COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL relating to cableway installations designed to carry persons and repealing Directive 2000/9/EC relating to cableway installations designed to carry persons
Date: 2014-03-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: cable transport, carriage of passengers, equal treatment, free movement of goods, restriction on competition, technical regulations, transport safety













EUR-Lex - 52014SC0117 - EN











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52014SC0117

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL relating to cableway installations designed to carry persons and repealing Directive 2000/9/EC relating to cableway installations designed to carry persons /* SWD/2014/0117 final */









COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Accompanying the document
Proposal for a
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

relating to cableway installations
designed to carry persons and repealing Directive 2000/9/EC relating to
cableway installations designed to carry persons
Disclaimer:
This executive summary commits only the Commission's services involved in its
preparation and does not prejudge the final form of any decision to be taken by
the Commission.
1.           Problem  Definition
While it is
generally recognised that the Cableways directive has successfully achieved its
main objectives, experience collected throughout the 10 years of implementing
the directive has also allowed identifying some aspects to be improved. Based
on the feedback mechanisms from Member States and sectoral stakeholders, the
following problems have been identified:
Problem 1: Difficulty to clearly identify
certain installations as cableways
There are different interpretations and
practices amongst the responsible authorities in the EU, manufacturers and
notified bodies, in particular with regard to two types of installations:
- Installations that have both transport and
leisure purpose: the Cableways Directive excludes from its scope “equipment for
use in fairgrounds or amusement parks, for leisure purposes”. However there is
new kind of equipment on the market that has been designed for leisure purposes
but also serves as a means of transport
- Small funiculars and inclined lifts: in
practice the distinction between these installations has proven difficult, as
the inclined lifts fall within the scope of the Lifts Directive 95/16/EC, and small
funiculars are subject to the Cableways Directive, and consequently they comply
to different essential requirements.
Manufacturers or operators of some
installations have incurred extra costs due to the need to retroactively modify
the installations and to bring them in line with the cableways directive.
Authorities and notified bodies throughout Europe have applied divergent
approaches, leading to different treatment of manufactures and market
distortions.
Problem 2: Distinction
between safety components, subsystems and infrastructures
The Cableways Directive is based on the
distinction between safety components, subsystems, infrastructure and
installations; but such distinction has not always been clear.
Safety components and subsystems are
subject to the rules on the free movement of goods and to that purpose they are
submitted to the EC conformity assessment procedure and the EC declaration of
conformity. On the other hand, installations continue to fall within the Member
States’ competence and in this respect they are subject to a specific
authorization regime. In addition, infrastructure is also not subject to free
movement and may have to be tested in multiple Member States. 
Problem 3: Conformity
assessment procedure for subsystems
The Cableways Directive does not provide
for a specific conformity assessment module for subsystems. Annex VII requires
notified bodies to check the subsystems but does not give any indication on how
they should do it. That situation has led to some divergent interpretation and
implementation of the conformity evaluation of the subsystems that can result
in legal uncertainty and market distortions.
Problem 4: Alignment of the Cableways
Directive with the New Legislative Framework
The alignment of the
Cableways Directive with the NLF takes place in the light of the political
commitment laid down in Article 2 of the NLF Decision.
Many of the general horizontal problems identified by the NLF have also been observed in the
context of implementing the Cableways Directive 2000/9/EC
In the consultation
process stakeholders have largely been in favour of the alignment. 
Necessity for public intervention
The aspects addressed in the context of
this initiative are already regulated by the Cableways Directive 2000/9/EC.
This legislation does however not address the identified problems as
effectively as desirable. The main justification for the action is to ensure
legal certainty and the NLF alignment for the Cableways Directive and the
sectoral stakeholders.
2.           Analysis of subsidiarity
This initiative concerns the proper and
effective functioning of the internal market for products in the field of
cableways installations designed to carry persons. EU action in this area is
based on Article 114 of the TFEU. An EU level action prevents introducing new
and various national regulations which would result in fragmentation of the internal
market. 
If actions are taken at national level to
address the problems, they may create obstacles to the free movement of
Cableways products (safety components and subsystems). Diverging approaches
taken by the authorities or notified bodies have already led to unequal
treatment of economic operators.
3.           Objectives
The main objective of the initiative is to
improve the functioning of the internal market, ensuring at the same time a
higher level of safety, and to achieve a fair level playing field for Cableways
economic operators. Another important objective is simplification, by clarifying
some major concepts and definitions contained in the legal text, facilitating
therefore its consistent application.
The following table presents the specific
and operational objectives of the initiative for the revision of the Cableways
Directive related to the general policy objectives indicated above.
 GENERAL || SPECIFIC || OPERATIONAL 
 Better protect the health and safety of users Achieve a fair level playing field for Cableways economic operators and ensure free movement of goods   || Ensure sound and uniform application of the Cableways Directive Ensure clarity of legislation and its consistent application through the EU Ensure consistency and flexibility of conformity assessment procedures for all the products in the scope of the Cableways Directive Simplify the European regulatory environment in the field of cableways installations designed to carry persons || Clarify the scope of the Directive, definitions and borderlines with other directives (as Lifts 95/16/EC) Clarify identification and distinction between safety components, subsystems and infrastructure Provide more consistency in conformity assessment procedures for subsystems 
4.           Policy Options
Three alternative policy options have been
considered, i.e.:
- the “Do nothing” as baseline option;
- the “Soft law” option as non-legislative
alternative, consisting in amending relevant sections of the Application Guide to
the Cableways Directive; and
- the “Legislative measure” option,
consisting in amending specific parts of the legal text of the Cableways
Directive. 
The analysis of impacts of the above policy
options was carried out separately for each of the identified areas of
improvement applying a step by step approach. The policy options for each
problem were subject to a separate qualitative analysis, complemented by the
more detailed information made available by the “Impact Assessment Study
Concerning the Revision of Directive 2000/9/EC Relating to Cableways Installations
Designed to Carry Persons”.
5.           Assessment of Impacts
More relevant impacts were identified in
the economic area.  In the social area, some benefits are illustrated from a
qualitative point of view. No environmental impacts are expected.
The assessment of each proposed change is
based on its costs and benefits, where the latter includes improvements in
legal certainty, a fair level playing field for the industry. 
Social impacts have been assessed with regard to:
·                        
Public health and safety
·                        
Employment and labour markets
The social impact consists mainly of
benefits to the health and safety of the users of cableway installations. The proposed changes are designed to improve the practical
application of the Directive. Providing legal certainty and better specifying
the obligations of economic operators, through the alignment to the NLF, is
assumed to contribute to an improved level of safety and quality of cableway
installations. As a result, the probability of accidents or injuries would be
reduced. However, it was not possible to illustrate benefits from a
quantitative point of view.
None of the options is expected to have an
impact on employment in the sector.
Economic impacts have been assessed with regard to:
·                        
Functioning of the Internal Market and competition
·                        
Competitiveness, trade and investment flows
·                        
Operating costs and conduct of businesses / SMEs
·                        
Administrative burdens on businesses
·                        
Public Authorities
·                        
Innovation and research
Concerning clarifications in the scope of
the Directive and the implementation of a specific conformity assessment
procedure for subsystems, additional costs should not intervene, because what
the changes will provide is legal certainty to the current situation. The same
products are considered to fall already today within the scope of the
Directive; costs would therefore arise only for those manufacturers who have
erroneously not applied the Cableways Directive. In this context, it needs to
be pointed out that the compliance costs with the Cableways Directive are
higher than if a product had not to ensure this compliance. On the other hand,
benefits would occur from clarification in the scope and conformity assessment
procedures for manufacturers, operators and national authorities, as a result
of avoiding possible mistakes on compliance, conformity assessment and
certification.
6.           Comparison of Options
Preferred options are chosen on the basis
of the analysis and the assessment of the relevant policy options, taking into
consideration economic impacts and the higher level of social benefits in terms
of health and safety of the users of cableway installations, through
improvements in legal certainty and in the application of the Directive.
For the proposed changes, a combination of
“Soft law” with “Legislative measures” are the preferred options.
Each impact is assessed according to the
following scale:
++     significant
positive impact
+        minor
positive impact
0        no
impact / baseline
-         minor
negative impact
--       significant
negative impact
The preferred options for each proposed
change are highlighted in grey colour.
   || Effectiveness || Efficiency costs                    benefits || Coherence 
 Scope of the Directive 
 1. Do nothing (baseline) || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 
 2. “Soft law” (amending the Application Guide) || + Sound and uniform implementation of the Cableways Directive will be promoted but it will not make unclear legal situations disappear completely.   || 0 Additional costs are not foreseen.  The clarifications state the correct interpretation of the current law. || + Benefits may be expected if at least a part of involved manufacturers take knowledge and abide by the provisions of the Application Guide.  A particular uncertainly involving the soft law approach related to the fact that it is mainly addressed to lifts manufacturers. || + Progress in the uniform implementation of the Cableways Directive will contribute to better regulation and Single Market Act, despite the risk that unclear legal situations may emerge in the future. 
 3. Legislative measure (amending the Directive) || ++ The sound, uniform and consistent application of the Cableways Directive will be ensured by the legislative measure for the limited scope it covers.   || 0 Additional costs have not been identified.  As in the previous option, it is a clarification of an existing legal requirement. || ++ Significant improvement of legal certainty for manufacturers.  Wrong assessment on what legal requirements to comply with will be avoided. || ++ The clear legal situation will contribute to better regulation and Single Market Act. 
 Safety components, subsystems, infrastructures and installations 
 1. Do nothing (baseline) || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 
 2. “Soft law” (amending the Application Guide) || + Soft law would provide flexible guidance, avoiding unwanted too prescriptive provisions that may result from a legislative solution in this case.  Specific objectives of sound and uniform application of the Cableways Directive would be better achieved by the soft law option. || 0 Additional costs resulting from a soft law approach were not identified || + Benefits are to be expected because a tool will be available for clarifying applicable provisions for manufacturers, notifed bodies and public administrations.  Mistakes and involved costs, in the classification of products are expected to be reduced. || + The clarification provided in the Application Guide will encourage a consensual implementation of the legislation, bringing therefore a positive contribution to better regulation and Single Market Act.  However, it will not grant that unclear legal situations will completely disappear. 
 3. Legislative measure (amending the Directive) || 0 In principle, a legislative measure would provide a more sound and uniform application of the Cableways Directive.  However, the discussions in the working groups and the consultation process have not provided a clear legal text that would avoid further interpretation in the future. || - - There are risks associated to higher costs from a legislative option, including also for innovation. || 0 Benefits were not clearly identified, unless it is assumed that a clear legal text, if available, would improve predictability for manufacturers. || 0 Taking into account the questions raised on the availability of a sound legislative solution, it is questionable whether this solution could provide a positive contribution to better regulation or the Single Market Act. 
 Conformity assessment procedure for subsystems 
 1. Do nothing (baseline) || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 
 2. “Soft law” (amending the Application Guide) || + The promotion of conformity assessment modules in the Application Guide may contribute to partly meet consistency in this area.  However, this approach is not fundamentally different compared to the current situation.  The modules are widely known but identified problems remain. || 0 A conformity assessment procedure is already required now, therefore additional costs should not be significant.   || 0 It is questionable whether benefits would result from this option.  The current availability of modules has not allowed to promote a completely predictable situation for manufacturers. || 0 Contributions to better regulation and Single Market Act are not clear as the impact of a soft law option is considered to be very limited. 
 3. Legislative measure (amending the Directive) || ++ The consideration of modules for conformity assessment in the law, as it is usually done for products falling under new approach legislation, will grant consistency in the use of conformity assessment procedures in the EU.  The specific objectives will be fully met. || 0 A conformity assessment procedure is already required now, therefore additional costs should not be significant.   || ++ A significant improvement of legal certainty and predictability for manufacturers will be achieved. || ++ This option provides a clear legal situation.  It will contribute to better regulation and Single Market Act. 
Choice of the legal instrument:
In line with the Commission policy to
simplify the regulatory environment, it is proposed to change the Directive
into a Regulation.  The current Directive imposes clear and detailed rules to
become applicable in a uniform manner throughout the Union.  It can therefore
be easily changed into a Regulation.  This change will avoid the costs to the
Member States associated with the transposition of a Directive.  In addition,
it will allow for a more rapid application of the new legislation and it will
help economic operators to conduct their business as they will have to deal
with a single regulatory instrument rather than with 28 national laws
transposing a Directive.
7.           Monitoring and Evaluation
The evaluation of the effectiveness of the
legislation will continue to be based on the feedback received through the
various communication and co-operation mechanisms already established within
the framework of the Cableways Directive, i.e.:
–          Cableways Advisory Standing
Committee (CSC) and Cableways Experts Working Group (CWG);
–          Cableways Member States Market
Surveillance Administrative Co-operation Group (Cableways AdCo);
–          Cableway Installations Sectoral
Group (CSG) of the European Co-ordination of Notified Bodies;
–          Technical Committee 242 on
Safety requirements for passenger transportation by rope of the European
Committee for Standardisation (CEN/TC 242).
Additional feedback will be obtained from
the new or expanded cooperation and information exchange mechanisms provided
for by NLF Regulation 765/2008.
Monitoring the level of compliance will be
possible via the following indicators:
–          number of products checked;
–          number of non-compliant products
among those checked;
–          type of non-compliance found.
These enforcement indicators will be based
on information provided by the market surveillance authorities via:
–          the RAPEX  system;
–          a general database established
under Article 23 of the NLF Regulation 765/2008 for the exchange of information
among the Member States on market surveillance activities and non-compliant
products (ICSMS);
–          the safeguard clause
notification procedures.
Non-compliance will also be detectable
through complaints addressed to the Commission. 
In line with its “Smart regulation” policy,
the Commission will evaluate the effectiveness of the revised Cableways Regulation
within a period of 5 up to a maximum of 10 years after the date of application
of the Regulation, basing itself on the feedback obtained from the mechanisms
set out above.