Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on machinery and amending Directive 95/16/EC
Date: 2005-08-31
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU trade mark, machine-tool industry, machinery, marketing, occupational health, product safety, safety standard

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 31.08.2005 
COM(2005) 403 final 

 2001/0004 (COD) 

. 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO 
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning 

the common position of the Council on the adoption of a directive of the European 
Parliament and of the Council on machinery and amending Directive 95/16/EC 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO 
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning 

the common position of the Council on the adoption of a directive of the European 
Parliament and of the Council on machinery and amending Directive 95/16/EC 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date  of  transmission  of  the  proposal  to  the  Council  and  the  European 
Parliament  [COM(2000) 899  -  2001/0004 (COD)]  in  accordance  with 
article 95 of the Treaty 

26 January 2001

Date of opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 

12 September 2001

Date of opinion of the European Parliament - first reading 

4 July 2002

Date  of  transmission  of  the  Amended  proposal  [COM(2003) 48  - 
2001/0004 (COD)] 

11 February 2003

Date of adoption of the Council common position 

18 July 2005

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The  aim  of  the  initial  proposal  was  to  ensure  the  free  movement  of  the  products 
within  the  scope  by  guaranteeing  a  high  level  of  protection  in  the  areas  of  health, 
safety  and  consumer  protection.  The  products  within  the  scope  are  essentially 
machinery and products used in conjunction with machinery. 

In  line  with  the  conclusions  of  the  1994  Molitor  report,  the  objective  of  the  initial 
proposal  was  to  provide  a  better  definition  of  various  concepts,  to  clarify  certain 
aspects and to better ensure uniform application. To this end, the explanations of the 
conformity assessment and market surveillance procedures were improved, avoiding 
divergent interpretations of these procedures. 

The  initial  proposal  for  a  revision  of  the  Machinery  Directive  was  prepared  on  the 
basis  of  proposals  drawn  up  by  up  a  high-level  group  of  independent  experts  from 
various  backgrounds.  It  also  took  account  of  the  experience  gained  in  the  practical 
application of the amended Directive 89/392/EEC1. 

1 

Council Directive 89/392/EEC of 14 June 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States 
relating to machinery, OJ L 183 , 29.6.1989, p. 9. This Directive was codified by Directive 98/37/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member  States  relating  to  machinery,  OJ  L  331,  23.7.1998,  p.  1.  Directive  as  amended  by  Directive 
98/79/EC (OJ L 331, 7.12.1998, p. 1). 

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The main elements of the initial proposal were as follows: 

•  Better definition of the scope of the directive, clarification of the borderline with 
other  directives,  in  particular  the  Low  Voltage2  and  the  Lifts  Directives3,  and  a 
clearer description of the concept of “Partly Completed Machinery” ; 

•  Strengthening  of  the  provisions  relating  to  market  surveillance  and  to  the 

notification of conformity assessment bodies ; 

•  Introduction  of  a  full  quality  assurance  procedure  for  certain  categories  of 

machinery. 

In its amended proposal, the Commission incorporated many of the suggestions from 
the European Parliament with the aim of further improving the Directive. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION 

3.1. 

Overall remarks on the common position 

The common position has been adopted by the Council unanimously. 

It  introduces  a  number  of  changes  to  the  Commission’s  amended  proposal  which 
considerably improve the text while maintaining the initial objectives of clarification 
and simplification of its application.  

Key amendments proposed by the European Parliament in the first reading, such as 
the introduction of self-certification, via a manufacturer’s declaration of conformity, 
instead  of  third-party  certification  for  machines  presenting  a  higher  level  of  risk  in 
the  case  of  full  application  of  harmonised  standards  and  the  strengthening  of  the 
requirements on notified bodies are present in the common position. 

the  modifications 

Many  of 
the  common  position  concern 
improvements in the layout of the text or constitute editorial improvements which do 
not change the fundamental meaning or practical application of the Directive. 

introduced 

in 

In particular, the layout of Annex I on essential health and safety requirements has 
been  adapted  to  fit  as  closely  as  possible  with  the  layout  of  the  current  Directive. 
Furthermore,  the  essential  health  and  safety  requirements  of  chapters  7  and  8  of 
Annex I of the amended proposal have been merged into chapters 4 and 6 relating to 
lifting and lifting of persons. 

2 

3 

Council  Directive  73/23/EEC  of  19  February  1973  on  the  harmonisation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member 
States  relating  to  electrical  equipment  designed  for  use  within  certain  voltage  limits,  OJ  L  77, 
26.3.1973, p. 29. Directive as amended by Directive 93/68/EEC (OJ L 220, 30.8.2003, p. 1). 
Directive  95/16/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  29  June  1995  on  the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts, OJ L 213, 7.9.1995, p. 1. Directive as 
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1). 

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3.2. 

European Parliament amendments included in full, in part or in principle in the 
amended  proposal  and  incorporated  in  full,  in  part  or  in  principle  in  the 
common position 

The  following  amendments  have  been  included  in  the  common  position,  in  some 
cases with modifications:  

14 on scope and exclusions (in part), 15 on definitions (in part), 16 on reference to 
Directive 92/59/EEC (in full), 17 and 82 on obligations for placing on the market and 
putting into service (in part), 18 on freedom of movement (in full), 22 on conformity 
assessment  (in  principle  but  introduced  in  Annex  I,  General  Principles),  23  on 
conformity assessment (in full), 27 on CE marking (in part), 30 on notified bodies (in 
principle),  36  and  45  on  safety  and  reliability  of  control  systems  (in  part),  41  on 
definitions in Annex I (in part), 42 on principles of safety integration (in full), 49 on 
fixed  guards  (in  part),  51  on  electricity  supply  (in  principle),  56  on  marking  of 
machinery (in part), 74 on declaration of conformity (in principle), 75 on declaration 
of conformity (in part), 80 on minimum criteria for notification of bodies (in part). 

3.3. 

European Parliament amendments included in full, in part or in principle in the 
amended proposal and not incorporated in the common position 

The  following  amendments  were  included  in  the  amended  proposal,  but  have  not 
been included as such in the common position: 

2  on  recital  explaining  the  exclusion  of  industrial  sites,  3  on  recital  explaining  the 
exclusion  of  medical  devices,  47  on  stability,  59  on  instructions  for  portable  hand-
held and/or hand-guided machinery, 62 on testing of lifting machinery, 63 on control 
of movements of lifting machinery, 64 on loading control of lifting machinery, 66 on 
marking  of  chains  and  ropes,  69  on  marking  of  machinery  lifting  persons,  72  on 
protective devices for construction site hoists and 76 on CE marking. 

3.4. 

European  Parliament  amendments  not  included  in  the  amended  proposal  and 
not incorporated in the common position 

The  following  amendments  were  neither  included  in  the  amended  proposal  nor 
incorporated in the common position: 

1  on  a  recital  relating  to  environmental  performance,  4  on  a  recital  relating  to 
machinery  without  risk,  5  on  a  recital  relating  to  fairground  and  amusement  park 
equipment,  6,  7,  8  and  11  on  recitals  relating  to  CE  marking  and  voluntary 
certifications and marking, 9, 20 and 32 on recitals relating to comitology, 10 on a 
recital relating to high voltage equipment, 12 on a recital on old machinery, 13 on a 
recital codified versions of legal acts, 19 on harmonised standards, 24 on conformity 
assessment, 25 on partly completed machinery, 26 on notified bodies, 28 and 29 on 
market surveillance, 31 on confidentiality, 33 and 37 on the Lifts Directive, 34 on the 
evaluation of the New Approach concept, 35 on the entry into force of the Directive, 
40 on the preliminary observations in Annex I, 44 on handling and transportation of 
machinery,  50  on  seats  in  machinery,  55  on  unhindered  movement  of  exposed 
persons,  58  on  instructions,  60  requirements  on  vibrations,  65  on  lifting,  67  on 
controls  for  lifting  or  moving  people,  70  on  lifting  machinery  for  persons  with 
reduced mobility, 71 and 73 on construction site hoists, 77 on the technical file, 78 

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on  Annex  IX,  79  on  Annex  X,  83  on  a  recital  relating  to  the  establishment  of  a 
database. 

3.5. 

European  Parliament  amendments  not  included  in  the  amended  proposal  and 
incorporated into the common position 

The  following  amendments  were  not  included  in  the  amended  proposal,  but  have 
been incorporated into the common position: 

48  on  required  characteristics  of  guards  and  protection  devices  and  the  part  of 
amendment 57 on instructions, which removed the requirement that “the instructions 
must be limited to the machine in question”. 

3.6. 

Other modifications introduced by the Council common position compared with 
the amended proposal 

Modifications to the recitals 

Recital 1 in the amended proposal was slightly modified in order to render it clearer. 

Recital 4 in the amended proposal was deleted since it was no longer valid in light of 
modifications to the text of the common position. 

Recitals  6  and  7  in  the  amended  proposal  were  not  incorporated  into  the  common 
position. 

Recital 8 in the amended proposal was split into new recitals 5 and 6 in the common 
position.  The  new  recital  6  in  the  common  position  was  modified  for  the  sake  of 
clarity. 

Recital 9 in the amended proposal was considered superfluous and deleted. 

A new recital 7 clarifying the relation with Council Directive 89/655/EEC was added 
to the common position. 

A new recital 11 relating to Article 9 was added to the common position. 

Recital 13 in the amended proposal was slightly modified in the common position. 

Recital 14 in the amended proposal was slightly modified in the common position. 

Recital  19  was  slightly  modified  in  order  to  reflect  changes  to  Article  16  in  the 
common position. 

Recital  24  in  the  amended  proposal  was  modified  and  renumbered  as  28  in  the 
common position. 

Recital 27 in the amended proposal was modified according to an inter-institutionally 
agreed standard text and renumbered as 26 in the common position. 

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A  new  recital  27  encouraging  Member  States  to  draw  up  and  make  public  tables 
illustrating  the  correlation  between  the  Directive  and  their  transposition  measures 
was added to the common position. 

Modifications to the articles 

Article 1(1) in the amended proposal was modified in the common position in order 
to unambiguously list all categories of products covered by the Directive. 

Article 1(2) in the amended proposal was modified in the common position in order 
to clarify the scope of the Directive by: 

–  removing  superfluous  exclusions  of  categories  of  products  such  as  ordinary 
“components”  in  (a),  “industrial  sites  taken  as  a  whole”  in  (m)  and  “medical 
devices” in (n), none of which correspond to the categories listed in Article 1(1); 

–  in  (d),  excluding  all  weapons  since  the  safety  criteria  of  the  Directive  are  not 

appropriate for this type of products; 

–  in  (e),  stating  that  agricultural  and  forestry  tractors  are  excluded  for  the  risks 
covered  by  Directive  2003/37/EC4,  in  order  to  improve  the  safety  of  such 
machinery and take stock of new legislative acts; 

–  introducing  exclusion  (h)  “machinery  specially  designed  and  constructed  for 
research purposes for temporary use in laboratories” for which it is unreasonable 
to apply the Directive; 

–  removing  “motors  of  all  types”  in  (l)  of  the  amended  proposal,  since  they  are 

included in the category “partly completed machinery”. 

Article 2 in the amended proposal was modified in the common position in order to 
improve  legal  clarity,  readability  and  to  achieve  greater  consistency  with  the 
principles of the New Approach: 

–  the  meaning  of  the  introductory  sentence  was  clarified  to  the  effect  that,  for  the 
purpose  of  the  Directive  “machinery”  designates  the  products  listed  in  Article 
1(1)(a) to (f); 

–  definitions (a) and (b) of “machinery” of the amended proposal were editorially 

improved and merged into definition (a) in the common position; 

–  the definition (d) of “safety component” in the amended proposal was editorially 
improved and renumbered as (c) in the common position. In addition, the list of 
safety  components  was  moved  to  a  new  Annex  V  and  made  indicative  in  the 
common position; 

4 

Directive 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on type-approval 
of agricultural and forestry tractors, their trailers  and interchangeable towed machinery, together with 
their systems, components and separate technical units. OJ L 171, 9.7.2003, p. 1. Directive as amended 
by Council Directive 2004/66/EC (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 35). 

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–  a  new  definition  (e)  of  “chains  ropes  and  webbing”  was  introduced  in  the 

common position; 

–  the definition (f) of "removable mechanical transmission device" in the amended 

proposal was editorially improved; 

–  the definition (g) of "guard for a removable mechanical transmission device" in 
the  amended  proposal  was  considered  superfluous  and  deleted  in  the  common 
position, since it is just one of many categories of safety components; 

–  the definition (h) of "portable cartridge operated device" in the amended proposal 
was  considered  superfluous  and  deleted  in  the  common  position,  since  it  is  just 
one of many categories of machinery; 

–  the definition (i) of “partly completed machinery” in the amended proposal was 
editorially  improved  to  fit  better  with  the  concept  of  “machinery”  and 
renumbered as (g) in the common position; 

–  the  definition  (j)  of  “placing  on  the  market”  in  the  amended  proposal  was 
modified in order to better reflect market reality for the products covered by the 
Machinery Directive and renumbered as (h) in the common position; 

–  the  definition  (k)  of  “manufacturer”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  editorially 

improved and renumbered as (i) in the common position; 

–  the definition (m) of “putting into service” in the amended proposal was modified 
since  the  latter  part  was  considered  superfluous  and  renumbered  as  (k)  in  the 
common position; 

–  the  definition  (n)  of  “harmonised  standard”  in  the  amended  proposal  was 

editorially improved and renumbered as (l) in the common position. 

Article 3 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

Article 4 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

Article 5 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

Article 6 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

Article 8 in the amended proposal was modified by taking account of the changes to 
the  list  of  safety  components  in  8(1)(a),  by  transferring  the  measures  referred  to  in 
8(1)(b)  from  the  regulatory  procedure  to  the  advisory  procedure  in  8(2)  and  by 
removing  measures  8(1)(c)  and  8(1)(d)  which  had  become  superfluous  following 
changes to Annex I. As a result of the above changes, paragraph (1)(e) in Article 8 of 
the amended proposal has been renumbered as (1)(b).  

Article  9  in  the  amended  proposal  was  modified  in  order  to  make  the  procedure 
clearer.  In  particular,  the  common  position  introduces,  as  a  condition  for  adopting 
specific measures, that either the Commission, in accordance with the procedure for 
disputing  a  harmonised  standard  referred  to  in  Article  10,  considers  that  a 
harmonised  standard  does  not  entirely  satisfy  the  essential  health  and  safety 

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requirements which it covers, or that, in accordance with the procedure referred to in 
Article  11,  the  Commission  considers  that  a  safeguard  clause  against  a  product  is 
justified. 

Article 11 in the amended proposal was modified so that stakeholders can be better 
informed  of  the  Commission’s  decision  whether  or  not  the  measures  taken  by  the 
Member State are justified. 

Article 12 in the amended proposal was modified in order to improve readability and 
practical application of the Directive: 

–  paragraph (1) of the amended proposal was editorially modified taking account of 

the changes to the procedures; 

–  the  procedure  in  paragraph  (2)  of  the  amended  proposal  was  deleted  because  it 

was considered too bureaucratic; 

–  paragraph (3) in the amended proposal was editorially improved and renumbered 

as (2) in the common position; 

–  paragraph  (4)  in  the  amended  proposal  was  editorially  improved,  the  alternative 
(b) “procedure for adaptation to harmonised standards provided for in Annex IX” 
was removed due to lack of added value and the paragraph was renumbered as (3) 
in the common position; 

–  paragraph (5) in the amended proposal was editorially improved and renumbered 

as (4) in the common position. 

Article  13  in  the  amended  proposal  was  editorially  improved  and  requirements 
ensuring  better  traceability  and  more  legal  certainty  were  added  to  the  common 
position. 

Article 14 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

Article 15 in the amended proposal was modified by deleting the second paragraph. 

Article 16 in the amended proposal was editorially improved in order to facilitate its 
practical application. 

Article 17 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

Article 18 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

In  Article  19,  a  second  paragraph  was  added  to  the  common  position  in  order  to 
emphasize the importance of the coordination of market surveillance. 

Article 22 in the amended proposal was modified according to an inter-institutionally 
agreed standard provision. 

Article 24 in the amended proposal was editorially improved and modified in order 
to  establish  unambiguous  borderlines  with  other  Directives  and  align  terminology 
between the Machinery Directive and the Lifts Directive. 

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Article 25 in the amended proposal was editorially improved. 

Article 26 in the amended proposal was modified according to an inter-institutionally 
agreed standard formula. 

A new Article 27 was added to the common position in order to facilitate the phasing 
out of national provisions on portable cartridge operated and other impact machinery. 

Modifications to the Annexes 

In Annex I in the amended proposal, the “Preliminary Observations” were renamed 
“General Principles” and editorially improved in the common position. Furthermore, 
the  iterative  process  of  risk  assessment  and  risk  reduction  was  outlined  in 
paragraph 1 of the common position. 

In Annex I, 1.1.1 of the amended proposal, the definitions were modified in order to 
align  them  with  established  terms  used  in  standardisation  and  definitions  of 
“intended  use”  and  “reasonably  foreseeable  misuse”  were  added  for  the  sake  of 
clarity in the common position. 

Annex  I,  1.1.2  -  “Principles  of  safety  integration”  in  the  amended  proposal  was 
editorially improved in the common position. 

Annex  I,  1.1.3  -  “Ergonomics”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  modified  and 
renumbered as 1.1.6 in the common position. 

Annex  I,  1.1.5  -  “Lighting”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  slightly  modified  and 
renumbered as 1.1.4 in the common position. 

Annex  I,  1.1.6  -  “Design  of  machinery  to  facilitate  its  handling”  in  the  amended 
proposal was editorially modified and renumbered as 1.1.5 in the common position. 

In  Annex  I,  1.2.1  -  “Safety  and  reliability  of  control  systems”  in  the  amended 
proposal  the  concept was  better outlined in the common position taking account of 
experience of applying the Directive. 

Annex  I,  1.2.2  -  “Manual  controls”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  given  its  original 
name  “Control  devices”  and  modified  in  the  common  position  taking  account  of 
practical experience of applying the Directive. 

Annex  I,  1.2.3  -  “Starting”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  modified  in  the  common 
position taking account of industrial practice. 

Annex  I,  1.2.4  -  “Stopping”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  modified  and  1.2.4.2  - 
“Operational  stop”  was  added  in  the  common  position  in  order  to  facilitate  safe 
industrial practices.  

Annex I, 1.2.5 - “Control or operating mode selector” in the amended proposal was 
renamed  “Selection  of  control  or  operating  modes”  and  slightly  modified  in  the 
common position. 

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Annex  I,  1.2.6  -  “Failure  of  the  power  supply”  in  the  amended  proposal  was 
developed in more detail in the common position. 

Annex I, 1.2.7 - “Control circuit failure” in the amended proposal was deleted since 
the  risk  was  considered  to  be  adequately  covered  in  the  new  1.2.1  -  “Safety  and 
reliability of control systems” in the common position. 

Annex I, 1.2.8 - “Software” in the amended proposal was deleted since the risk was 
considered  to  be  adequately  covered  in  the  new  1.7.1.1  -  “Information  and 
information devices” in the common position. 

Annex I, 1.3 - “Protection against mechanical hazards” in the amended proposal was 
editorially modified for clarification in the common position. 

Annex  I,  1.4  -  “Required  characteristics  of  guards  and  protection  devices”  in  the 
amended  proposal  was  editorially  modified  for  the  sake  of  clarity  in  the  common 
position. 

Annex I, 1.5 - “Required characteristics of operating and/or driving positions” in the 
amended  proposal  was  modified  and  clarified  since  some  parts  were  deemed  to  be 
covered by the new 1.2 - “Control systems” in the common position. The resulting 
text was moved to 1.1.7 - “Operating positions” and 1.1.8 - “Seating” in the common 
position. 

Annex I, 1.6 - “Risks due to other hazards” in the amended proposal was editorially 
improved  and  renumbered  as  1.5  in  the  common  position.  In  addition,  1.6.9  - 
“Noise”,  1.6.10  -  “Vibrations”,  1.6.11  –  “Radiation”,  1.6.14  -  “Emissions  of 
dangerous  substances”  and  1.6.16  -  “Risk  of  slipping  ,  tripping  or  falling”  in  the 
amended  proposal  were  slightly  modified  in  the  common  position,  in  order  to 
simplify them and render their application more effective. 

Annex I, 1.7 - “Maintenance” in the amended proposal was editorially modified and 
renumbered as 1.6 in the common position. 

Annex I, 1.8 - “Information, warnings and warning systems” and 1.9 - “Marking of 
machinery” in the amended proposal were modified and merged into the new 1.7 - 
“Information” in the common position, for the sake of simplification and clarity. 

Annex I, 1.10 - “Instructions” in the  amended proposal was  substantially improved 
and  clarified,  taking  account  of  the  experience  of  practical  application  of  the 
Directive, and merged into 1.7 as 1.7.4 - “Instructions” in the common position. 

Annex  I,  2.1  -  “Agri-foodstuffs  machinery  and  machinery  for  the  cosmetics  and 
pharmaceuticals  industries”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  slightly  modified  in  the 
common position on the basis of practical experience of applying the Directive. 

Annex I, 2.2 - “Portable hand-held  and/or hand-guided machinery” in the amended 
proposal was modified in the common position. 

Annex I, 2.3 - “Portable cartridge-operated fixing devices” in the amended proposal 
was  modified  and  renumbered  as  2.2.2  -  “Portable  fixing  and  other  impact 
machinery” in the common position. 

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Annex  I,  2.4  -  “Machinery  for  working  wood  and  analogous  materials”  in  the 
amended proposal was editorially modified and renumbered as 2.3 - “Machinery for 
working  wood  and  material  with  similar  physical  characteristics”  in  the  common 
position. 

Annex  I,  3.1  -  “General”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  editorially  modified  in  the 
common position. 

Annex I, 3.1.2 - “Lighting” in the amended proposal was deleted, since the risk was 
considered to be sufficiently covered by the general requirement 1.1.4 - “Lighting” in 
the common position. 

Annex I, 3.2 - “Workstations” in the amended proposal was slightly modified in the 
common position. 

Annex  I,  3.3  -  “Controls”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  editorially  modified  in  the 
common position. 

Annex I, 3.4 - “Protection against mechanical hazards” in the amended proposal was 
modified  in  the  common  position  taking  into  account  experience  of  applying  the 
Directive and in order to simplify it and facilitate innovation. 

Annex  I,  3.5  -  “Protection  against  other  hazards”  in  the  amended  proposal  was 
editorially modified in the common position. 

Annex I, 3.6 - “Indications” in the amended proposal was modified in the common 
position. 

In Annex I, 4.1 - “General” in the amended proposal, a number of editorial changes 
were made  in the  common  position. Furthermore, Annex I, 4.1.1 - “Definitions” in 
the amended proposal was modified in the common position, in order to better align 
it  with  established  terms  used  in  standardisation.  The  definitions  of  “Slinging 
device”,  “Separate  lifting  accessory”  and  “nominal  load”  in  the  amended  proposal 
were  considered  superfluous  and  deleted,  whilst  the  definition  of  “Carrier”  was 
moved to 4.1.1 - “Definitions” in the common position from 6.1.1 - “Definition” in 
the amended proposal. 

Annex I, 4.1.2.1 - “Risks due to lack of stability” was added to the common position, 
as it was considered to have been useful in Directive 98/37/EC. 

Additionally, 4.1.2.8 - “Machinery serving fixed landings” was added to the common 
position, providing useful general requirements for such lifting machinery. 

Annex I, 4.1.3 - “Fitness for purpose” was added to the common position, as it was 
considered to have been useful in Directive 98/37/EC. 

Annex  I,  4.2.4  -  “Risks  to  exposed  persons”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  deleted 
since it was considered to be covered by the new 4.1.2.8 - “Machinery serving fixed 
landings” in the common position. 

Annex  I,  4.3  -  “Marking”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  editorially  modified  in  the 
common position, in order to align the terminology with currently used standards. 

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Annex I, 4.4 - “Instructions” in the amended proposal was editorially modified in the 
common position, in order to align the terminology with currently used standards. 

Annex I, 5 - “Supplementary essential health and safety requirements for machinery 
intended for underground work” in the amended proposal was editorially modified in 
the common position and 5.3 - “Lighting” in the amended proposal was deleted since 
the risk was considered to be sufficiently covered by the general requirement 1.1.4 - 
“Lighting” in the common position. 

Annex  I,  6.1  -  “General”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  modified  in  the  common 
position, incorporating general requirements from chapter 8 of the amended proposal 
and 6.1.1 - “Definition” in the amended proposal was moved to 4.1.1 - “Definitions” 
in the common position. 

Annex I, 6.2 - “Manual controls” in the amended proposal was slightly modified in 
the common position. 

Annex I, 6.3 - “Risk to persons in the carrier” in the amended proposal was modified 
in the common position and 6.3.3 - “Risk due to objects falling on the carrier” was 
moved in the common position from 8.1 - “Cab” of the amended proposal. 

Annex  I,  6.4  -  “Machinery  serving  fixed  landings”  in  the  amended  proposal  was 
added to the common position introducing requirements from chapters 7 and 8 of the 
amended proposal in a more general manner. 

Annex  I,  6.5  -  “Markings”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  slightly  modified  in  the 
common position, specifying essential information. 

In  Annex  I,  the  essential  health  and  safety  requirements  in  chapters  7  and  8  of  the 
amended  proposal  were  modified  and  expressed  in  more  general  requirements  in 
chapters 4 and 5 of the common position. 

Annex II - “Contents of declarations” in the amended proposal was slightly modified 
and  the  requirements  in  2  -  “Custody”  of  the  common  position  were  moved  from 
Annexes VII, X and XI of the amended proposal. 

Annex  III  -  “CE  marking”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  slightly  modified  in  the 
common  position  and  the  requirement  in  the  last  paragraph  concerning  the 
identification  number  of  the  notified  body  was  moved  from  Annex  XI  of  the 
amended proposal. 

Annex IV - “Types of machinery to which one of the procedures referred to in article 
12(4) and (5) must be applied” in the amended proposal was editorially modified in 
the  common  position  and  three  categories  already  present  in  Directive  98/37/EC  - 
“21.  Logic  units  to  ensure  safety  functions”,  “22.  Roll-over  protective  structures 
(ROPS)”  and  “23.  Falling-object  protective  structures  (FOPS)”  -  were  considered 
useful and added to the list. 

Annex V - “Indicative list of the safety components referred to in Article 2(c)” was 
moved  from  Article  2  of  the  amended  proposal  and  editorially  modified  in  the 
common  position.  Furthermore,  the  categories  “2.  protective  devices  designed  to 
detect  the  presence  of  persons”,  “8.  Monitoring  devices  for  loading  and  movement 

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control  in  lifting  machinery”,  “11.  Discharging  systems  to  prevent  the  build-up  of 
potentially dangerous electrostatic charges”, “12. Energy limiters and relief devices 
referred to in sections 1.5.7, 3.4.7 and 4.1.2.6 of Annex I”, “13. Systems and devices 
to reduce the emission of noise and vibrations”, “14. Roll-over protective structures 
(ROPS)”,  “15.  Falling-object  protective  structures (FOPS)”,  “16.  Two-hand  control 
devices”  and  “17.  Components  for  machinery  designed  for  lifting  and/or  lowering 
persons between different landings and included in the following list…” were added 
to the indicative list in the common position. 

Annex  VI  -  “Technical  file  for  machinery”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  modified 
taking account of practical experience of application of the Directive and renumbered 
as Annex VII in the common position. Part B outlining the requirements relating to 
“Relevant  technical  documentation  for  partly  completed  machinery”  was  added  to 
the common position. 

Annex VII - “Assessment of conformity with internal checks on the manufacture of 
machinery”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  editorially  modified  and  renumbered  as 
Annex VIII in the common position. Additionally, certain obligations relating to the 
EC declaration of conformity, CE marking and the technical file were deleted since 
they  were  already  covered  by  Article  5  and  the  new  Annex  VII  in  the  common 
position. 

Annex VIII - “Assessment of conformity for a machine not presenting any intrinsic 
risk”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  deleted  since  the  conformity  assessment 
procedure in Article 12 referring to this Annex had been deleted. 

Annex IX - “Adequacy in respect of the harmonised standards for machinery referred 
to  in  Annex  IV”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  deleted  since  the  conformity 
assessment procedure in Article 12 referring to this Annex had been deleted. 

Annex  X  -  “EC  type-examination  of  a  machine  referred  to  in  Annex  IV”  in  the 
amended  proposal  was  modified  and  renumbered  as  Annex  IX  -  “EC  type-
exanimation”  in  the  common  position.  Certain  obligations  relating  to  the  EC 
declaration of conformity, CE marking and the technical file were deleted since they 
were already covered by Article 5. Furthermore, requirements on the validity of the 
EC type-examination  certificate  and  the related responsibilities of  the  manufacturer 
and the notified body were added. 

Annex  XI  -  “Full  quality  assurance  for  a  machine  referred  to  in  Annex  IV”  in  the 
amended  proposal  was  modified  and  renumbered  as  Annex  X  -  “Full  quality 
assurance” in the common position. Certain obligations relating to the EC declaration 
of  conformity,  CE  marking  and  the  technical  file  were  deleted  since  they  were 
already covered by Article 5 and the new Annex III. 

Annex XII - “Minimum criteria to be taken into account  by Member States for the 
notification  of  bodies”  in  the  amended  proposal  was  slightly  modified  and 
renumbered as Annex XI in the common position. 

Annex  XIII  -  “Correlation  table”  in  the  amended  proposal,  which  indicates  the 
relation  between  parts  of  Directive  98/37/EC  and  the  parts  of  the  revised  Directive 

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that  deal  with  the  same  subject  was  updated  and  renumbered  as  Annex  XII  in  the 
common position. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The  Commission  considers  that  the  common  position  unanimously  adopted  on 
18 July  2005  further  clarifies  certain  issues  and  concepts  and  improves  the 
formulation of certain requirements while not altering the  aims and approach  of  its 
proposal. The Commission can therefore support the common position. 

5. 

DECLARATIONS 

The Commission made the following declarations: 

On Article 1 (2) (e), first indent, relating to the exclusion of agricultural and forestry 
tractors from the scope of the Directive: 

“The Council and the Commission declare that, in order to cover all aspects related 
to  the  health  and  safety  of  agricultural  and  forestry  tractors  in  one  harmonising 
Directive,  the  Directive  2003/37/EC  on  type-approval  of  agricultural  and  forestry 
tractors,  their  trailers  and  interchangeable  towed  machinery,  together  with  their 
systems,  components  and  separate  technical  units  needs  to  be  modified  so  as  to 
address all the relevant risks of the Machinery Directive. 

Such  a  modification  of  Directive  2003/37/EC  should  include  an  amendment  of  the 
Machinery  Directive,  in  order  to  delete  the  expression  “for  the  risks”  in  
Article 1 (2) (e), first indent.” 

On Article 7 relating to presumption of conformity and harmonised standards: 

“The  Commission  declares  that  it  will  make  every  effort  in  the  context  of  the 
conclusion  of  standardisation  mandates  referred  to  in  Article  2  (l)  that,  for  every 
standard  the  references  of  which  are  published  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the 
European Union, information would be made available to the potential users of the 
relevant  standards  indicating  the  relationship  between  its  clauses  and  essential 
health and safety requirements. In the context of the revision of the New Approach it 
information 
will  be 
requirements at a horizontal level for all New Approach Directives.” 

implement  such  harmonised 

further  clarified  how 

to 

On Article 16 (3) relating to CE marking: 

“Without prejudice to the respect of Community legislation, the Commission, within 
the  context  of  the  revision  of  the  New  Approach,  will  clarify  the  conditions  for  the 
affixing  of  other  markings  in  relation  with  the  CE  marking,  whether  national, 
European or private”.  

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