts with propulsion engines would not e ffectively solve the problem of 
excessive noise in the exposed areas.  
                                                 
2 COM (2010) 2020 final. 
3 See for instance Green Paper COM (2006) 275 final "Towards a future Maritime Policy for the Union: 
A European vision for the oceans and the seas", the Communication from the Commission COM (2007) 
575 final "An integrated Maritime  Policy for the European Union", and more recently, the Clean Ship 
Initiative proposed by DG Mare in 2009. All these initiatives acknowledge the need for high protection 
of the environment in the context of any maritime policy.  
4 See the link: http://europa.eu/legislation_summar ies/environment/air_pollution/l28031a_en.htm#KEY 
5 See the link: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriSe rv/LexUriServ.do?uri=CEL EX:32008L0050:EN:NOT  
EN 3   EN The consultation highlighted that the specificities  of the recreational ma rine sector should be 
better reflected in the EU legislation. Concerns were raised with regard to the very active 
second hand market as well as th e self-built boats. The responses also indicated that there is a 
need to clarify the obligations of economic operators including private importers as well as 
competences of the national enforcement authorities 
Collection and use of expertise 
Several external studies have been commissi oned to further examine the improvement of 
environmental characteristics of recreational marine engines and the impact thereof. 
• TNO6 “Stocktaking study on the current stat us and developments of technology and 
regulations related to the environmental pe rformance of recreational marine engines – 
Final Report”, January 2005. (“Stocktaking study”). The Commission requested this study 
after having introduced environmental requirements in the Recreational Craft Directive, to 
evaluate the environmental impact of the use of propulsion engines in recreational craft.  
• European Confederation of Nautical Industries “ Study on The Feasibility and Impact of 
Possible Scenarios for Further Emission Re duction Measures for Recreational Craft 
Engines in the Context of Directive 94/25/EC, as Amen ded by Directive 2003/44/EC: 
Impact Assessment Report – Final Report”, 26  October 2006”. This study identified and 
measured in detail the impacts and distributiv e effects of the four possible scenarios for 
further emission reduction measures  identified in the TNO study.  
• ARCADIS7 “Complementary Impact Assessment Study on possible em ission reduction 
measures for recreational marine engines” – June 2008.  Following the results of the 
previous study, the Commission launched anothe r study in order to identify and assess new 
scenarios which would take into account the peculiar position of SMEs in the recreational 
craft sector.  
• The studies are available at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/s ectors/maritime/documents/index_en.htm  
Impact assessment  
The Commission has carried out a detailed imp act assessment listed in  its Work Programme. 
The impact assessment focuses on the following three areas of the revision having substantial 
impacts: 
A. exhaust emissions,  B. noise emissions; and  C alignment to the New Legal Framework: 
                                                
 
6 “Stocktaking study on the current status and developments of technology and regulations related to the 
environmental performance of recreational marine engines – Final Report”, January 2005, TNO for DG Enterprise 
7 “Complementary Impact Assessment Study on possible emission reduction measures for recreational 
marine engines”, June 2008, ARCADIS for DG Enterprise   
EN 4   EN For these three areas the following op tions were analysed in detail. 
A. Exhaust emission limits for engines 
Option 1 - No change  
The existing exhaust emission limits  in the Directive remain as defined by the amendment 
2003/44/EC. 
Option 2 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (Stage II) 
The possibility of introducing the Stage II of  the exhaust emission lim its has been assessed. 
Altogether five possible scenario s to further restrict the limits  have been proposed (see for 
details impact assessment p.21). 
The Scenario 5 as the most suit able scenario was sele cted for further evaluation. This scenario 
5 harmonises the limits with the US for both:  Spark ignition (SI) engines and compression 
ignition (CI) engines. For CI engines the limits  are those set in US EPA 40 CFR Part 1042 for 
marine diesel recreational engines. For SI engi nes the limits are be those set in US EPA 40 
CFR Part 1045 for new non-road SI engines, equipment and vessels. 
Option 3 - Stricter exhaust emission limits (St age II) combined with mitigating measures 
to limit negative economic/social effects 
This option looks into different possibilities to tighten  the rules for exhaus t emissions while at 
the same time including a mitigating measur e to limit the negative economic and social 
effects, which the introducti on of higher emission limits may have on manufacturers. 
Sub-option 3.1 – Use of a flexibility scheme 
An option to mitigate the effects of stricter exhaust emission rules might be the introduction 
of the flexibility scheme. The idea is to allow the engine manufacturers to place on the market 
a limited number of recreationa l marine engines compliant w ith the previous stage of 
emissions, still after the entry into force of new emission limit values.  
Sub-option 3.2 – Use of a transitional peri od for all engine manufacturers (3 years) 
The proposal is to provide a three years trans itional period after the en try into force of the 
Directive in order to allow the engine ma nufacturers to adapt th e engines to the new 
technologies.  
Sub-option 3.3 – Use of a transitional period for all engine manufacturers + a specific 
transitional period for small and medium si zed engine manufacturers placing on the EU 
market the SI outboard engines < 15 kW (3+3 years). 
The three years transitional period for the industry would remain. On top of  this, an additional 
period of 3 years (6 years from the entry in  force) would be gr anted to SME engine 
manufacturers who place on the market SI engines below 15 kW.  
This last sub-option was selected in the impact assessment as the preferable option. 
B. Noise emission limits for watercrafts with propulsion engines.   
EN 5   EN Option 1 - No change  
The existing noise  emission limits  in the Directive remain as defined by the amendment 
2003/44/EC. 
Option 2 – Stricter no ise emission limits  
The current EU noise emission limits regulating the sound emitted by the watercraft would be 
tightened.  
Option 1 (keeping the current limit values) was f ound to be the preferred option because of  
– it does not entail compliance cost (companies w ill not have to invest  in new technologies 
to achieve the required emission limits);  
– it provides the possibility to achieve greater environmental benefits through tailor-made, 
national, measures, specifically designed for th e areas in which watercraft operates in each 
country.  
Member States would enjoy more leeway to design specific measures which would allow 
them to effectively restrict noise, since noise emitted by watercraft is not the sole result of the engines, but also depend s on factors such as operation, weather conditions, etc.  
C. Alignment of the RCD with the New Legislative Framework
 
Consequently to the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and of  Decision 768/2008/EC, 
the Recreational Craft Directive has to be br ought in line with the principles of New 
Legislative Framework. It m eans basically the inclusion of  the chapters describing the 
obligations of economic operators, the compet ences of conformity assessment bodies and 
market surveillance authorities, new conform ity assessment modules and the status of CE 
marking. 
Since the Commission is engaged to align the s ectorial legislation to the NLF, the impact 
assessment concentrated in anal ysing the impacts of the alig nment only. These impacts should 
be mostly positive, since the horizontal provisions are clarifying certain issues which are subject to uncertainty for the moment. Legal cert ainty will be for the benefit of all parties: 
economic operators, national and European Un ion administration as well as consumers. 
Certain new obligations set for economic operators , can have an economic impact in terms of 
new costs for the economic operators.
8  
3. LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL  
Main elements of the revision 3.1. Clarifying scope and concepts of the Directive  
In order to facilitate the application of the Recreational craft Direct ive by manufacturers and 
national authorities, the scope and some defi nitions of this Directive are clarified.  
                                                
 
8 The impact of the alignment w ith the NLF is closely evaluated in the Omnibus Impact Assessment 
(COM proposal aligning several directives to the NLF at the same time).   
EN 6   EN In the past, there have been de bates about the content of the te rm “recreational craft” in the 
Directive which has been sometimes claimed to be an overall term covering both recreational 
craft and personal watercraft. This lack of cl arity is now eliminated by introducing into the 
definitions a new overall concept “watercraft”  which covers both recreational craft and 
personal watercraft.  
Since the term “recreational craf t” is now clearly limited to  only some types of products 
covered by the Directive, the title of the Dir ective is changed to ““Directive on recreational 
craft and personal watercraft” in order for the title to correspond better to the scope. 
As regards the list of excluded products, it is necessary to add amphibious  craft to the list to 
exclude it from the requirements of this Directiv e. For reasons of consistency and clarification 
it is also specified that only personal watercra ft intended for sports a nd leisure is included in 
the Directive, and not for instance personal wate rcraft intended for resc ue and police services. 
Furthermore, the definition of “Canoes” that are excluded from the scope is clarified to 
indicate that the canoe must be “designed to be propelled by hand paddle power only” in 
order to be excluded from the scope of the Directive. 
It is also appropriate to provi de definitions of “watercraft bu ilt for own use” and of “private 
importer” specific to this sector in orde r to facilitate the understanding and uniform 
application of the Directive 
3.2. General safety requirement 
For reasons of clarity and consis tency with other New Approach Directives, it is necessary to 
specify explicitly that that products covere d by this Directive may only be placed on the 
market or put into service if they meet the general requiremen t imposing them to be without 
danger to the safety and health of persons, prope rty or environment and only if they meet the 
essential requirements set out in  Annex I. Laying down this ge neral safety requirement is 
important since it could be used as a legal base  for taking out of the ma rket unsafe watercraft 
in particular in a situation where a new risk which is not covered by the harmonized standards 
is discovered. 
3.3. Exhaust emissions  
3.3.1.  The new stricter emission limits 
New stricter limits are foreseen for the exhaust emission of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), 
Hydrocarbons (HC) and the Particulates (PT).  
For CI engines these limits are set applying the US EPA standards for marine diesel 
recreational engines (40 CFR Part  1042). For SI engines, the lim its are set using the US EPA 
emission standards for new non-road SI engine s, equipment and vessels (40 CFR Part 1045). 
This approach sets the limits at a level that  reflects the technical development of cleaner 
marine engine technologies and that allows  a development towards the harmonisation of 
exhaust emission limits worldwide.  
The CO-limits are slightly relaxed as a trade-off for achieving the significant decrease of 
other air pollutants and in order to ensure that the compliance costs to industry remain 
proportionate. However, the relaxation does not lead to a safety risk.  
EN 7   EN 3.3.2.  Reference fuels and test cycles 
The test fuels used in the assessment of conformity to the exhaust emission limits need to 
reflect the composition of the fuels used in th e relevant market, and therefore the European 
test fuels must be used in the type approval by the European Union manufacturers. However, 
since non EU manufacturers may not have access to  European reference fuels, it is necessary 
to foresee that the authorities performing th e conformity assessment (Notified bodies) may 
also accept that engines are test ed with other reference fuels. The choice of reference fuels is, 
however, limited to U.S. and Japanese specificati ons as specified in the relevant ISO standard 
in order to ensure quality and comparability of  test results. (Reciprocating internal combustion 
engines-Exhaust emission measurement- Part 5: Test fuels. Currently EN ISO 8178-5:2008). 
In addition, the relevant test cy cles must be specified by refe rence to the same ISO standard 
(Reciprocating internal combustion engines - E xhaust emission measurement - Part 4: Test 
cycles for different engine applicati ons which is currently EN ISO 8178-4:1996) . 
The recreational craft sector is actively invol ved in the development of innovative solutions 
for propulsion systems, which involve hybrid, elect rical engines and even fuel cells. Specific 
test cycles may in future be  developed for hybrid systems. 
3.3.3.  Mitigating measures for industry 
A general three years transitional period for the industry is foreseen. In  addition, as regards 
exhaust emission requirements, a supplementary  3 years is granted to SME engine 
manufacturers who place on the ma rket the SI engines below 15 kW. This is needed in order 
to allow SMEs operating in this market segmen t to avoid financial di sruption and to adjust 
their production to the new rules. 
3.4. Constructional requirements  
A new requirement is foreseen to impose mandato ry installation of holding tanks to watercraft 
fitted with toilets in order to contribute  to the marine environmental protection. 
3.5. Post construction assessme nt and private importer  
Directive 94/25/EC contains rules on the post construction assessment of recreational craft 
which is carried out by any na tural or legal person established within the Community who 
places the product on the market in cases, where neither the manufacturer, nor his authorized 
representative fulfils the responsibilities for evaluating the conformity  of products to the 
Directive. For consistency, it is appropriate to extent the scope of this  procedure to cover not 
only recreational craft but also personal watercra ft. For clarity, it must be specified by whom 
and in which situations exactly this  procedure can be used. These are: 
• Private importer, that is a natural or le gal person who imports in the course of non-
commercial activity a product from a third coun try into the Union w ith the intention of 
putting it into service for his own use. 
• Any person placing on the market or putting into service an engine or a watercraft after a 
major modification or conversion thereof or any person changing the intended purpose of a 
watercraft not covered by the sc ope this Directive in a way th at it falls under its scope   
EN 8   EN • Any person placing on the market a watercraft built for own use before the end of the 5 
year period mentioned in Article 2 (2) (a) (vii). 
As regards importing recreationa l craft and personal watercra ft, it should be noted that 
compared to Directive 94/25/EC, the use of Post  construction assessments is restricted to 
cases of non commercial import by private importers. The aim is to prevent abuse of this procedure for commercial ends . Finally, in order to ensure a reliable assessment of the 
conformity of the product by the notified body with rega rd to the post construction 
assessment, there is a need to widen the ob ligations of the person asking for the post 
construction assessment to provide documents to  the notified body. It is foreseen that he has 
to provide all the documents necessary for the assessment of the confor mity of the product. 
3.6. Affixing of the CE-marking 
Rules governing the affixing of the CE marki ng on the watercraft, components and engines 
are laid down in this Directive. Compared with Directive 94/25/EC, it is appropriate to 
enlarge the obligation to affix the CE-marking also to all inboard en gines and stern drive 
engines without integral exhaus t which are regarded as meeting the essential requirements set 
out in Annex I.B and I.C. 
The CE marking must be affixed on the wate rcraft, engines and components. In case of 
components, where that are not possible or not wa rranted on account of th e size or nature of 
that product, it can alternatively be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents. 
3.7. Reporting 
In order to enforce the monitori ng and the efficiency of this Directive, a new obligation is 
foreseen for the Member States to send ever y 5 years a report on th e application of the 
Directive to the Commission. The report must in particular contai n information on the 
situation of the safety and environmental performance of the products covered by the 
Directive and of the e ffectiveness of the Directive as we ll as presentation of the market 
surveillance activities perfor med by the Member States. 
3.8. Aligning the Recreational Craft Directive  with the New Legislative Framework 
(NLF) and the applicable confor mity assessment procedures 
3.8.1.  Horizontal rules 
On 9 the July 2008, the European Parliament and the Council adopted two legal instruments 
applying the marketing of products. Regul ation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 set ting out the requireme nts for accreditation 
and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products
9 and Decision No 768/2008/EC 
of the European Parliament and of the C ouncil of 9 July 2008 on a common framework for 
the marketing of products10 . 
The Regulation lays down horizontal provi sions on the accreditation of conformity 
assessment bodies, on the CE marking and on th e Community market surveillance framework 
                                                 
9 OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30. 
10 OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 82  
EN 9   EN for, and controls of, products entering the Co mmunity market which also apply to products 
covered by this Directive. For cl arity, the application of the Regulation is explicitly mentioned 
in this Directive.  
The Decision provides common principles and reference provisions for the purposes of 
legislation based on the New Appr oach principles. In order to ensure consistency with other 
sectoral product legislation, it is appropriate to align certain provisi ons of this Directive to that 
Decision, in so far as sectoral  specificities do not require a different solution. Therefore, 
certain definitions, the general obligations of economic operators, the presumption of 
conformity, formal objections against harmoni sed standards, rules for the CE marking, 
requirements for conformity assessment bodies and notification proce dures as well as the 
provisions concerning procedures dealing with pr oducts presenting a risk are aligned to that 
Decision. Sector specific deviations are necessary in particular in order to take into account 
the particular situation of private import of watercraft into EU. 
3.8.2.  Conformity assessment procedures 
The conformity assessment procedures availa ble to the manufacturer  are also be set by 
reference to the horizontal Deci sion. However, certain supple mentary requirements are laid 
down in Article 25 in order to take into accoun t the specific needs of the sector as regards 
performing the conformity assessment and which are included in the conformity assessment 
modules of Directive 94/25/EC. Furthermore, the possibility to use accredited in-house bodies 
instead of Notified bodies in certain modules referred to in the horiz ontal Decision is not 
taken up in this Directive since it is not suitable for the sector.  
Experience has shown that in order to take  into account of manufacturing needs, it is 
appropriate to allow a greater choice of certifi cation procedures than before in the following 
cases:  
• for recreational craft of category C from  12 m to 24 m hull length where harmonised 
standards have been used (also internal product control + superv ised tests possible); 
• for components (also module B + E possible).  
• As regards conformity assessment of e xhaust emission and noise requirements, a 
distinction is referred to between the cases  where the harmonised standards have been 
used, on the one hand, and the cases where they have not been use d. In the latter cases, it is 
justified to require a more st ringent conformity assessment procedure than in the former 
cases. Furthermore, the possibili ty of using the reference bo at data for noise emissions 
testing is deleted as superfluous, sinc e it has not been used in practice. 
3.9. Comitology and Delegated acts 
In order to take into account the Lisbon Tr eaty provisions on delegated acts, the rules on 
adopting delegated acts are inserted in the Directive. 
Legal basis  
The proposal is based on Article 95 of the EC-Treaty. 
Subsidiarity principle  
EN 10   EN Directive 94/25/EEC is a total harmonisation di rective adopted on the basis of Article 95 of 
the Treaty with the objective of the establishmen t and functioning of the internal market for 
watercraft. National legislation cannot impose additional provisions on the construction of 
watercraft or on exhaust and noise emission s of watercraft which would require the 
modification of the product or affect the conditions for its pl acing on the market. Therefore, 
the revision of provisions of Di rective 94/25/EEC is, as far as the constructional requirements 
and exhaust emissions are concerned, within the exclusive competence of the Union. Therefore, the application of the principle of subsidiarity within the meaning of Article 5, 
second paragraph, of the EC -Treaty does not arise. 
It is important to note that the revision aims at clarifying the scope of products covered by the 
Directive, but not at extending or changing it ot herwise. Therefore the issue of subsidiarity 
within the meaning of Article 5, second paragraph, of the EC-Treaty does not arise in this 
respect either. 
The respect of the subsidiarity principle could ar ise with regard to the provisions aiming at the 
improvement of effective enforcement of the Directive stemming mainly from the New Legal 
Framework (see also 3.7.). Experi ence has shown that coherent and effective enforcement and 
market surveillance has not been sufficiently achieved by Member States acting alone. As a 
consequence, the issue of setting some manda tory common minimum requirements arises. As 
a result of the proposal, this activity would remain within the authority of the national 
authorities but some general EU -wide requirements would be introduced to ensure equal 
treatment, a level playing field for economic ope rators, and a similar level of protection for 
the citizens in all the Member States. 
Proportionality  
In accordance with the principle of proportiona lity, the proposed modifications do not go 
beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives set. In order to protect the benefits of the 
single market in the watercraft sector, any changes to the existing Directive have to be dealt with at Union level. If Member States acted on their own, there would be a proliferation of 
requirements which would hamper and undermine the achievements of the single market, and 
very likely lead to confusion for consumers a nd producers alike. The consequences could be 
higher prices for consumers, as producers woul d have to revert to abiding by member state 
specific requirements. 
The modifications of the Directive do not impose unnecessary burden and costs on industry, 
especially on small and medium sized enterpri ses, or administrations . A number of options 
concern the improvement of clarity of the ex isting Directive without introducing significant 
new requirements with cost implication. Where modifications have more  significant impacts, 
the analysis of the impacts of the option serves to provide th e most proportionate response to 
the problems identified.  
4. 
BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS  
There are no implications to the Community budget of this proposal. 
5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION  
Repeal of existing legislation  
EN 11   EN The adoption of the proposal will lead to repeal  of Directive 94/25/EC relating to recreational 
craft. 
European Economic Area 
The proposal concerns the EEA and should therefore be extended to the European Economic 
Area.  
EN 12   EN 2011/0197 (COD) 
Proposal for a 
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
on recreational craft and personal watercraft 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE CO UNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular 
Article 114 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the Eu ropean Economic and Social Committee
11, 
Having regard to the opinion of  the Committee of the Regions12, 
Acting in accordance with the or dinary legislative procedure, 
Whereas: (1) Directive 94/25/EC of the Eu ropean Parliament and of th e Council of 16 June 1994 on 
the approximation of the laws, regulations  and administrative provisions of the 
Member States relating to recreational craft
13 was adopted in the context of 
establishing the internal market in order to harmonise safety characteristics of 
recreational craft in al l Member States and to remove obstacles to trade in recreational 
craft between Member States.  
(2) Originally, Directive 94/25/EC  covered only recreational cr aft of a minimum length of 
2,5 m and a maximum length of 24 m. Dir ective 2003/44/EC of the Council and the 
European Parliament of 16 June 2003 amending Directive 94/25/EC on the 
approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member 
States relating to recreational craft14 extended the scope of Directive 94/25/EC to 
include personal watercraft and integrated environmental protection requirements into 
that Directive by adopting exhaust emission limits (CO, HC, NOx and particulates) 
and noise limits levels for propulsion e ngines, for both the compression ignition 
engines and the spark ignition engines. 
                                                 
11 OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
12 OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
13 OJ L 164 , 30.6.1994, p. 15. 
14 OJ L 214, 26.08.2003 p. 18.  
EN 13   EN (3) Directive 94/25/EC is based on the New Appro ach principles, as set out in the Council 
Resolution of 7 May 1985 on a new appro ach to technical harmonisation and 
standards15. Thus, it sets out only the essentia l safety requirements applying to 
recreational craft, whereas technical details are adopted by the European Committee 
for Standardisation (CEN) and the Eu ropean Committee for Electrotechnical 
Standardisation (Cenelec) in accordance with  Directive 98/34/EC of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 22 June  1998 laying down a procedure for the 
provision of information in th e field of technical standards and regulations and of rules 
on Information Society services16. Conformity with the harm onised standards so set, 
the reference number of wh ich is published in the Official Journal of the European 
Union , provides a presumption of conformity  with the requirements of Directive 
94/25/EC. Experience has shown that those basi c principles have worked well in this 
sector and should be maintained  and even further promoted. 
(4) Technological developments in the market have, however, raised new issues with 
respect to the environmental requirements of Directive 94/25/EC. In order to take 
account of those developments and to pr ovide clarification in relation to the 
framework within which products covered by this Directive may be  marketed, certain 
aspects of Directive 94/25/EEC  should be revised and enhanced and, in the interests of 
clarity, that Directive should be  replaced by this Directive. 
(5) Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 
2008 setting out the requirements for accredit ation and market surveillance relating to 
the marketing of products17 lays down horizontal provisi ons on the accreditation of 
conformity assessment bodies, on the CE marking and on the Union market 
surveillance framework for, a nd controls of, products entering the Union market which 
also apply to products covered by this Directive. 
(6) Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Par liament and of the Council of 9 July 
2008 on a common framework for the marketing of products18 provides common 
principles and reference pr ovisions for the purposes of legislation based on the New 
Approach principles. In order to ensure  consistency with other sectoral product 
legislation, it is appropriate to align certa in provisions of this  Directive to that 
Decision, in so far as sectoral specifici ties do not require a different solution. 
Therefore, certain definiti ons, the general obligations of economic operators, the 
presumption of conformity, formal objecti ons against harmonised standards, rules on 
CE marking, requirements for conform ity assessment bodies and notification 
procedures and the provisions concerning pr ocedures dealing with products presenting 
a risk should be aligned to that Decision. 
(7) In order to facilitate the application of this Directive by manufacturers and national 
authorities, the scope and definitions of Directive 94/25/EC should be clarified. In 
particular, it should be clarified that amphi bious craft are excluded from the scope of 
this Directive. It is also necessary to specify which kind of canoes and kayaks are 
excluded from the scope of this Directive a nd to clarify that only personal watercraft 
intended for sports and leisure is covered by the Directive.  
                                                 
15 OJ C 136, 4.6.1985, p. 1. 
16 OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. 
17 OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30. 
18 OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 82.  
EN 14   EN (8) It is also appropriate to provide definitions of “watercraft built for own use” and of 
“private importer” specific to  this sector in order to facilitate the understanding and 
uniform application of this Directive. 
(9) The products covered by this Directive that are placed on the Union market or put into 
service should comply with the relevant  legislation of the Union, and economic 
operators should be responsible for the co mpliance of products, in relation to their 
respective roles in the supply chain, so as to  ensure a high level of protection of public 
interests, such as health and safety, a nd the protection of consumers and of the 
environment, and to guarantee fair competition on the Union market. 
(10) All economic operators interv ening in the supply and dist ribution chain should take 
appropriate measures to ensure that products covered by th is Directive do not 
endanger the safety and health  of persons, property or the environment when correctly 
constructed and maintained and that they make available on th e market only products 
which comply with the relevant legisla tion of the Union. This Directive should 
provide a clear and proportionate distribut ion of obligations which correspond to the 
role of each operator in the supply and distribution process. 
(11) As certain tasks can be executed only by the manufacturer, it is necessary to 
distinguish clearly between  the manufacturer and operators further down the 
distribution chain. It is also  necessary to distinguish cl early between the importer and 
the distributor, as the importer introduces pr oducts from third countries to the Union 
market. The importer should thus make sure that those products comply with the applicable Union requirements. 
(12) The manufacturer, having detailed knowledge  of the design and pr oduction process, is 
best placed to carry out the complete conf ormity assessment procedure. Conformity 
assessment should therefore remain the ob ligation of the manufacturer alone. 
(13) It is necessary to ensure th at products covered by this Directive entering the Union 
market from third countries comply with all applicable Union requirements, and in 
particular that appropriate assessment procedures have been carried out by 
manufacturers with regard to  those products. Provi sion should therefore be made for 
importers to make sure that the products  they place on the market comply with the 
applicable requirements and that they do no t place on the market products which do 
not comply with such requirements or wh ich present a risk. For the same reason, 
provision should also be made for importers to make sure that conformity assessment 
procedures have been carried out and th at product marking and documentation drawn 
up by manufacturers are available for inspec tion by the supervisory authorities. 
(14) Where the distributor makes a product cove red by this Directive available on the 
market after it has been placed on the market  by the manufacturer or the importer, it 
should act with due care to ensure that its  handling of the product does not adversely 
affect its compliance. Both importers and dist ributors are expected to act with due care 
in relation to the requirements applicable when placing or making products available 
on the market. 
(15) When placing a product covered by this Di rective on the market, importers should 
indicate on the product their name and the address at wh ich they can be contacted.  
EN 15   EN Exceptions should be provided for in cases where the size or nature of a component 
does not allow for such an indication.  
(16) Any economic operator that ei ther places a product on the market under its own name 
or trademark or modifies a product in such  a way that compliance with applicable 
requirements may be affected should be cons idered to be the manufacturer and should 
assume the obligations of the manufacturer. 
(17) Distributors and importers, being close to the market place, should be involved in 
market surveillance tasks car ried out by competent national authorities, and should be 
prepared to participate act ively, providing those aut horities with all necessary 
information relating to  the product concerned. 
(18) Import of recreational craft and personal watercraft by private individuals from third 
countries to the Union is a sp ecific feature of th is sector. However, Directive 94/25/EC 
only contains specific provisions on the oblig ations of private importers as regards 
performing the conformity assessment (post construction assessment). Therefore, there 
is a need to clarify the other obligations  of private importers which should be in 
principle harmonised with those of the manuf acturer, with some exceptions related to 
the non-commercial nature of their activities. 
(19) Ensuring traceability of a product throughout the whole supply chain helps to make 
market surveillance simpler and more effi cient. An efficient traceability system 
facilitates market surveillance authorities'  task of tracing economic operators who 
made non-compliant product available on the market. 
(20) For reasons of clarity and consistency with  other New approach Directives, it is 
necessary to specify explicitly that products  covered by this Directive may be placed 
on the market or put into service only if they meet the general requirement not to 
endanger the safety and health of persons, property or environm ent and only if they 
meet the essential requirements set out in this Directive. 
(21) Options for further reducing the exhaust emi ssion limits of recreational marine engines 
have been assessed in the Report on th e possibilities of further improving the 
environmental characteristics of recreational craft engines, submitted pursuant to Article 2 of Directive 2003/44/EC, amending Directive 94/25/EC relating to 
recreational craft
19. This report concluded that it is appropriate to set stricter limits 
than those set in Directive 2003/44/EC. Thos e limits should be set at a level that 
reflects the technical developm ent of cleaner marine engi ne technologies and that 
allows a development towards the harmonisation of exhaust emission limits worldwide. The CO-limits, however, should be raised in order to allow the significant 
decrease of other air pollutants while en suring that the compliance costs remain 
proportionate. 
(22) Depending on the fuel and power category, th e test cycles for engines in marine 
applications described in the rele vant ISO standard  should be used. 
(23) The test fuels used in the assessment of conformity to the exhaust emission limits 
should reflect the composition of the fuels us ed in the relevant market and therefore 
                                                
 
19 COM (2007) 313 final.  
EN 16   EN the European test fuels should be used in the type approval in the Union. However, 
since manufacturers from third countries ma y not have access to European reference 
fuels, it is necessary to allow approval aut horities to accept that e ngines are tested with 
other reference fuels. The choice of referen ce fuels should however be limited to those 
specifications set out in the relevant ISO standard in order to ensure quality and comparability of test results.  
(24) In order to contribute  to the protection of the marine environment, it is appropriate to 
adopt a requirement imposing mandatory inst allation of holding ta nks to watercraft 
fitted with toilets. 
(25) Accident statistics show that the risk of inversion of multihull cr aft is very low. In 
spite of this low risk, it is appropriate to foresee that the risk of inversion must be 
considered also for multihull craft, so that only in case the multihull craft is not susceptible to inversion, the requirements concerning buoyancy and escape in case of 
inversion do not have to be complied with. 
(26) In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the provision s of this Directive should 
not affect Member States’ entitlement to  lay down such require ments as they may 
deem necessary concerning navigation on cer tain waters for the purpose of protection 
of the environment, the fabric of waterw ays, and ensuring safety of waterways, 
provided that those provisions do not require modification to the watercraft which is in 
conformity with this Directive. 
(27) The CE marking, indicating the conformity of  a product, is the visible consequence of 
a whole process comprising conformity a ssessment in a broad sense. The general 
principles governing the CE marking ar e set out in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. 
Rules governing the affixing of the CE ma rking on the watercraft, components and 
engines should be laid down in this Directive. It is appropriate to enlarge the obligation to affix the CE-marking also to all inboard engines a nd stern drive engines 
without integral exhaust which are regarded as meeting the essential requirements set 
out in this Directive.  
(28) It is crucial to make clear to manufacturer s and users that by a ffixing the CE marking 
to the product, the manufacturer declares th at the product is in conformity with all 
applicable requirements and take s full responsibility thereof. 
(29) The CE marking should be the only marking of conformity indicat ing that the product 
covered by this Directive is in conform ity with Union harmonisation legislation. 
However, other markings should be allowed as long as they contribute to the improvement of consumer protection a nd are not covered by Union harmonisation 
legislation. 
(30) In order to ensure compliance with the essent ial safety requirements, it is necessary to 
lay down appropriate confor mity assessment procedures to be followed by the 
manufacturer. Those procedures should be set by reference to conformity assessment 
modules laid down in Deci sion No 768/2008/EC. Those pro cedures should be devised 
in the light of the level of the risk which ma y be inherent in the watercraft, engines and 
components. Therefore each category of c onformity should be supplemented by an 
appropriate procedure or a choice betw eens several equivalent procedures.   
EN 17   EN (31) Experience has shown that it is appropriate to allow a wider range of conformity 
assessment modules in the following cases: for recreational craft of category C from 
12 m to 24 m hull length where harmonised sta ndards have been used as well as for 
components. As regards conformity asse ssment of exhaust emission and noise 
requirements, a distinction should be made  between the cases where the harmonised 
standards have been used and where they have not, since in the latter cases, it is 
justified to require a more stringent conformity assessme nt procedure. Furthermore, 
the possibility of using the reference boat data for noise emissions testing should be 
suppressed as superfluous, since it has not been used in practice.  
(32) Directive 94/25/EC contains rules on the post construction assessm ent of recreational 
craft carried out by any natu ral or legal person established within the Union who 
places the product on the market in cases where neither the manufacturer nor his 
authorised representative fulf ils the responsibilit ies for the products conformity to the 
Directive. For consistency, it is appropriate to extend the scope of this procedure to 
cover not only recreational craf t but also personal watercraft . For clarity, it should be 
specified in which situations this proce dure may be used. Furthermore, as regards 
import, its use should be restricted to cases of non commercial import by private 
importers to prevent abuse of this proce dure for commercial purpos es. There is also a 
need to widen the obligation of the person asking for the post construction assessment 
to provide documents to the Notified body in order to ensure a reliable assessment of 
the conformity of the product by the Notified body. 
(33) Since it is necessary to ensure a uniform ly high level of performance of bodies 
performing conformity assessment of produc ts covered by this Directive throughout 
the Union, and since all such bodies should pe rform their functions at the same level 
and under conditions of fair competition, obligatory requirements should be set for 
conformity assessment bodies wishing to be notified in order to provide conformity 
assessment services under this Directive. 
(34) In order to ensure a consistent level of quality in the performance of conformity 
assessment of products covered by this Di rective, it is necessary not only to 
consolidate the requirements that conformity assessment bodi es wishing to be notified 
must fulfill, but also, in parallel, to set requirements that notifying authorities and other bodies involved in the assessment, no tification and monitori ng of notified bodies 
must fulfill. 
(35) Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 complements a nd strengthens the existing framework 
for the market surveillance of products covered by Union harmonisation legislation, 
including products covered by this Directive.  Member States shoul d therefore organise 
and carry out market surveillance of t hose products in accordance with that 
Regulation, and where applicable, in accordance with Directive 2001/95/EC.  
(36) In order to increase transparency and to reduce processing time, it is necessary to 
improve the existing safeguard procedure allowing the Commission to examine the 
justification for a measure taken by a Memb er States against pr oducts it considers 
being non-compliant, with the aim of maki ng it more efficient and of drawing on 
expertise available in the Member States. 
(37) The existing system should be complement ed by a procedure allowing interested 
parties to be informed of measures take n with regard to pr oducts covered by this  
EN 18   EN Directive presenting a risk to the health and safety of persons or other issues of public 
interest protection. It should also allow mark et surveillance authorities, in cooperation 
with the relevant economic ope rators, to act at an earlie r stage in respect of such 
products. 
(38) Where Member States and the Commission agr ee as to the justifi cation for a measure 
taken by a Member State, no further i nvolvement of the Commission should be 
required. 
(39) In order to take into account  the progress of technical knowledge and new scientific 
evidence, the power to adopt acts in accord ance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission to amend Section 2 of Part B and Section 1 of Part C of Annex I, with the exception of direct or 
indirect modifications to e xhaust or noise emission values  and to the Froude and P/D 
ratio values, and Annexes V, VII and IX. It  is of particular importance that the 
Commission carry out appropria te consultations during its preparatory work, including 
at expert level. 
(40) The Commission, when preparing and drawin g-up delegated acts, should ensure a 
simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the 
European Parliament and Council. 
(41) In order to ensure uniform conditions fo r the implementation of this Directive , 
implementing powers should be conferre d on the Commission. Those powers should 
be exercised in accordance with Regul ation (EU) 182/2011 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 16 Febr uary laying down the rules and general 
principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers
20. 
(42) The examination should be used for the adopt ion of acts ensuring that this Directive is 
applied in a uniform manner, in particular as regards the supplementary provisions 
foreseen in Article 25 on conformity a ssessement procedures, and as regards the 
requirements on the boat design categories, bu ilder’s plate, discharge prevention and 
navigation lights.  
(43) In order to enforce the monitoring and the e fficiency of this Directive, it should be 
provided that Member States send a report on the application of the Directive to the 
Commission, which should then draw up and publish a summary of the reports. 
(44) Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this 
Directive and ensure that they are impleme nted. Those penalties should be effective, 
proportionate and dissuasive. 
(45) In order to allow manufacture rs and other economic operators sufficient time to adapt 
to the requirements laid down by this Directive, it is necessary to provide for a sufficient transitional period after the entry into force of this Directive during which 
products which comply with Directive 94/25/EEC may be placed on the market.  
(46) Directive 94/25/EEC should therefore be repealed. 
                                                
 
20 OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13.  
EN 19   EN (47) Since the objective of this Directive, namely to ensure a high level of protection of 
human health and safety and protection of environment whilst guaranteeing the 
functioning of the internal market by se tting harmonised safety requirements for 
products covered by this Directive a nd minimum requirements for market 
surveillance, cannot be sufficiently achieved  by the Member States and can therefore, 
by reason of its scale and effects, be better  achieved at Union level, the Union may 
adopt measures, in accordance with the principl e of subsidiarity set out in Article 5 of 
the Treaty on European Uni on. In accordance with the prin ciple of proportionality, as 
set out in that Article, this  Directive does not go beyond what  is necessary in order to 
achieve that objective, 
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
CHAPTER I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS  
Article 1 
Subject Matter  
This Directive lays down requirements for the design and manufacture of products referred to 
in Article 2(1) and rules on thei r free movement in the Union. 
Article 2  
Scope  
1. This Directive shall apply to the following products: 
(a) recreational craft and partly completed recreational craft;  
(b) personal watercraft; 
(c) components listed in Annex II when plac ed on the Union market separately, 
hereinafter referred to as “components”; 
(d) propulsion engines which are inst alled or specifically intended 
for installation on or in watercraft; 
(e) propulsion engines installed on or in wate rcraft that are subject to a major 
engine modification; 
(f) watercraft that are subject  to major craft conversion. 
2. This Directive shall not a pply to the following products: 
(a) with regard to the design and construction requirements set out in Part A of 
Annex I: 
(i) watercraft intended solely for r acing, including rowing racing boats and 
training rowing boats, labelled as such by the manufacturer;  
EN 20   EN (ii) canoes and kayaks designed to be  propelled by hand paddle power only, 
gondolas and pedalos; 
(iii) sailing surfboards; (iv) surfboards, including powered surfboards; (v) original historical watercraft an d individual replicas  thereof designed 
before 1950, built predominantly with the original materials and labelled 
as such by the manufacturer; 
(vi) experimental watercra ft, provided that they are not subsequently placed 
on the Union market; 
(vii) watercraft built for own use, prov ided that they are not subsequently 
placed on the Union market duri ng a period of five years;  
(viii) watercraft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for 
commercial purposes, in particular thos e defined in Article 2 of Directive 
2006/87/EC of the European Parliament and the Council
21 and in Article 
3 of Directive 2009/45/EC of the Eu ropean Parliament and the Council22, 
regardless of the number of passengers; 
(ix) submersibles; 
(x) air cushion vehicles; 
(xi) hydrofoils; (xii) external combustion steam powered  watercraft, fuelled by coal, coke, 
wood, oil or gas; 
(xiii) amphibious craft; 
(b) with regard to exhaust emission require ments set out in Part B of Annex I : 
(i) propulsion engines insta lled or specifically intended for installation on 
the following products: 
– watercraft intended solely for ra cing and labelled as such by the 
manufacturer; 
– experimental watercraft, provided that they are not subsequently 
placed on the Union market; 
– watercraft specifically intended  to be crewed and to carry 
passengers for commercial purposes , without prejudi ce to Article 
2(3), in particular those defi ned in Article 2 of Directive 
                                                
 
21 OJ L 389, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
22 OJ L 163, 25.6.2009, p. 1.  
EN 21   EN 2006/87/EC and in Article 3 of Di rective 2009/45/EC , regardless of 
the number of passengers; 
– submersibles; 
– air cushion vehicles; 
– hydrofoils; 
– amphibious craft; 
(ii) original and individu al replicas of historical  propulsion engines, which 
are based on a pre-1950 design, not produced in series and fitted on watercraft referred to in point s (v) and (vii) of point (a); 
(iii) propulsion engines built for own use provide d that they are not 
subsequently placed on the Community  market during a period of five 
years; 
(c) with regard to noise emission requiremen ts referred to in Part C of Annex I: 
(i) all craft referred to in point (b); (ii) watercraft built for own use, prov ided that they are not subsequently 
placed on the Union market duri ng a period of five years. 
3. The fact that the same watercraft could be  used for charter or for recreational boating 
training shall not prevent it being covered by this Directive when it is placed on the 
Union market for recreational purposes. 
Article 3 
Definitions 
For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply: 
1. "watercraft" means any recreational craft or personal watercraft;  
2. “recreational craft” means any boat of a ny type intended for sports and leisure 
purposes of hull length from 2,5 m to 24 m,  measured according to the harmonised 
standard, regardless of the means of propulsion; 
3. “personal watercraft” means a watercraft intended for spor ts and leisure purposes of 
less than 4 m in length which uses an inte rnal combustion engine having a water jet 
pump as its primary source of propulsion a nd designed to be operated by a person or 
persons sitting, standing or kneeling on, rath er than within the confines of, a hull; 
4. “watercraft built for own use” means a watercraft built by its future user for his own 
use and which has not been partly or comp letely built by an ec onomic operator for a 
private person under a contractual agreement. 
5. “propulsion engine” means any spark or compression ignition, internal combustion 
engine used for propulsion purposes;  
EN 22   EN 6. “major engine modification” means the modification of an engine which could 
potentially cause the engine to exceed the emission limits set out in Part B of Annex 
I or increases the rated power of  the engine by more than 15 %; 
7. “major craft conversion” means a convers ion of a watercraft which changes the 
means of propulsion of the watercraft, involve s a major engine modification, or alters 
the watercraft to such an extent that it is considered a new watercraft; 
8. “means of propulsion” means the mechanical  method by which the watercraft is 
driven; 
9. “engine family” means the manufacturer's grouping of engines which, through their 
design, have similar exhaust or noise emissi on characteristics and which comply with 
the exhaust or noise emissions re quirements of this Directive; 
10. "making available on the market" means a ny supply of a product for distribution, 
consumption or use on the Union market, wh ether in return for payment or free of 
charge; 
11. "placing on the market" means the first ma king available of a product on the Union 
market; 
12. “putting into service” means the first use of a product covered by the Directive in the 
Union by its end user; 
13. “manufacturer” means any natural or legal person who manufactures a product or has 
such a product designed or manufactured a nd markets that product under his name or 
trademark; 
14. “authorised representative” m eans any natural or legal person established within the 
Union who has received a written mandate from  the manufacturer to act on his behalf 
in relation to specified tasks; 
15. "importer" means any natural or legal pe rson established within the Union who 
places a product from a third country on the Union market; 
16. "private importer” means any natural or legal person established within the Union 
who imports in the course of a non-commercial activity a product from a third country into the Union with the intention of  putting it into service for his own use.  
17. "distributor" means any natural or legal pe rson in the supply chai n, other than the 
manufacturer or the importer, who ma kes a product available on the market; 
18. "economic operators" means the manufactur er, the authorised representative, the 
importer and the distributor; 
19. "harmonised standard" means a standard  adopted by one of the European 
standardisation bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC on the basis of a 
request made by the Commission in accordance with Article 6 of that Directive; 
20. "accreditation" means accreditation as define d in Article 2(10) of Regulation (EC) 
No 765/2008;  
EN 23   EN 21. "national accreditation body" means accredita tion body as defined in Article 2(11) of 
Regulation (EC) No 765/2008; 
22. "conformity assessment" means the proce ss demonstrating whether the requirements 
of this Directive relating to a product have been fulfilled; 
23. "conformity assessment body" means a body that performs conformity assessment 
activities including calib ration, testing, certification and inspection; 
24. "recall" means any measure aimed at achie ving the return of a product that has 
already been made available to the end user; 
25. "withdrawal" means any measure aimed at preventing a product in the supply chain 
from being made available on the market; 
26. "market surveillance" means the activities carr ied out and measures taken by public 
authorities to ensure that pr oducts comply with the applicable requi rements set out in 
Union harmonisation legislation and do not endanger health, safety or any other 
aspect of public in terest protection;  
27. "CE marking" means a marking by which th e manufacturer indicates that the product 
is in conformity with the applicable requirements set out in Union harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing; 
28. "Union harmonisation legislation" means any Union legislation harmonising the 
conditions for the marketing of products. 
Article 4  
Essential requirements 
1. The products referred to in Article 2(1) may be made available or put into service for 
use in accordance with their intended purpose only if they do not endanger the safety 
and health of persons, property or the e nvironment when correctly constructed and 
maintained, and only on the condition that  they meet the applicable essential 
requirements set out in Annex I. 
2. Member States shall ensure that the products  referred to in Articl e 2(1) are not placed 
on the market or put into service unless they comply with the requirements of 
paragraph 1.  
Article 5  
National provisions concerning navigation 
The provisions of this Directiv e shall not prevent Member St ates from adopting provisions 
concerning navigation on certain waters for the purpose of protection of the environment, the 
fabric of waterways, and ensuring safety of wa terways, provided that those provisions do not 
require modification to watercraft  conforming to this Directive.  
EN 24   EN Article 6 
Free movement 
1. Member States shall not impede the making available on the market or putting into 
service in their territory of watercra ft complying with this Directive. 
2. Member States shall not impede the making available on the market of partly-
completed watercraft where the manufacturer or the importer declares, in accordance with Part A of Annex III, that they ar e intended to be completed by others. 
3. Member States shall not impede the making available on the market or putting into 
service of components complying with th is Directive which are intended to be 
incorporated into watercraft, in accordan ce with the declaration of the manufacturer 
or the importer referred to in Part B of Annex III. 
4. Member States shall not impede the making available on the market or putting into 
service of any of the following: 
(a) propulsion engines, whether or not installe d in watercraft, complying with this 
Directive; 
(b) engines type-approved in accordance with Directive 97/68/EC of the European 
Parliament and the Council
23 which are in compliance with stage IIIA, IIIB or 
stage IV emission limits for CI engine s used in other applications than 
propulsion of inland waterway vessels, locomotives and railcars, as provided 
for in point 4.1.2. of Annex I to that Directive; 
(c) engines type-approved in accordance with Directive 2005/55/EC of the 
European Parliament and the Council24 where the manufacturer declares in 
accordance with point 9 of Annex IV that the engine will meet the exhaust 
emission requirements of this Directive when installed in a watercraft in accordance with the manufacturer 's supplied instructions. 
5. At trade fairs, exhibitions, demonstrations  and other similar events Member States 
shall not impede the showing of the products  referred to in Article 2(1) which do not 
comply with this Directive, provided that  a visible sign clearly indicates that such 
products do not comply with this Directive and will not be made available or put into service in the Union until they have been made to comply. 
                                                
 
23 OJ L 59, 27.2.1998, p. 1.  
24 OJ L 275, 20.10.2005, p. 1.   
EN 25   EN CHAPTER II 
OBLIGATIONS OF ECONOMIC OPERATORS  
Article 7 
Obligations of manufacturers 
1. When placing their products on the market, ma nufacturers shall ensure that they have 
been designed and manufactured in accord ance with the requirements set out in 
Article 4(1) and Annex I. 
2. Manufacturers shall draw up the technical do cumentation in accordance with Article 
26 and carry out the conformity assessment procedure applicable or have it carried out in accordance with Articles 20 to 23 and Article 25. 
 Where compliance of a product with th e applicable requirements has been 
demonstrated by that procedure, manufactur ers shall draw up an EU declaration of 
conformity, as referred to in  Article 16 and affix the CE ma rking, as set out in Article 
18(1). 
3. Manufacturers shall keep the technical documentation and a copy of the EU 
declaration of conformity for 10 years after the product has been placed on the 
market. 
4. Manufacturers shall ensure that procedures  are in place for series production to 
remain in conformity. Changes in product design or characteristics and changes in the harmonised standards to which conform ity of a product is declared shall be 
adequately taken into account. 
When deemed appropriate with regard to the risks presen ted by a product, 
manufacturers shall, to protect the health and safety of consumers, carry out sample 
testing of products made available on the ma rket, investigate, and, if necessary, keep 
a register of complaints, of non-conformi ng products and product recalls, and shall 
keep distributors informed of any such monitoring. 
5. Manufacturers shall ensure that their products bear a type, batch or serial number or 
other element allowing their identificati on, or, where the size or nature of the 
components does not allow it, that the required information is provided on the 
packaging or in a document accompanying th e product, in accordance with point 2.1 
of Part A of Annex I. 
6. Manufacturers shall indicate their name, regi stered trade name or registered trade 
mark and the address at whic h they can be contacted on the product or, where that is 
not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the product. The 
address shall indicate a single point at wh ich the manufacturer can be contacted. 
7. Manufacturers shall ensure that the product is accompanied by instructions and 
safety information in a language or languages which can be easily understood by consumers and other end-users, as dete rmined by the Member State concerned.  
EN 26   EN 8. Manufacturers who consider or have reason to believe that a product which they have 
placed on the market is not in conformity w ith this Directive shall immediately take 
the necessary corrective measur es to bring that product into  conformity, to withdraw 
it or recall it, if appropr iate. Furthermore, where th e product presents a risk, 
manufacturers shall immediately inform th e competent national authorities of the 
Member States in which they made the produc t available to that effect, giving details, 
in particular, of the non-compliance a nd of any corrective measures taken. 
9. Manufacturers shall, further to a reas oned request from a competent national 
authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the produc t, in a language easily understood by that 
authority. They shall cooperate with that au thority, at its request, on any action taken 
to eliminate the risks posed by products which they have placed on the market. 
Article 8 
Authorised representatives 
1. A manufacturer may, by a written mandate, a ppoint an authorised representative. 
2. The obligations laid down in Article 7(1) and the drawing up of technical 
documentation shall not form part of th e authorised representative's mandate. 
3. An authorised representative shall perf orm the tasks specified in the mandate 
received from the manufacturer. The mandate shall allow the authorised representative to do at  least the following: 
(a) keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity and the technical 
documentation at the disposal of nationa l surveillance authorities for 10 years 
after the product has been placed on the market; 
(b) further to a reasoned request from a co mpetent national authority, provide that 
authority with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of a product; 
(c) cooperate with the compet ent national authorities, at their request, on any 
action taken to eliminate the risks posed  by products covered by their mandate. 
Article 9 
Obligations of importers 
1. Importers shall place only compliant products on the Union market. 
2. Before placing a product on the market, importe rs shall ensure th at the appropriate 
conformity assessment procedure has been  carried out by the manufacturer. They 
shall ensure that the manuf acturer has drawn up the technical documentation, that the 
product bears the CE marking and is acco mpanied by the documents required in 
accordance in Article 16 and point 2.5 of part  A of Annex I, point 4 of part B of 
Annex I and point 2 of part C of Annex I and that the manufacturer has complied 
with the requirements set out in Article 7(5) and (6).  
EN 27   EN Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that a product is not in 
conformity with the requirements set out in Article 4(1) and Annex I, he shall not place the product on the market until it has been brought into conformity. 
Furthermore, where the product presents a risk, the importer  shall inform the 
manufacturer and the market survei llance authorities to that effect. 
3. Importers shall indicate their name, register ed trade name or registered trade mark 
and the address at which th ey can be contacted on th e product or, in case of 
components where that is not possible,  on its packaging or in a document 
accompanying the product. 
4. Importers shall ensure that the product is  accompanied by inst ructions and safety 
information in a language or languages easily understood by consumers and other 
end-users, as determined by the Member State concerned. 
5. Importers shall ensure that, while a produc t is under their respons ibility, storage or 
transport conditions do not jeopa rdise its compliance with the requirements set out in 
Article 4(1) and Annex I. 
6. When deemed appropriate with  regard to the risks presented by a product, importers 
shall, to protect the health and safety of  consumers, carry out sample testing of 
marketed products, investigate, and, if nece ssary, keep a register of complaints, of 
non-conforming products and product recalls, and shall keep distributors informed of 
such monitoring. 
7. Importers who consider or have reason to  believe that a product which they have 
placed on the market is not in conformity w ith this Directive shall immediately take 
the corrective measures necessa ry to bring that product into  conformity, to withdraw 
it or recall it, if appropr iate. Furthermore, where th e product presents a risk, 
importers shall immediately inform the comp etent national authorities of the Member 
States in which they made the product ava ilable to that effect , giving details, in 
particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken. 
8. Importers shall, for a period of 10 years after the product has b een placed on the 
market, keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the dis posal of the market 
surveillance authorities and ensure that the technical documentation can be made 
available to those authorities, upon request. 
9. Importers shall, further to a reasoned re quest from a competent national authority, 
provide it with all the in formation and documentation ne cessary to demonstrate the 
conformity of a product in a language easil y understood by that au thority. They shall 
cooperate with that au thority, at its request, on any actio n taken to eliminate the risks 
posed by products which they have placed on the market.  
Article 10 
Obligations of distributors  
1. When making a product available on the mark et distributors shall act with due care 
in relation to the requirements of this Directive.  
EN 28   EN 2. Before making a product available on the mark et distributors shall verify that the 
product bears the CE marking, that it is accompanied by the documents required in 
Article 7 (7), Article 16 and point 2.5 of pa rt A of Annex I, point 4 of part B of 
Annex I and point 2 of part C of Annex I a nd by instructions and safety information 
in a language or languages  easily understood by consumer s and other end-users in 
the Member State in which the product is to be made available on the market, and 
that the manufacturer and th e importer have complied with the requirements set out 
in Article 7(5) and (6) and Article 9(3). 
Where a distributor considers or has reas on to believe that a product is not in 
conformity with the requirements set out in  article 4(1) and Annex I, he shall not 
make the product available on the market un til it has been brought into conformity. 
Furthermore, where the product presents a risk, the distributor shall inform the 
manufacturer or the importer, as well as th e market surveillance authorities, to that 
effect. 
3. Distributors shall ensure that, while a produc t is under their responsibility, storage or 
transport conditions do not jeopa rdise its compliance with the requirements set out in 
article 4(1) and Annex I. 
4. Distributors who consider or  have reason to believe that  a product which they have 
made available on the market is not in confor mity with this Directive shall make sure 
that the corrective measures necessary to bring that product into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate, are taken. Furthermore, where the product 
presents a risk, distributors shall im mediately inform the competent national 
authorities of the Member States in whic h they made the produc t available to that 
effect, giving details, in particular, of  the non-compliance and of any corrective 
measures taken. 
5. Distributors shall, further to a reasoned  request from a competent national authority, 
provide that authority with all the in formation and documentation necessary to 
demonstrate the conformity of the product. Th ey shall cooperate w ith that authority, 
at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by products which they have made available on the market. 
Article 11 
Cases in which obligations of manufac turers apply to impor ters and distributors 
An importer or distributor shall be consider ed a manufacturer for the purposes of this 
Directive and he shall be subject to the obliga tions of the manufacturer  under Article 7, where 
he places a product on the market under its name  or trademark or modifies a product already 
placed on the market in such a way that comp liance with the requirements of this Directive 
may be affected. 
Article 12 
Obligations of private importers 
1. If neither the manufacturer nor  his authorised representative established within the 
Union fulfils the responsibil ities for the conformity of the product with this  
EN 29   EN Directive, a private importer shall carry out or have carried out th e obligations of the 
manufacturer set out in paragraphs 1 to  4 and paragraph 7 and 9 of Article 7.  
2. If the required technical documentation is not available from the manufacturer, the 
private importer shall have it drawn up using appropriate expertise, which may 
include a Notified body which is  not involved in the conf ormity assessment of the 
product concerned. 
3. The private importer shall ensure that th e name and address of the Notified body 
which has carried out the conformity assessment of the product is marked on the product. 
Article 13 
Identification of economic operators 
1. Economic operators shall, on request, id entify the following to the market 
surveillance authorities: 
(a) any economic operator who has s upplied them with a product; 
(b) any economic operator to whom they have supplied a product. 
Economic operators shall be able to presen t the information referred to in the first 
paragraph for a period of 10 years after they  have been supplied with the product and 
for a period of 10 years after they have supplied the product. 
2. Private importers shall, on request, identify to  the market surveillance authorities the  
economic operator who has supplied them with the product. 
Private importers shall be able to presen t the information referred to in the first 
subparagraph for a period of 10 years after th ey have been supplie d with the product.   
EN 30   EN  
CHAPTER III 
CONFORMITY OF THE PRODUCT 
 
Article 14  
Presumption of conformity 
Products which are in conformity with harmonised standards or parts ther eof the references of 
which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union  shall be presumed 
to be in conformity with the requirements cove red by those standards or parts thereof, set out 
in Article 4(1) and Annex I. 
Article 15 
Formal objection to a harmonised standard 
1. When a Member State or the Commission c onsiders that a harmonised standard does 
not entirely satisfy the requirements which it covers and which are set out in Article 4(1) and Annex I, the Commission or the Member State concerned shall bring the 
matter before the Committee set up by Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC, giving its 
arguments. The Committee shall, having  consulted the relevant European 
standardisation bodies, deliver  its opinion without delay. 
2. In the light of the Committee's opinion, th e Commission shall decide to publish, not 
to publish, to publish with restriction, to main tain, to maintain with restriction or to 
withdraw the references to the harmonise d standard concerned in or from the Official 
Journal of the European Union . 
3. The Commission shall inform the European standardisation body concerned and, if 
necessary, request the revision of the harmonised standards concerned. 
Article 16 
EU declaration of conformity 
1. The EU declaration of conformity shall state that the fulfilment of requirements 
specified in Article 4(1) and Annex I has been demonstrated. 
2. The EU declaration of confor mity shall have the model st ructure set out in Annex IV 
to this Directive, shall contain the elements specified in the relevant modules set out in Annex II to Decision 768/2008/EC and sha ll be continuously updated. It shall be 
translated into the language or langua ges required by the Member State on whose 
market the product is made avai lable or put into service. 
3. By drawing up the EU declaration of c onformity, the manufacturer or private 
importer shall assume responsibility for the compliance of the product.  
EN 31   EN 4. The EU declaration of conformity sh all always accompany the following: 
(a) the watercraft and shall be included w ith the owner´s manual referred to in 
point 2.5 of Part A of Annex I; 
(b) the components when placed on the market separately; 
(c) propulsion engines and shall be included with the owner´s manual referred to 
in point 4 of Part B of Annex I. 
Article 17 
General principles of the CE marking 
The CE marking shall be subject to the general principles set out in Ar ticle 30 of Regulation 
(EC) No 765/2008.  
Article 18 
Products subject to CE marking 
1. The following products shall bear the CE ma rking when they are made available on 
the market or put into service: 
(a) watercraft and components which are re garded as meeting the corresponding 
essential requirements set out in Annex I; 
(b) outboard engines which are regarded as meeting the essential requirements set 
out in Parts B and C of Annex I; 
(c) stern drive engines with integral exha ust which are regarded as meeting the 
essential requirements set out in Parts B and C of Annex I; 
(d) inboard engines and stern drive engine s without integral exhaust which are 
regarded as meeting the exhaust emissi on requirements set out in Parts B and C 
of Annex I. 
2. Member States shall presume that the produc ts referred to in paragraph 1 bearing the 
CE marking comply with this Directive. 
Article 19  
Rules and conditions for affixing the CE marking 
1. The CE marking shall be affixed visibl y, legibly and indelib ly to the products 
referred to in Article 18(1). In case of co mponents, where that is not possible or not 
warranted on account of the size or nature of  that product, it shall be affixed to the 
packaging and to the accompanying documents. 
2. The CE marking shall be affixed before th e product is placed on the market or put 
into service. CE-marking, and the identific ation number referred to in paragraph 3, 
may be followed by a pictogram or any other mark indicating a special risk or use.   
EN 32   EN 3. The CE marking shall be followed by the identification number of the notified body, 
where that body is involved in  the production control phase.  
The identification number of the notified body shall be affixed by the body itself or, 
under its instructions, by the manufacture r or its authorised representative. 
CHAPTER IV  
CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT 
Article 20  
Applicable conformity assessment procedures 
1. The manufacturer or his authorised represen tative shall apply th e procedures set out 
in the modules referred to in Articles 21, 22 and 23 before placing on the market products referred to in Article 2(1).  
2. The private importer shall apply the procedure referred to in Article 24 before putting 
into service a product referred to in Article 2(1) if neith er the manufacturer nor his 
authorised representative has carried out  the conformity assessment for the product 
concerned. 
3. Any person placing on the market or putting in to service an engine or a watercraft 
after a major modification or conversion ther eof or any person changing the intended 
purpose of a watercraft not covered by the sc ope this Directive in a way that it falls 
under its scope shall apply the procedure re ferred to in Article 24 before placing the 
product on the market or putting it into service. 
4. Any person placing on the market a watercraft built for own use before the end of the 
5 year period referred to in point (vii) of  Article 2(2)(a) shall apply the procedure 
referred to in Article 24 before placing the product on the market. 
Article 21 
Design and construction 
1. With regard to design and construction of recreational craft the following procedures 
set out in Annex II to Decisi on No 768/2008/EC shall apply: 
(a) For categories A and B referred to in  point 1 of Part A of Annex I. 
(i) For recreational craft from 2,5 m to 12 m hull length any of the following 
modules:  
– module A1 (internal production c ontrol plus supervised product 
testing),  
– module B (EU type-examination) toge ther with module C, D, E or 
F,  
– module G (conformity base d on unit verification);   
EN 33   EN – module H (conformity based on full quality assurance); 
(ii) For recreational craft from 12 m to  24 m hull length any of the following 
modules:  
– module B (EU type-examination) toge ther with module C, D, E or 
F,  
– module G (conformity base d on unit verification);  
– module H (conformity based on full quality assurance); 
(b) For category C referred to in poi nt 1 of Part A of Annex I: 
(i) For recreational craft from 2,5 m to 12 m hull length, any of the 
following modules: 
– where the harmonised standards relating to points 3.2 and 3.3 of 
Part A of Annex I are comp lied with: module A (internal 
production control), module A1 (int ernal production control plus 
supervised product testing), m odule B (EU type-examination) 
together with module C, D, E or  F, module G (conformity based on 
unit verification) or module H (c onformity based on full quality 
assurance); 
– where the harmonised standards relating to points 3.2 and 3.3 of 
Part A of Annex I are not comp lied with: module A1 (internal 
production control plus supervised  product testing), module B (EU 
type-examination) together with module C, D, E or F, module G (conformity based on unit verification) or module H (conformity based on full quality assurance); 
(ii) For recreational craft from 12 m to  24 m hull length, any of the following 
modules:  
– where the harmonised standards relating to points 3.2 and 3.3 of 
Part A of Annex I are complied with: Module A1 (internal production control plus supervised  product testing), module B (EU 
type-examination) together with module C, D, E or F, module G (conformity based on unit verification); or module H (conformity based on full quality assurance); 
– where the harmonised standards relating to points 3.2 and 3.3 of 
Part A of Annex I are not complied with: module B (EU type-examination) together with module C, D, E or F, module G (conformity based on unit verification) or module H (conformity based on full quality assurance); 
(c) for category D referred to in poi nt 1 of Part A of Annex I: 
(i) for recreational craft from 2,5 m to 24 m hull length, any of the following 
modules:   
EN 34   EN – module A (internal production control) 
– module A1 (internal production c ontrol plus supervised product 
testing),  
– module B (EU type-examination) toge ther with module C, D, E or 
F,  
– module G (conformity base d on unit verification);  
– module H (conformity based on full quality assurance). 
2. With regard to design and construction of personal watercraft any of the following  
 procedures set out in Annex II to  Decision No 768/2008/EC shall apply: 
(a) module A (internal production control) 
(b) module A1 (internal production control plus supervised product testing),  
(c) module B (EU type-examination) togeth er with module C, D, E or F,  
(d) module G (conformity base d on unit verification);  
(e) module H (conformity based on full quality assurance). 
3. With regard to design and construction of components any of the following 
procedures set out in Annex II to De cision No 768/2008/EC shall apply:  
(a) module B (EU type-examination) togeth er with module C, D, E or F,  
(b) module G (conformity base d on unit verification);  
(c) module H (conformity based on full quality assurance). 
Article 22 
Exhaust emissions  
With regard to exhaust emissions, for products referred to in Article 2(1)(d) and (e), the 
engine manufacturer or his authorised represen tative in the Union shall apply the following 
procedures set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC: 
(a) where tests are conducted using the harm onised standard, any of the following 
modules:  
(i) module B (the EU type-examination) t ogether with module C, D, E or F,  
(ii) module G (conformity ba sed on unit verification);  
(iii) module H (conformity base d on full quality assurance); 
(b) where tests are conducted  without using the harmonised standard, module B 
together with module C1.  
EN 35   EN Article 23 
Noise emissions 
1. With regard to noise emissions for recreati onal craft with stern drive engines without 
integral exhausts or inboar d propulsion engine installatio ns as well as recreational 
craft with stern drive without integral  exhausts or with inboard propulsion 
installations which are subject to major craf t conversion and subsequently placed in 
the Union market within five years follo wing conversion, the craft manufacturer or 
his authorised representative established in the Union shall apply the following procedures set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC: 
(a)  where tests are conducted using the harmonised standard for noise 
measurement, any of the following modules:  
(i) module A1 (internal production co ntrol plus supervised testing); 
(ii) module G (conformity based unit verification);  (iii) module H (conformity base d on full quality assurance); 
(b) Where tests are conducted without usi ng the harmonised standard for noise 
measurement, module G (conform ity based unit verification);  
(c) Where the Froude number and power displacement ratio method is used for 
assessment, any of the following modules:  
(i) module A (internal production control); (ii) module G (conformity based unit verification);  (iii) module H (conformity based on full quality assurance). 
2. With regard to noise emissions for pers onal watercraft and outboard engines and 
stern drive engines with integral exhaus ts intended for installation on recreational 
craft, the personal watercraft or engine  manufacturer shall apply the following 
procedures set out in Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC: 
(a) Where tests are conducted using th e harmonised standard for noise 
measurement:  
(i) module A1 (internal production co ntrol plus supervised testing); 
(ii) module G (conformity based unit verification);  (iii) module H (conformity based on full quality assurance; 
(b) Where tests are conducted without usi ng the harmonised standard for noise 
measurement, module G (conform ity based unit verification).  
EN 36   EN Article 24 
Post construction assessment 
The post construction assessment referred to in Article 20(2), (3) and (4) shall be carried out 
as set out in Annex V.  
Article 25 
Supplementary requirements 
1. When Module B of Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC is used, the EU type 
examination shall be carried out in the manne r specified in the second indent of point 
2 of that module. 
A production type referred to in Module B ma y cover several versi ons of the product 
provided that the differences between the versions do not a ffect the level of safety 
and the other requirements concerning the performance of the product. 
2. When module A1 of Annex II to Deci sion No 768/2008/EC is used, the products 
checks shall be carried out on one or several watercraft  representing the production 
of the manufacturer and the supplementary requirements set out in Annex VI to this 
Directive shall apply. 
3. The possibility to use accredi ted in-house bodies referred to in modules A1 and C1 
of Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC shall not be applicable. 
4. When module F of Annex II to Decisi on No 768/2008/EC is used, the procedure 
described in Annex VII to this Directive sh all apply for the assessment of conformity 
with the exhaust emission requirements. 
5. When Module C of Annex II to Decision No 768/2008/EC is used, w ith regard to the 
assessment of conformity with the exhaust emission requirements of this Directive and if the manufacturer is not working under a relevant quality system as described 
in module H of Annex II to Decision No  768/2008/EC, a notified body chosen by the 
manufacturer shall carry out product chec ks or have them carried out at random 
intervals determined by that body, in order to verify the quality of  the internal checks 
on the product. When the quality level appears unsatisfactory or when it seems 
necessary to verify the validity of the data presented by the manufacturer, the 
procedure set out in Annex VIII to this Directive shall apply. 
Article 26 
Technical documentation  
1. The technical documentation referred to in Ar ticle 7(2) shall contai n all relevant data 
or details of the means used by the manufact urer to ensure that the product comply 
with the requirements set out in Article 4(1)  and Annex I. It shall, in particular, 
contain the documents listed in Annex IX. 
2. The technical documentation shall enable  understanding of the design, manufacture 
and operation of the product, and shall enab le assessment of conf ormity with this 
Directive.  
EN 37   EN CHAPTER V  
NOTIFICATION OF CONFORMI TY ASSESSMENT BODIES 
Article 27  
Notification 
Member States shall notify the Commission a nd the other Member States of the bodies 
authorised to carry out thir d-party conformity assessment tasks under this Directive. 
Article 28 
Notifying authorities 
1. Member States shall designa te a notifying authority that  shall be responsible for 
setting up and carrying out the necessary procedures for the assessment and 
notification of conformity assessment bodies for the purposes of th is Directive, and 
for the monitoring of notified bodies, incl uding compliance with the provisions of 
Article 34. 
2. Member States may decide that the a ssessment and monitoring referred to in 
paragraph 1 shall be carried out by a nati onal accreditation body within the meaning 
of and in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. 
3. Where the notifying authority delegates or otherwise entrusts the assessment, 
notification or monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 to a body which is not a governmental entity that body  shall be a legal entity and shall comply mutatis 
mutandis with the requirements laid down in Article 29. In addition, that body it shall 
have arrangements to cover liabi lities arising out of its activities. 
4. The notifying authority shall take full res ponsibility for the tasks performed by the 
body referred to in paragraph 3. 
Article 29 
Requirements relating to notifying authorities 
1. Notifying authorities shall be established in such a way that no conflict of interest 
with conformity assessment bodies occurs. 
2. Notifying authorities shall be organised and operated so as to safeguard the 
objectivity and impartiality of their activities. 
3. Notifying authorities shall be organised in such a way that each decision relating to 
notification of a conformity  assessment body is taken by competent persons different 
from those who carried out the assessment. 
4. Notifying authorities shall not offer or provide any activities that conformity 
assessment bodies perform or consultancy services on a commercial or competitive 
basis.  
EN 38   EN 5. Notifying authorities shall safeguard the confidentiality of the information they 
obtain. 
6. Notifying authorities shall ha ve a sufficient number of competent personnel at their 
disposal for the proper perf ormance of their tasks. 
Article 30 
Information obligation on notifying authorities 
Member States shall inform the Commission of their procedures for the assessment and 
notification of conformity a ssessment bodies and the monitori ng of notified bodies, and of 
any changes thereto. 
The Commission shall make that information publicly available. 
Article 31 
Requirements relating to notified bodies 
1. For the purposes of notification under this Directive, conformity assessment bodies 
shall meet the requirements laid  down in paragraphs 2 to 11. 
2. Conformity assessment bodies shall be esta blished under national law and shall have 
legal personality. 
3. A conformity assessment body shall be a third-party body independent of the 
organisation or the product it assesses. 
A body belonging to a business association or professional federation representing 
undertakings involved in the design, manu facturing, provision, assembly, use or 
maintenance of products which it assesses,  may, on condition that its independence 
and the absence of any conflict of interest  are demonstrated, be  considered such a 
body. 
4. A conformity assessment body, its top level management and the personnel 
responsible for carrying out the conform ity assessment tasks shall not be the 
designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer, pu rchaser, owner, user or maintainer of 
the products which they assess, nor the authorised representative of any of those parties. This shall no t preclude the use of assessed produc ts that are necessary for the 
operations of the conformity assessment body or the use of such products for 
personal purposes. 
A conformity assessment body, its top level management and the personnel 
responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment ta sks shall not be directly 
involved in the design or manufacture,  the marketing, installation, use or 
maintenance of those products, or represent the parties engaged in  those activities. 
They shall not engage in any activity that  may conflict with their independence of 
judgement or integrity in relation to conf ormity assessment activities for which they 
are notified. This shall in particul ar apply to consultancy services.  
EN 39   EN Conformity assessment bodies shall ensure that  the activities of th eir subsidiaries or 
subcontractors do not affect the confidentia lity, objectivity or impartiality of their 
conformity assessment activities. 
5. Conformity assessment bodies and their pe rsonnel shall carry out the conformity 
assessment activities with the highest de gree of professional integrity and the 
requisite technical competence in the spec ific field and shall be free from all 
pressures and inducements, particularly financial, which might influence their 
judgement or the results of their conform ity assessment activitie s, especially as 
regards persons or groups of persons with an interest in the results of those activities. 
6. A conformity assessment body shall be cap able of carrying out the conformity 
assessment tasks assigned to it by the provisi ons of Articles 20 - 25 and in relation to 
which it has have been notified, whether thos e tasks are carried out by the conformity 
assessment body itself or on its beha lf and under its responsibility.  
At all times and for each conformity asse ssment procedure and each kind or category 
of products in relation to which it has b een notified, a conformity assessment body 
shall have at its disposal the necessary: 
(a) personnel with technical knowledge and su fficient and appropriate experience 
to perform the conformity assessment tasks; 
(b) descriptions of procedures in accordan ce with which conformity assessment is 
carried out ensuring the transparency and ability of reproduction of those 
procedures.  It shall have appropriate policies and procedures in place that distinguish 
between tasks it carries out as a notified body and other activities; 
(c) procedures for the performance of activi ties which take due a ccount of the size 
of an undertaking, the sector  in which it operates, it s structure, the degree of 
complexity of the technology of the pr oduct in question and the mass or serial 
nature of the production process. 
It shall have the means nece ssary to perform the techni cal and administrative tasks 
connected with the conformity assessment activities in an appropriate manner and 
shall have access to all necessa ry equipment or facilities. 
7. The personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessm ent activities shall 
have the following: 
(a) sound technical and vocational training covering all the conformity assessment 
activities in relation to  which the conformity assessment body has been 
notified; 
(b) satisfactory knowledge of the requirements  of the assessments they carry out 
and adequate authority to carry out those assessments; 
(c) appropriate knowledge and understanding of  the essential requirements, the 
applicable harmonised standards, the re levant Union harmonisation legislation 
and the relevant national legislation  
EN 40   EN (d) the ability to draw up certificates, r ecords and reports de monstrating that 
assessments have been carried out. 
8. The impartiality of conformity assessmen t bodies, their top level management and 
assessment personnel shall be ensured. 
The remuneration of the top level management and assessment personnel of a 
conformity assessment body shall not depend  on the number of assessments carried 
out or on the results of those assessments. 
9. Conformity assessment bodies shall take ou t liability insurance unless liability is 
assumed by the Member State in accordance  with its national law, or the Member 
State itself is directly responsible  for the conformity assessment. 
10. The personnel of a conformity assessment body shall observe professional secrecy 
with regard to all informa tion obtained in carrying out their tasks under Articles 20 - 
25 or any provision of national law giving effect  to that Chapter, except in relation to 
the competent authorities of the Member St ate in which its activities are carried out. 
Proprietary rights shall be protected. 
11. Conformity assessment bodies shall particip ate in, or ensure th at their assessment 
personnel are informed of, the relevant sta ndardisation activities and the activities of 
the notified body coordination group established under Arti cle 44, and shall apply as 
general guidance the administ rative decisions and documents  produced as a result of 
the work of that group. 
Article 32  
Presumption of conformity 
Where a conformity assessment body demonstrates its conformity with the criteria laid down 
in the relevant harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been 
published in the Official Journal of the European Union  it shall be presumed to comply with 
the requirements set out in Article 31 in so far as the applicable harmonised standards cover those requirements. 
Article 33 
Formal objection to a harmonised standard 
Where a Member State or the Commission has a formal objection to the harmonised standards 
referred to in Article 32, the prov isions of Article 15 shall apply. 
Article 34 
Subsidiaries of and subcontracting by notified bodies 
1. Where a notified body subcontracts specif ic tasks connected with conformity 
assessment or has recourse to a subsidiary, it shall ensure that the subcontractor or 
the subsidiary meets the requirements set out in Article 31 and shall inform the notifying authority accordingly.  
EN 41   EN 2. Notified bodies shall take full res ponsibility for the tasks performed by 
subcontractors or subsidiaries wh erever these are established. 
3. Activities may be subcontracted or carr ied out by a subsid iary only with the 
agreement of the client. 
4. Notified bodies shall keep at the disposal of the notifying authority the relevant 
documents concerning the assessment of the qua lifications of the subcontractor or the 
subsidiary and the work carried out by them under Articles 20 - 25. 
Article 35 
Application for notification 
1. A conformity assessment body shall submit an  application for notification to the 
notifying authority of the Member State in which it is established. 
2. That application referred to  in paragraph 1 shall be acco mpanied by a description of 
the conformity assessment act ivities, the conformity a ssessment module or modules 
and the product or products for which that body claims to be competent, as well as by an accreditation certificate,  where one exists, issued by a national accreditation body 
attesting that the conform ity assessment body fulfils th e requirements laid down in 
Article 31. 
3. Where the conformity assessment body c oncerned cannot provide an accreditation 
certificate, it shall provide the notifying aut hority with all the documentary evidence 
necessary for the verification, recognition and regular monitoring of its compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 31. 
Article 36  
Notification procedure 
1. Notifying authorities may notify only conf ormity assessment bodies which have 
satisfied the requirements laid down in Article 31. 
2. Notifying authorities shall notify the Commi ssion and the other Member States using 
the electronic notificatio n tool developed and managed by the Commission. 
3. The notification shall include full details of the conformity assessment activities, the 
conformity assessment module or modules , product or products concerned and the 
relevant attestation of competence. 
4. Where a notification is not based on an accr editation certificate as referred to in 
Article 35(2), the notifying authority sh all provide the Commission and the other 
Member States with documentary eviden ce which attests to the conformity 
assessment body's competence and the arrangements in place to ensure that that body will be monitored regularly and will continue to satisfy the requirements laid down in Article 31. 
5. The body concerned may perform the activ ities of a notified body only where no 
objections are raised by the Commission or  the other Member States within two  
EN 42   EN weeks of a notification wher e an accreditation certificate is used or within two 
months of a notification wher e accreditation is not used. 
Only such a body shall be considered a notified body for the purposes of this 
Directive. 
6. The Commission and the other Member States shall be no tified of any subsequent 
relevant changes to the notification. 
Article 37  
Identification numbers and lists of notified bodies 
1. The Commission shall assign an identif ication number to a notified body. 
It shall assign a single such  number even where the body is notified under several 
Union acts. 
2. The Commission shall make publicly availa ble the list of the bodies notified under 
this Directive, including the identification numbers that have been allocated to them 
and the activities for which they have been notified. 
The Commission shall ensure that that list is kept up to date. 
Article 38  
Changes to notifications 
1. Where a notifying authority has ascertained or  has been informed that a notified body 
no longer meets the requirements  laid down in Article 31, or  that it is failing to fulfil 
its obligations, the notifying au thority shall restrict, suspe nd or withdraw notification 
as appropriate, depending on the seriou sness of the failure to meet those 
requirements or fulfil those obligations. It shall immediately inform the Commission 
and the other Member States accordingly. 
2. In the event of restriction, suspension or withdrawal of notific ation, or where the 
notified body has ceased its activity, the notifying Member State shall take 
appropriate steps to ensure that the files of that body ar e either processed by another 
notified body or kept available for the re sponsible notifying and market surveillance 
authorities at their request. 
Article 39 
Challenge of the competence of notified bodies 
1. The Commission shall investigate all cases where it doubts, or doubt is brought to its 
attention regarding, the competence of a no tified body or the continued fulfillment by 
a notified body of the requirements and responsibilities to wh ich it is subject. 
2. The notifying Member State shall provide  the Commission, on request, with all 
information relating to the basis for the notification or the maintenance of the competence of the body concerned.  
EN 43   EN 3. The Commission shall ensure that all sensi tive information obtained in the course of 
its investigations is treated confidentially. 
4. Where the Commission ascertains that a notified body does not meet or no longer 
meets the requirements for its notification, it  shall inform the notifying Member State 
accordingly and request it to take the necessary corrective measures, including de-notification if necessary. 
Article 40 
Operational obligations of notified bodies 
1. Notified bodies shall carry out conform ity assessments in accordance with the 
conformity assessment procedures provided for in articles 20 - 25. 
2. Conformity assessments shall be carried out in a proportionate manner, avoiding 
unnecessary burdens for economic operators . Conformity assessment bodies shall 
perform their activities taking due account of th e size of an undert aking, the sector in 
which it operates, its structur e, the degree of complexity  of the product technology in 
question and the mass or serial na ture of the production process. 
In so doing they shall nevertheless respec t the degree of rigour and the level of 
protection required for the compliance of  the product with this Directive. 
3. Where a notified body finds that requirements  laid down in Article  4 (1) and Annex I 
or in corresponding harmonised standards ha ve not been met by a manufacturer, it 
shall require that manufacturer to take a ppropriate corrective measures and shall not 
issue a conformity certificate. 
4. Where, in the course of the monitoring of conformity following the issue of a 
certificate, a notified body fi nds that a product is no longer in compliance, it shall 
require the manufacturer to take appropriate  corrective measures and shall suspend or 
withdraw the certific ate if necessary. 
5. Where corrective measures are not taken or do not have the required effect, the 
notified body shall restrict, suspend or withdraw any cer tificates, as appropriate. 
Article 41  
Appeal procedure 
Member States shall ensure that  an appeal procedur e against decisions of  the notified bodies 
is available 
Article 42 
Information obligation on notified bodies 
1. Notified bodies shall inform the notifying authority of the following: 
(a) any refusal, restriction, suspension or withdrawal of a certificate or approval 
decision;  
EN 44   EN (b) any circumstances affecting the scope of and conditions for notification; 
(c) any request for information which they ha ve received from market surveillance 
authorities regarding confor mity assessment activities; 
(d) on request, conformity assessment activit ies performed within the scope of 
their notification and a ny other activity performed, including cross-border 
activities and subcontracting. 
2. Notified bodies shall provide  the other bodies notified under this Directive carrying 
out similar conformity assessment activ ities covering the sa me products with 
relevant information on issues relating to negative and, on request, positive conformity assessment results. 
Article 43 
Exchange of experience 
The Commission shall provide for the organisation of exchange  of experience between the 
Member States' national authorities responsible for notification policy. 
Article 44 
Coordination of notified bodies 
The Commission shall ensure that appropriate  coordination and coope ration between bodies 
notified under this Directive are put in place an d properly operated in the form of a sectoral 
group or groups of notified bodies. 
Member States shall ensure that the bodies notif ied by them participate in the work of that 
group or groups, directly or by m eans of designated representatives.  
EN 45   EN  
CHAPTER VI 
UNION MARKET SURVEILLANCE, CONTROL OF 
PRODUCTS ENTERING THE UNION MARKET AND 
SAFEGUARD PROCEDURES 
Article 45 
Union market surveillance and control of  products entering the Union market 
Article 15(3) and Articles 16 to 29 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 shall apply to 
surveillance and contro l of products covered by this Directive.  
Article 46 
Procedure for dealing with products presenting a risk at national level 
1. Where the market surveillance authorities of one Member Stat e have taken action 
pursuant to Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, or where they have 
sufficient reason to believe that a product cove red by this Directive presents a risk to 
the health or safety of persons or to  environmental and consumer protection 
requirements covered by this Directive they shall carry out an evaluation in relation to the product concerned cove ring all the requirements laid down in this Directive. 
The relevant economic operators  or the private importer sh all cooperate as necessary 
with the market surveillance authorities. 
Where, in the course of th at evaluation, the market surv eillance authorities find that 
the product does not comply with  the requirements laid down in this Directive, they 
shall without delay require the relevant ec onomic operator or the private importer to 
take all appropriate correctiv e action to bring the product into compliance with those 
requirements, to withdraw the product from  the market, or to recall it within a 
reasonable period, commensurate with the nature  of the risk, as they may prescribe. 
The market surveillance authorities sh all inform the relevant notified body 
accordingly. 
Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 sha ll apply to the measures referred to in 
the second subparagraph of this paragraph. 
2. Where the market surveillance authorities consider that non-compliance is not 
restricted to their national territory, they  shall inform the Commission and the other 
Member States of the results  of the evaluation and of th e actions which they have 
required the relevant economic operato r or the private importer to take. 
3. The economic operator shall ensu re that all appropriate co rrective action is taken in 
respect of all the products concerned that it has made  available on the market 
throughout the Union.   
EN 46   EN The private importer shall ensure that all appropriate corrective action is taken in 
respect of the produc t that he has imported in the Union for his own use. 
4. Where the relevant economic operator doe s not take adequate corrective action 
within the period referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, the market surveillance authorities shall take all appr opriate provisional measures to prohibit or 
restrict the product being made available on  their national market, to withdraw the 
product from that market or to recall it. 
Where the private importer does not take adeq uate corrective action within the period 
referred to in the second subparagraph of paragrap h 1, the market surveillance 
authorities shall take all a ppropriate provisional measures to prohibit or restrict the 
product's use on their national market. 
The market surveillance authorities sh all inform the Commission and the other 
Member States, without delay, of those measures. 
5. The information referred to in paragraph 4 shall includ e all available details, in 
particular the data necessary for the iden tification of the non-co mpliant product, the 
origin of the product, the nature of the non-compliance alleged and the risk involved, 
the nature and duration of th e national measures taken and the arguments put forward 
by the relevant economic operator or the priv ate importer. In particular, the market 
surveillance authorities sha ll indicate whether the non-co mpliance is due to either: 
(a) failure of the product to m eet requirements relating to the health or safety of 
persons or to environmental and consum er protection requirements laid down 
in this Directive; or 
(b) shortcomings in the harmonised standards referred to in ar ticle 15 conferring a 
presumption of conformity. 
6. Member States other than the Member St ate initiating the pro cedure shall without 
delay inform the Commission and the other Member States of any measures adopted 
and of any additional information at their disposal relating to the non-compliance of 
the product concerned, and, in the event of  disagreement with the notified national 
measure, of their objections. 
7. Where, within 3 months of receipt of th e information referred to in paragraph 4, no 
objection has been raised by either a Member  State or the Commission in respect of a 
provisional measure taken by a Member St ate, that measure shall be deemed 
justified. 
8. Member States shall ensure that appropriate  restrictive measures are taken in respect 
of the product concerned, such as withdr awal of the product from their market, 
without delay. 
Article 47 
Union safeguard procedure 
1. Where, on completion of the procedure set out in Article 46(3) and (4), objections 
are raised against a measure taken by a Member State, or where the Commission  
EN 47   EN considers a national measure to be contra ry to Union legisla tion, the Commission 
shall without delay enter into consultation with the Member States and the relevant economic operator or operators or the privat e importer and shall ev aluate the national 
measure. On the basis of the results of that evaluation, the Commission shall decide 
whether the national measure is justified or not. 
The Commission shall address its decisi on to all Member States and shall 
immediately communicate it to them and the relevant economic operator or operators 
or the private importer. 
2. If the national measure is considered justified, all Member States shall take the 
measures necessary to ensure that the non- compliant product is withdrawn from their 
market, and shall inform the Commission accordingly. If the national measure is 
considered unjustified, the Member State concerned shall withdraw the measure. 
3. Where the national measure is considered to  be justified and the non-compliance of 
the product is attributed to shortcomings in the harmonised standards referred to in 
point (b) of Article 46(5), the Commissi on shall inform the relevant European 
standardisation body or bodies and shall br ing the matter before the Committee set 
up by Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC. Th at Committee shall consult the relevant 
European standardisation body or bodies and deliver its opinion without delay. 
Article 48 
Formal non-compliance 
1. Without prejudice to Article 46, where a Me mber State makes one of the following 
findings, it shall require the relevant economic  operator or the private importer to put 
an end to the non-compliance concerned: 
(a) the conformity marking has been affixe d in violation of Article 17, 18 or 19; 
(b) the conformity marking has not been affixed; 
(c) the EU declaration of conformity has not been drawn up; 
(d) the EU declaration of conformity  has not been drawn up correctly; 
(e) the technical documentation is either  not available or not complete. 
2. Where the non-compliance referred to in paragraph 1 persists, the Member State 
concerned shall take all appr opriate measures to restrict  or prohibit the product being 
made available on the market or ensure th at it is recalled or withdrawn from the 
market, or in the case of a product importe d by a private importer for his own use, 
that its use is prohi bited or restricted.  
EN 48   EN CHAPTER VII 
DELEGATED ACTS AND IMPLEMENTING ACTS 
 
Article 49 
Delegating power 
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 to 
amend the following Annexes to take into acco unt the progress of technical knowledge and 
new scientific evidence:  
(a) point 2 of Part B and point 1 of Part C of  Annex I, excluding direct or indirect 
modifications to exhaust or noise emi ssion values and to the Froude and P/D 
ratio values; 
(b)  Annexes V; VII and IX.. 
The amendments referred to in point (a) may include amendments to reference fuels and to 
the requirements for exhaust and noise emi ssions testing and to durability criteria. 
Article 50 
Exercise of the delegation 
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the 
conditions laid down in  this Article.  
2. The delegation of power referred to  in Article 49 shall be conferred  for an 
indeterminate period of time from the date specified in Article 60.  
3. The delegation of powers referred to in Ar ticle 49 may be revoked at any time by the 
European Parliament or by the Council. A decision of revocation shall put an end to 
the delegation of the power specified in th at decision. It shall take effect the day 
following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal  of the European 
Union or at a later date specified therein. It  shall not affect the validity of any 
delegated acts alr eady in force.  
4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to 
the European Parliament and to the Council.  
5. A delegated act adopted pursu ant to Article 49 shall en ter into force only if no 
objection has been expressed either by th e European Parliament or the Council 
within a period of 2 months of notification of  that act to the European Parliament and 
the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the 
Council have both informed the Commi ssion that they will not object.  That period 
shall be extended by 2 months at the initia tive of the European Parliament or the 
Council.  
EN 49   EN Article 51 
Implementing acts 
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive ensuring that it is applied in 
a uniform manner, in particular as regards the implementation of the requirements foreseen in Article 25 and of the provisions concerning boat design categories,  builder’s plate, discharge 
prevention and navigation lights foreseen in part A of Annex I, shall be adopted in accordance 
with the procedure referred to in Article 52(2). 
Article 52 
Committee procedure 
1. The Commission shall be as sisted by a committee. That committee shall be a 
committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 
2. Where reference is made to this paragr aph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 
182/2011 shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.  
EN 50   EN  
CHAPTER VIII 
SPECIFIC ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 
Article 53 
Reporting 
By [[dd/mm/yyyy] five years after th e date referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 
57(1)]  and every five years thereafter , Member  States shall send the Commission a report on 
the application of this Directive. That report  shall contain an eval uation of the situation 
concerning the safety and environmental performa nce of the products and of the effectiveness 
of this Directive, as well as a presentation of  the market surveillance activities performed by 
that Member State.  
The Commission shall draw up and publis h a summary of the national reports. 
Article 54 
Motivation of measures 
Any measure taken pursuant to this Directive to  prohibit or restrict the placing on the market 
or putting into service of a product, to withdr aw a product or to recall a product from the 
market shall state the exact grounds on which it is based. 
Such measures shall be notified without delay to  the party concerned, which shall at the same 
time be informed of the remedies available to  it under the laws in fo rce in the relevant 
Member State and of the time limits applicable to them. 
Article 55 
Transparency 
The Commission shall take the necessary measures to ensure that data affecting all pertinent  
decisions concerning the application of this Directive are made available. 
Article 56  
Penalties  
Member States shall lay down rules on penaltie s, which may include criminal sanctions for 
serious infringements, applicable to infringeme nts of the national provisions adopted pursuant 
to this Directive and shall take all measures ne cessary to ensure that they are implemented.  
The penalties provided for sh all be effective, proportionate  and dissuasive and may be 
increased if the relevant economic operator or  the private importer has previously committed 
a similar infringement of this Directive.  
EN 51   EN Member States shall notify thos e provisions to the Commission by [[dd/mm/yyyy] the date 
specified in the second s ubparagraph of Article 57(1)]  at the latest and shall notify it without 
delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.  
EN 52   EN  
CHAPTER IX 
FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 
Article 57  
Transposition  
1. Member States shall adopt and publish, by [[dd/mm/yyyy] 18 months after the entry 
into force foreseen in Article 61] at the latest, the laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission th e text of those provisions and a 
correlation table between those pr ovisions and th is Directive. 
They shall apply these pr ovisions from [[dd/mm/yyyy] two years after the entry into 
force foreseen in Article 61] . 
When Member States adopt those provisions,  they shall contain a reference to this 
Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determin e how such reference is to be made. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 
of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 
Article 58 
Transitional period 
1. Member States shall not impede the maki ng available on the mark et or the putting 
into service of products cove red by Directive 94/25/EC whic h are in conformity with 
that Directive and which were placed on the market or put into service before 
[dd/mm/yyyy ]( 1 year after the date referred to in the second subparagraph of 
Article 57 ). 
2. Member States shall not impede the maki ng available on the market or the putting 
into service of outboard SI engines with power below 15 kilowatts which comply with the stage I exhaust emission limits laid  down in point 2.1 of Part B of Annex I 
and which were manufactured by small and me dium-sized enterpri ses as defined in 
Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC
25 and placed on the market before 
[dd/mm/yyyy] ( 4 years after the referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 
57). 
                                                 
25 OJ [...]  
EN 53   EN Article 59 
Repeal 
Directive 94/25/EC is rep ealed with effect from [[dd/mm/yyyy] the date set out in the second 
subparagraph of Article 57(1)] .  
References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive.  
Article 60  
Entry into force 
This Directive shall enter into force on the tw entieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of  the European Union . 
Article 61  
Addressees 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at […],  
For the European Parliament For the Council  
The President The President  
EN 54   EN ANNEX I  
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS 
A. Essential safety requirements for the design and construction. 
1. BOAT  DESIGN  CATEGORIES 
Design category Wind force 
(Beaufort scale) Significant wave height 
(H 1/3, metres) 
A – ’Ocean’ 
B – ’Offshore’ C – ’Inshore’ D – ’Sheltered waters’ exceeding 8 
up to, and including, 8 up to, and including, 6 up to, and including, 4 exceeding 4 
up to, and including, 4 up to, and including, 2 up to, and including, 0,3 
Explanatory notes: 
A. OCEAN: Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8 
(Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights of 4 m and above but excluding 
abnormal conditions, and vessels largely self-sufficient. 
B. OFFSHORE: Designed for offshore voyage s where conditions up to, and including, 
wind force 8 and significant wave heig hts up to, and incl uding, 4 m may be 
experienced. 
C. INSHORE: Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and 
rivers where conditions up to, and incl uding, wind force 6 and significant wave 
heights up to, and including, 2 m may be experienced. 
D. SHELTERED WATERS: Desi gned for voyages on sheltered coastal waters, small 
bays, small lakes, rivers and canals when  conditions up to, and including, wind force 
4 and significant wave heights up to, a nd including, 0,3 m may be experienced, with 
occasional waves of 0,5 m maximum hei ght, for example from passing vessels. 
Recreational craft in each Category must be  designed and constructed to withstand the 
parameters in respect of stability, buoyancy, and other relevant essentia l requirements listed in 
Annex I, and to have good handling characteristics. 
2. GENERAL  REQUIREMENTS 
2.1. Watercraft identification 
Each watercraft shall be marked with a 14-di git identification number including the following 
information: 
(29) manufacturer's code, (30) country of manufacture,  
EN 55   EN (31) unique serial number, 
(32) month and year of production, (33) model year. 
Detailed requirements for the marking referred to in the first paragraph are set out in the 
relevant harmonised standard. 
2.2. Builder’s plate 
Each watercraft shall carry a permanently affixe d plate mounted separately from the boat hull 
identification number, containing the at least following information: 
(a) manufacturer's name, registered trad e name or registered trade mark; 
(b) CE marking;  
(c) boat design category accor ding to Section 1; 
(d) manufacturer's maximum recommended lo ad derived from point 3.6 excluding 
the weight of the contents of the fixed tanks when full; 
(e) number of persons recommended by the ma nufacturer for which the watercraft 
was designed to carry when under way. 
In the case of private import, the contact deta ils and the recommendations referred to in points 
(a), (d) and (e) shall include those of the notified body which ha s carried out the conformity 
assessment. 
2.3. Protection from falling overboard and means of reboarding 
Watercraft shall be designed to minimise the risks of falling overboard and to facilitate 
reboarding. 
2.4. Visibility from the main steering position 
For motor boats, the main steering position sha ll give the operator, under normal conditions of 
use (speed and load), go od all-round visibility. 
2.5. Owner’s manual 
Each watercraft shall be provide d with an owner's manual in accordance with Article 7(7) and 
Article 9(4). This manual shall draw particular attention to risks of fi re and flooding and shall 
contain the information referred to in points 2.2, 3.6 and 4 as well as the unlade weight of the 
watercraft in kilograms.  
EN 56   EN 3. INTEGRITY  AND  STRUCTURAL  REQUIREMENTS 
3.1. Structure 
The choice and combination of ma terials and its construction shall ensure that the watercraft 
is strong enough in all respects.  Special attention shall be paid to the design category 
according to Section 1, and the manufacturer's maximum recommended load in accordance 
with point 3.6. 
3.2. Stability and freeboard 
The watercraft shall have sufficient stability and freeboard considering its design category 
according to Section 1 and the manufacturer's  maximum recommended load according to 
point 3.6. 
3.3. Buoyancy and flotation 
The watercraft shall be constructed as to  ensure that it has buoyancy characteristics 
appropriate to its design category accordi ng to point 1.1, and the manufacturer's maximum 
recommended load according to point 3.6. All ha bitable multihull craft shall be so designed 
that it is either not susceptible to inversion or  it has sufficient buoyancy to remain afloat in the 
inverted position. 
Watercraft of less than six metres in length that are susceptible to swamping when used in 
their design category shall be provided with appropria te means of flotation in the swamped 
condition. 
3.4. Openings in hull, deck and superstructure 
Openings in hull, deck(s) and superstructure shall not impair the structural integrity of the 
watercraft or its weather ti ght integrity when closed. 
Windows, port lights, doors and hatch covers sh all withstand the water pressure likely to be 
encountered in their specific pos ition, as well as poi nt loads applied by the weight of persons 
moving on deck. 
Through hull fittings designed to allow water passa ge into the hull or out of the hull, below 
the waterline corresponding to the manufactur er's maximum recommended load in accordance 
with point 3.6, shall be fitted with a means of  shutoff which shall be readily accessible. 
3.5. Flooding 
All watercraft shall be designed so as to minimise the risk of sinking. 
Where appropriate, particular attention shall be paid to: 
(a) cockpits and wells, which should be se lf-draining or have other means of 
keeping water out of the boat interior; 
(b) ventilation fittings; 
(c) removal of water by pumps or other means.  
EN 57   EN 3.6. Manufacturer's maximum recommended load 
The manufacturer's maximum recommended load (fuel, water, provisions, miscellaneous 
equipment and people (in kilograms)) for whic h the watercraft was designed, shall be 
determined according to the design category (Sec tion 1), stability and freeboard (point 3.2) 
and buoyancy and flotation (point 3.3). 
3.7. Life raft stowage 
All watercraft of categories A and B, and wate rcraft of categories C and D longer than six 
metres shall be provided with one or more st owage points for a life raft (life rafts) large 
enough to hold the number of persons the boat was designed to carry as recommended by the 
manufacturer. Life raft stowage point(s) shall be readily acces sible at all times. 
3.8. Escape 
All habitable multihull craft that is susceptible of  inversion when used in their design category 
shall be provided with viable means of escape in the ev ent of inversion. 
All watercraft shall be provided with viab le means of escape in the event of fire. 
3.9. Anchoring, mooring and towing 
All watercraft, taking into account their design  category and their char acteristics shall be 
fitted with one or more strong points or othe r means capable of safely accepting anchoring, 
mooring and towing loads. 
4. HANDLING  CHARACTERISTICS 
The manufacturer shall ensure that the hand ling characteristics of the watercraft are 
satisfactory with the most powerful engine for which the boat is designed and constructed. For 
all recreational marine engines,  the maximum rated engine power  shall be declared in the 
owner’s manual. 
5. INSTALLATION  REQUIREMENTS 
5.1. Engines and engine spaces 
5.1.1.  Inboard engine 
All inboard mounted engines shall be placed within an enclosure separated from living 
quarters and installed so as to minimise the risk of fires or spread of fires as well as hazards 
from toxic fumes, heat, noise or vibrations in the living quarters. 
Engine parts and accessories that require frequent  inspection and/or servicing shall be readily 
accessible. 
The insulating materials inside engine  spaces shall not sustain combustion.  
EN 58   EN 5.1.2.  Ventilation 
The engine compartment shall be ventilated. Th e dangerous ingress of water into the engine 
compartment through all openi ngs must be prevented. 
5.1.3.  Exposed parts 
Unless the engine is protected by a cover or its own enclosure, exposed moving or hot parts of 
the engine that could cause personal in jury shall be effectively shielded. 
5.1.4.  Outboard engines starting 
All boats with outboard engines shall have a de vice to prevent starting the engine in gear, 
except: 
(a) when the engine produces less than 500 Newton’s (N) of static thrust; 
(b) when the engine has a thro ttle limiting device to lim it thrust to 500 N at the 
time of starting the engine. 
5.1.5.  Personal watercraft running without driver 
Personal watercraft shall be designed either with an automatic engine cut-off or with an 
automatic device to provide reduced speed, ci rcular, forward movement when the driver 
dismounts deliberately or falls overboard. 
5.2. Fuel system 
5.2.1.  General 
The filling, storage, venting and fuel-supply arra ngements and installations shall be designed 
and installed so as to minimise the risk of fire and explosion. 
5.2.2.  Fuel tanks 
Fuel tanks, lines and hoses shal l be secured and sepa rated or protected fr om any source of 
significant heat. The material th e tanks are made of and their method of construction shall be 
according to their capacity and the type of fuel.  
Petrol fuel tanks shall not form part of the hull and shall be: 
(a) protected against fire from the engine and from all other source of ignition; 
(b) separated from living quarters. 
Diesel fuel tanks may be integral with the hull. 
5.3. Electrical system 
Electrical systems shall be designed and installe d so as to ensure proper operation of the 
watercraft under normal conditions of use and shall be such as to minimise risk of fire and electric shock.  
EN 59   EN Attention shall be paid to the provision of overl oad and short-circuit protection of all circuits, 
except engine starting circuits, supplied from batteries. 
Ventilation shall be provided to prevent the accumulation of gases, which might be emitted 
from batteries. Batteries shall be firmly s ecured and protected from ingress of water. 
5.4. Steering system 
5.4.1.  General 
Steering and propulsion control systems shall be designed, constructed a nd installed in order 
to allow the transmission of steering lo ads under foreseeable operating conditions. 
5.4.2.  Emergency arrangements 
Sailboat and single-engined i nboard powered motor boats w ith remote-controlled rudder 
steering systems shall be provided with emer gency means of steering the watercraft at 
reduced speed. 
5.5. Gas system 
Gas systems for domestic use shall be of th e vapour-withdrawal type and shall be designed 
and installed so as to avoid leak s and the risk of explosion and be capable of being tested for 
leaks. Materials and components shall be suitable for the speci fic gas used to withstand the 
stresses and exposures found in  the marine environment. 
Each appliance shall be equipped with a flam e failure device effectiv e on all burners. Each 
gas-consuming appliance must be supplied by a separate branch of the distribution system, 
and each appliance must be controlled by a se parate closing device. Adequate ventilation 
must be provided to prevent hazards from leaks and products of combustion. 
All watercraft with a permanently installed gas system shall be fitted with an enclosure to 
contain all gas cylinders. The enclosure shall be  separated from the living quarters, accessible 
only from the outside and ventilat ed to the outside so that any escaping gas drains overboard.  
5.6. Fire protection 
5.6.1.  General 
The type of equipment installed and the layout of  the watercraft shall take account of the risk 
and spread of fire. Special attention shall be paid to the surroundings of open flame devices, 
hot areas or engines and auxiliary machines, oil and fuel overflows, uncovered oil and fuel 
pipes and routing of electrical wiring in particular away from  heat sources and hot areas. 
5.6.2.  Fire-fighting equipment 
Recreational craft shall be s upplied with fire-fighting equipm ent appropriate to the fire 
hazard, or the position and capacity of fire-fight ing equipment appropriate to the fire hazard 
shall be indicated. The craft shall not be put into service until the appropriate fire-fighting 
equipment is in place. Petrol engine enclosur es shall be protected by a fire extinguishing 
system that avoids the need to open the enclos ure in the event of fire. Where fitted, portable  
EN 60   EN fire extinguishers shall be readily accessible an d one shall be so positioned that it can easily 
be reached from the main steering po sition of the recreational craft.  
5.7. Navigation lights 
Where navigation lights are fitted, they sh all comply with the 1972 COLREG (The 
International Regulations for Preven ting Collisions at Sea) or CEVNI  (European Code for 
Interior Navigations for inland wate rways) Regulations as appropriate. 
5.8. Discharge prevention and installations facilitating the delivery ashore of waste 
Watercraft shall be constructed so as to prevent the accidental discharge of pollutants (oil, 
fuel, etc.) overboard.  
Watercraft fitted with toil ets shall have holding tanks,  or water treatment systems. 
Watercraft with installed holding tanks shall be fitted with a standard discharge connection to 
enable pipes of reception facilities to be c onnected with the craft discharge pipeline. 
In addition, any through-the-hull pipes for human waste shall be fitted with valves which are 
capable of being secured in the closed position.  
EN 61   EN B. Essential requirements for exhaust em issions from propulsion engines 
Propulsion engines shall comply with the essen tial requirements for exhaust emissions set out 
in this Part.  
1. ENGINE  IDENTIFICATION 
1.1. Each engine shall be clearly marked with the following information: 
(a) engine manufacturer's trademark or tradename ; 
(b) engine type, engine family, if applicable; 
(c) a unique engine identification number; 
(d) CE marking. 
1.2. The marks referred to in point 1.1. must be  durable for the normal life of the engine 
and must be clearly legible and indelible. If labels or plates are used, they must be 
attached in such a manner that the fixing is  durable for the normal life of the engine, 
and the labels/plates cannot be remove d without destroying or defacing them. 
1.3. The marks must be secured to an engine  part necessary for normal engine operation 
and not normally requiring replace ment during the engine life. 
1.4. The marks must be located so as to be readily visible after the engine has been 
assembled with all the components necessary for engine operation. 
2. EXHAUST  EMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 
Propulsion engines shall be desi gned, constructed and assembled so that when correctly 
installed and in normal use, emissions shall not exceed the limit values obtained from point 2.1., table 1 and point 2.2., tables 2 and 3: 
2.1. Values applying until [dd/mm/yyyy (the e nd of the transitional period referred 
to in Article 58(stage I)]: 
Table 1 
(g/kWh)
Carbon monoxide 
CO = A + B/P
Nn  Hydrocarbons 
HC = A + B/P Nn Type 
A B n A B n Nitrogen 
oxides 
NOx  Particulates 
PT  
Two-stroke 
spark ignition 150,0 600,0 1,0 30,0 100,0 0,75 10,0 Not 
applicable 
Four-stroke spark ignition 150,0 600,0 1,0 6,0 50,0 0,75 15,0 Not 
applicable  
EN 62   EN Compression 
ignition 5,0 0 0 1,5 2,0 0,5 9,8 1,0 
 
Where A, B and n are constants in  accordance with the table, P N is the rated engine power in 
kW.  
2.2. Values applying from [dd/mm/yyyy (the e nd of the transitional period referred 
to in Article 58 (Stage II)]: 
Table 2: 
Exhaust emission limits for co mpression ignition engines(**) 
Swept Volume 
SV 
  
(L/cyl) Rated Engine 
Power 
P
N 
 
(kW) Particulates 
PT 
  
(g/kWh) Hydrocarbons + 
Nitrogen Oxides 
HC + NO
X 
 
(g/kWh) 
PN < 37 The values referred to in table 1 
37 ≤ PN <75(*) 0,30 4,7 SV <0,9 
75 ≤ PN < 3700 0,15 5,8 
0,9 ≤ SV<1,2 0,14 5,8 
1,2 ≤ SV <2,5 0,12 5,8 
2,5 ≤ SV <3,5 0,12 5,8 
3,5 ≤ SV <7,0 PN < 3700 
0,11 5,8 
(*) Alternatively, engines with rated engine power at or above 37 kW and below 75 kW 
and with a swept volume below 0.9 L/cyl shall not exceed a PT emission limit of 0.20 g/kW-
hr and a combined HC+NOX emission limit of 5.8 g/kW-hr.  
(**) Any compression-ignition engine shall not ex ceed a Carbon monoxide (CO) emission 
limit of 5,0 g/kWh. 
Table 3: Exhaust emission limits for spark ignition engines 
Type of engine Rated Engine 
Power 
PN Carbon monoxide 
CO 
 Hydrocarbons + 
Nitrogen Oxides 
HC + NO X  
EN 63   EN (kW) (g/kWh) (g/kWh) 
PN ≤ 373 75 5 
373 < P N ≤ 485 350 16 Stern-drive and 
inboard engines 
PN > 485 350 22 
PN ≤ 4,3 500 – 5,0 x P N 30 
40 >PN > 4,3 500 – 5,0 x P N 
⎟⎟
⎠⎞
⎜⎜
⎝⎛
+9.0507,15
PN Outboard engines 
and PWC engines 
PN >.40  300 
⎟⎟
⎠⎞
⎜⎜
⎝⎛
+9.0507,15
PN 
 
2.3. Test cycles and reference fuels: 
2.3.1.  Test cycles and weighting factors to be applied: 
For variable speed CI engines test cycle E1 or  E5 shall apply. For variable speed SI engines 
test cycle E4 shall be applied. For variable speed CI engines a bove 130 kW test cycle E3 can 
also be applied. 
Cycle E1, Mode number  1 2 3 4 5 
Speed Rated Intermediate Low-idle 
Torque, % 100 75 75 50 0 
Weighting factor 0.08 0.11 0.19 0.32 0.3 
    
Cycle E3, Mode number  1 2 3 4  
Speed, % 100 91 80 63  
Power, % 100 75 50 25  
Weighting factor 0.2 0.5 0.15 0.15  
       
EN 64   EN Cycle E4, Mode number  1 2 3 4 5 
Speed, % 100 80 60 40 Idle 
Torque, % 100 71.6 46.50 25.3 0 
Weighting factor 0.06 0.14 0.15 0.25 0.40 
      
Cycle E5, Mode number  1 2 3 4 5 
Speed, % 100 91 80 63 Idle 
Torque, % 100 75 50 25 0 
Weighting factor 0.08 0.13 0.17 0.32 0.3 
      
 
2.4. Application of the engine fami ly and choice of parent engine 
The engine manufacturer shall be responsible for defining thos e engines from his range which 
are to be included in a family.  
A parent engine shall be selected from an engine family in such a way that its emissions 
characteristics are representative for all en gines in that engine  family. The engine 
incorporating those features that are expected  to result in the highest specific emissions 
(expressed in grams per kilowatt hour), when measured on the applicab le test cycle, should 
normally be selected as the pa rent engine of the family. 
2.5. Test fuels 
The test fuel used for emi ssion testing shall meet the following characteristics: 
Petrol fuels 
RF-02-99 
Unleaded RF-02-03 
Unleaded Property 
min max min max 
Research Octane Number (RON) 95 --- 95 --- 
Motor Octane Number (MON) 85 --- 85 --- 
Density at 15 °C (kg/m3) 748 762 740 754  
EN 65   EN Initial boiling point (°C) 24 40 24 40 
Mass fraction of sulphur (mg/kg) --- 100 --- 10 
Lead content (mg/l) --- 5 --- 5 
Reid vapour pressure (kPa) 56 60 --- --- 
Vapour pressure (DVPE) (kPa) --- --- 56 60 
 
Diesel fuels  
RF-06-99 RF-06-03 
 Property 
min max min max 
Cetane number 52 54 52 54 
Density at 15 °C (kg/m3) 833 837 833 837 
Final boiling point (°C) --- 370 --- 370 
Flash point (°C) 55 --- 55 --- 
Mass fraction of sulphur (mg/kg) To be 
reported 300 
(50) --- 10 
Mass fraction of ash (%) To be 
reported 0.01 --- 0.01 
 
The Notified Body may accept tests carried out on the basis of other tests fuel as specified in a 
harmonised standard. 
3. DURABILITY 
The manufacturer of the engine  shall supply engine installati on and maintenance instructions, 
which if applied should mean that the engine in normal use will continue to comply with the 
limits set out in point 2.5. throughout the normal life of the engine and under normal conditions of use. 
This information shall be obtained by the en gine manufacturer by use of prior endurance 
testing, based on normal operating cy cles, and by calcula tion of component fatigue so that the 
necessary maintenance instructi ons may be prepared by the manu facturer and issued with all 
new engines when first placed on the market.  
EN 66   EN The normal life of the engine is considered to be the following: 
(a) For CI engines 480 hours of operation or  10 years, whichever occurs first; 
(b) For SI inboard or stern drive engine s with or without integral exhaust: 
(i) below 373 kW: 480 hours of operati on or 10 years, whichever occurs 
first, 
(ii) for engines in the category 373 < PN ≤ 485 kW: 150 hours of operation 
or 3 years, whichever occurs first, 
(iii) for the engine category PN > 485 kW: 50 hours of operation or 1 year, 
whichever occurs first; 
(c) personal watercraft engines: 350 hours or  five years, whichever occurs first; 
(d) outboard engines: 350 hours or 10 years, whichever occurs first 
4. OWNER’S  MANUAL 
Each engine shall be provided with an owner's manual in th e language or languages of the 
Union determined by the Member State in which the engine is to be marketed.  
The owner's manual shall: 
(a) provide instructions for the installati on and maintenance needed to assure the 
proper functioning of the engine to meet the requirements of point 3., 
(Durability); 
(b) specify the power of the engine wh en measured in accordance with the 
harmonised standard.  
EN 67   EN  
C. Essential requirements for noise emissions 
Recreational craft with inboard or stern drive engines without  integral exhaust, personal 
watercraft and outboard engines and stern drive engine s with integral exhaust shall comply 
with the essential requirements for no ise emissions set out in this Part. 
1. NOISE  EMISSION  LEVELS 
1.1. Recreational craft with inboard or stern drive engines without integral exhaust, 
personal watercraft and outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral 
exhaust shall be designed, constructed and assembled so that noise emissions) shall 
not exceed the limit values in the following table: 
Table 
 
Rated Engine Power 
(single engine) 
In kW Maximum Sound Pressure 
Level = L pASmax  
In dB 
PN ≤ 10 67 
10 < PN ≤ 40 72 
PN > 40 75 
 
where PN = rated engine power in kW of  a single engine at  rated speed and L pASmax  = 
maximum sound pressure level in dB. 
For twin-engine and multiple-engine units of all engine types an allowance of 3 dB 
may be applied. 
1.2. As an alternative to sound measurement test s, recreational craft with inboard engine 
configuration or stern drive engine configuration, without integral exhaust, shall be 
deemed to comply with the noise requireme nts set out in point 1.1. if they have a 
Froude number of ≤ 1,1 and a power displacement ratio of ≤ 40 and where the engine 
and exhaust system are installed in acco rdance with the engine manufacturer's 
specifications. 
1.3. “Froude number” shall be calculated by di viding the maximum boat speed V (m/s) 
by the square root of the waterline length lwl (m) multiplied by a given gravitational constant, (g = 9,8 m/s2) 
Fn =
).(lwlgV
.  
EN 68   EN “Power displacement ratio” P/D shall be calculated by dividing the rated engine 
power P N (in kW) by the craft’s displacement D (in tonnes) = DP  
2. OWNER’S  MANUAL 
For recreational craft with inboard  engine or stern drive engine s without integr al exhaust and 
personal watercraft, the owner's manual required under point 2.5. of  Part A of Annex I, shall 
include information necessary to maintain the craft and exhaust system in a condition that, insofar as is practicable, will ensure compliance with the specified noise limit values when in 
normal use. 
For outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhaust, the owner's manual 
required under point 4 of Part B of Annex I shall provide the instructions necessary to 
maintain the engine in a condition, that insofar as is practicable, will ensure compliance with 
the specified noise limit values when in normal use. 
3. DURABILITY 
The provisions on the durability in Section 3 of Part B shall apply mutandis mutatis  to the 
compliance with the requirements on noise emissions set out in […]. 
EN 69   EN  
ANNEX II 
COMPONENTS of watercraft 
(1) Ignition-protected equipment for inboard  and stern drive petrol engines and 
petrol tank spaces; 
(2) Start-in-gear protection devi ces for outboard engines; 
(3) Steering wheels, steering mechanisms and cable assemblies; 
(4) Fuel tanks intended for fixed installations and fuel hoses; 
(5) Prefabricated hatche s and port lights.  
EN 70   EN ANNEX III 
DECLARATION BY THE MANUFACTURER OR HIS AUTHORISED 
REPRESENTATIVE ESTABLISHED IN  THE UNION OR THE PERSON 
RESPONSIBLE FOR PLACING ON THE MARKET THE PARTLY COMPLETED 
WATERCRAFT OR COMPONENT 
(Article 6 (2) and (3)) 
A. The declaration by the manufacture or his au thorised representative established in the 
Union referred to in Article 6(2) shall contain the following: 
(a) the name and address of the manufacturer; (b) the name and address of the representa tive of the manufacturer established in 
the Union or, if appropriate, of the pe rson responsible for the placing on the 
market; 
(c) a description of the partly completed watercraft; (d) a statement that the partly complete d watercraft complies with the essential 
requirements that apply this stage of cons truction; this shall include references 
to the relevant harmonised standards used, or references to the specifications in 
relation to which compliance is declared at this stage of construction; 
furthermore, it is intended to be comple ted by other legal or natural persons in 
full compliance with this Directive. 
B. The declaration by the manufacture, his au thorised representative established in the 
Union or the person responsible for placing on the market referred to in Article 6(3) 
shall contain the following: 
(a) the name and address of the manufacturer; 
(b) the name and address of the representati ve of the manufacturer established in 
the Union or, if appropriate, of the pe rson responsible for the placing on the 
market; 
(c) a description of the component; 
(d) a statement that the component comp lies with the relevant essential 
requirements.  
EN 71   EN ANNEX IV 
EU DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY  
1. No xxxxxx (unique identification of the product: type, serial number where 
appropriate): 
2. Name and address of the manufacturer or  his authorised representative [The 
authorised representative must also gi ve the business name and address of the 
manufacturer] or the private importer. 
3. This declaration of conformity is issu ed under the sole re sponsibility of the 
manufacturer or the private importer or the person referred to in Article 20(3) or (4) 
of Directive [...] 
4. Object of the declaration (identificati on of product allowing traceability. It may 
include a photograph, where appropriate): 
5. The object of the declaration described in […] is in conformity with the relevant 
Union harmonisation legislation:  
6. References to the relevant harmonised standards used or references to the 
specifications in relation to which conformity is declared: 
7. Where applicable, the notified body ... (nam e, number)… performed … (description 
of intervention) … and i ssued the certificate:  
8. Identification of the person empowered to sign on behalf of the manufacturer or his 
authorised representative established within the Union 
9. Additional information:  
The declaration of conformity shall include a statement of the manufacturer that the 
engine will meet the exhaust and noise emi ssion requirements of this Directive, when 
installed in a watercraft, in accordance with  the manufacturer's supplied instructions 
and that that engine must not be put into service until the watercraft into which it is to be installed has been declared in conf ormity, if so required, with the relevant 
provision of the Directive, with regard to all of the following: 
(a) inboard engines and stern drive propul sion engines without integral exhaust; 
(b) engines type-approved according to Directive 97/68/EC which are in 
compliance with stage II pr ovided for in point 4.2.3 of  Annex I of the latter 
Directive; 
(c) engines type-approved accordi ng to Directive 88/77/EEC. 
If the engine has been placed on the market under the additional transitional period 
provided in Article 58 (2), the EU decl aration of conformity shall contain an 
indication thereof. 
Signed for and on behalf of:   
EN 72   EN (place and date of issue) 
(name, function) (signature)  
EN 73   EN  
ANNEX V 
EQUIVALENT CONFORMITY BASED ON POST-CONSTRUCTION ASSESSMENT  
(module PCA) 
1. Conformity based on post-construction assess ment is the procedure to assess the 
equivalent conformity of a product for which neither the manufacturer nor his 
authorised representative has assumed the responsibility for the product’s conformity 
with the Directive , and whereby a natural or legal person referred to in Article 20(2), 
(3) or (4) who is placing th e product on the market or put ting it into service under his 
own responsibility is assuming the responsib ility for the equivalent conformity of 
this product. This person sh all fulfill the oblig ations laid down in points 2 and 4 and 
ensure and declare on his sole responsibil ity that the product concerned, which has 
been subject to the provisions  of point 3, is in confor mity with the applicable 
requirements of this Directive.  
2. The person who is placing the product on the market or putting it into service shall 
lodge an application for a post-construction assessment of  the product with a notified 
body and must provide the notified body with the documents and technical file 
enabling the Notified body to assess the conformity of  the product with the 
requirements of this Directive and any av ailable information on the use of the 
product after its first pu tting into service. 
The person who is placing such a product on the market or putting it into service 
shall keep these documents and information at the disposal of the relevant national 
authorities for 10 years after the product has been assessed on its equivalent 
conformity in accordance with the po st-construction assessment procedure. 
3. The notified body shall examine the indivi dual product and carry out calculations, 
tests and other assessments, to the extent necessary to ensure that the equivalent 
conformity of the product with the releva nt requirements of this Directive is 
demonstrated. 
The notified body shall draw up and issue a certificate and a related report of 
conformity concerning the assessment carrie d and shall keep a c opy of the certificate 
and related report of conformity at the di sposal of the national authorities for 10 
years after it has issued these documents. 
The notified body shall affix its identificat ion number next to the conformity 
marking on the approved product or have  it affixed under its responsibility.  
In case the assessed product is  a watercraft, the notified body  shall also have affixed, 
under his responsibility, the watercraft identi fication code as referred to in point 2.1 
of Part A of Annex I, whereby the field fo r the country of manufa cture shall be used 
to indicate the country of establishment of the notified body and the fields for the 
manufacturer’s identification code to indicate the post-construction assessment 
identification code assigned to the notif ied body, followed by the serial number of 
the post-construction assessment certificate. The fields in the watercraft  
EN 74   EN identification code for the month and year of production and for th e model year shall 
be used to indicate the month and year  of the post-construction assessment. 
4. Conformity marking and declaration of conformity 
4.1. The person who is placing the product on th e market or putting it  into service shall 
affix the CE marking and, under the responsib ility of the notified body referred to in 
Section 3, the latter's identification number  to the product for which the notified body 
has assessed and certified its equivalent confor mity with the relevant requirements of 
the Directive. 
4.2. The person who is placing the product on th e market or putting it  into service shall 
draw up an EU declaration of conformity a nd keep it at the disposal of the national 
authorities for 10 years after the date the post-construction assessment certificate has 
been issued. The declaration of conformity  shall identify the product for which it has 
been drawn up. 
A copy of the declaration of conformity sh all be made available to the relevant 
authorities upon request. 
4.3. In the case the assessed product is a watercraft, the person who is placing the 
watercraft on the market or putting it into service shall affix to the watercraft the 
builder’s plate described in point 2.2 of Pa rt A of Annex I, which shall include the 
words “post-construction assessment”, an d the watercraft identification number 
described in point 2.1 of Part A of Annex I, in accordance with the provisions set out in point 3.  
5. The notified body shall inform the person w ho is placing the product on the market 
or putting it into service of his obligations  under this post-construction assessment 
procedure.  
EN 75   EN  
ANNEX VI  
SUPPLEMENTARY REQUIREMENTS WHEN INTERNAL PRODUCTION 
CONTROL PLUS SUPERVISED PRODUCTI ON TESTS SET IN MODULE A1 IS 
USED 
 (ARTICLE 25(2)) 
Design and construction 
On one or several watercrafts representing the production of the manufacturer one or more of 
the following tests, equivalent calculation or control shall be carried out by the manufacturer 
or on his behalf: 
(a) test of stability according to poi nt 3.2 of Part A of Annex I; 
(b) test of buoyancy character istics according to point 3.3 of Part A of Annex I. 
Noise emissions 
For recreational craft fitted with inboard or st ern drive engines withou t integral exhaust and 
for personal watercraft,on one or several watercraft representing the production of the watercraft manufacturer, the s ound emission tests defined in Part C of Annex I shall be 
carried out by the watercraft manufacturer, or  on his behalf, under the responsibility of a 
notified body chosen by the manufacturer. 
For outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhaust, on one or several engines 
of each engine family representing the produc tion of the engine manufacturer, the sound 
emission tests defined in Part C of Annex I shall be carried out by the engi ne manufacturer, or 
on his behalf, under the res ponsibility of a notified body chosen by the manufacturer. 
Where more than one engine of an engine family  is tested, the statistic al method described in 
Annex VII shall be applied to en sure conformity of the sample.  
EN 76   EN  
ANNEX VII 
CONFORMITY OF PRODUCTION ASSESSMENT  
FOR EXHAUST AND NOISE EMISSIONS 
1. For verifying the conformity of an engine family, a sample of engines shall be taken 
from the series. The manufacturer shall decide the size (n) of the sample, in 
agreement with the notified body. 
2. The arithmetical mean X of the results obtained from the sample shall be calculated 
for each regulated component of the exhaust and noise emission. The production of the series shall be deemed to conform to  the requirements ("pass decision") if the 
following condition is met: 
X + k . S ≤ L 
S is standard deviation, where: 
S² = Σ (x - X)² / (n – 1) 
X = the arithmetical mean of the results x = the individual results of the sample L = the appropriate limit value n = the number of engines in the sample 
k = statistical factor depending on n (see table) 
 
n 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
k 0,973 0,613 0,489 0,421 0,376 0,342 0,317 0,296 0,279 
n 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 
k 0,265 0,253 0,242 0,233 0,224 0,216 0,210 0,203 0,198 
 
If n ≥ 20 then k = 0,860 / √n. 
  
EN 77   EN  
ANNEX VIII 
SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEDURE TO BE A PPLIED UNDER CONFORMITY TO 
TYPE BASED ON INTERNAL PRO DUCTION CONTROL (MODULE C) 
In the cases referred to in Article 25(5) wh en the quality level appears unsatisfactory, the 
following procedure shall apply: 
An engine is taken from the series and subjected  to the test described in Part B of Annex I. 
Test engines shall have been run in, partially or completely, according to the manufacturer's 
specifications. If the specific exhaust emissions of  the engine taken from the series exceed the 
limit values according to Part B of Annex I, the manufacturer may ask for measurements to be 
done on a sample of engines taken from the seri es and including the engi ne originally taken. 
To ensure the conformity of the sample of e ngines defined in […] wi th the requirements of 
the Directive, the statistical method de scribed in Annex VII shall be applied.  
EN 78   EN ANNEX IX 
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION 
The documentation referred to in Articles 7(2) and 26 shall, as far as it is relevant for the 
assessment, contain the following: 
(a) A general description of the type; 
(b) Conceptual design and manufacturing dr awings and schemes of components, 
sub-assemblies, circuits, a nd other relevant data.; 
(c) Descriptions and explanations necessary for the understanding of said drawings 
and schemes and the operation of the product; 
(d) A list of the standards refe rred to in Article 14, applied in full or in part, and 
descriptions of the solutions adopted to  fulfil the essential requirements when 
the standards referred to in Arti cle 14 have not been applied; 
(e) Results of design calculations made, examinations carried out and other 
relevant data; 
(f) Test reports, or calculations namely on stability according to point 3.2 of Part 
A of Annex I and on buoyancy according to  point 3.3 of Part A of Annex I, 
(g) Exhaust emissions test reports demonstra ting compliance with Section 2 of Part 
B of Annex I 
(h) Sound emissions test reports demonstrati ng compliance with Section 1 of Part 
C of Annex I.  
EN 79   EN LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEM ENT FOR PROPOSALS HAVING A 
BUDGETARY IMPACT EXCLUSIVELY LIMITED TO THE REVENUE SIDE  
1. BUDGET  LINES: 
Chapter and Article: 
Amount budgeted for the year concerned: 
2. FINANCIAL  IMPACT   
X Proposal has no financial implications 
 Proposal has no financial impact on expe nditure but has a fi nancial impact on 
revenue – the effect is as follows: 
(€ million to one decimal place) 
  
Budget line Revenue26 12 month period, 
starting dd/mm/yyyy[Year n] 
Article 52 Impact on own resources   
Article … 
 Impact on own resources   
 
Situation following action 
 [n+1] [n+2] [n+3] [n+4] [n+5] 
Article … 
      
Article …       
 
                                                 
26 Regarding traditional own resources (agricultural duties, sugar levies, customs duties) the amounts 
indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25 % of collection costs