COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal of a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on appliances burning gaseous fuels
Date: 2014-05-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EC conformity marking, gas appliance, market approval, marketing standard, safety standard, technical standard

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 12.5.2014  
SWD(2014) 150 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

Accompanying the document 

Proposal of a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on appliances burning gaseous fuels 

{COM(2014) 258 final} 
{SWD(2014) 151 final} 

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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

Accompanying the document 

Proposal of a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on appliances burning gaseous fuels 

1. 

PROBLEM DEFINITION 

Despite successful functioning of the Gas Appliances Directive 2009/142/EC (GAD), a broad 
consensus exists that it needs some improvements. This view was shared also by the majority 
of the respondents to the Public Consultation (2011-2012). 

Both the Public Consultation and the Impact Assessment Study (2012) gave a lot of emphasis 
on the identification of potential real problems and their causes. The in-depth analysis of all 
available  data  and  the  changes  proposed  showed  that  there  was  no  evidence  available 
justifying  for  expanding  the  scope  for  safety  reasons.  Regarding  the  functioning  of  the 
internal  market  no  specific  problems  associated  with  barriers  to  trade  could  be  identified. 
Consequently, there was no justification for bringing new products under the scope. 

The areas of improvements do not involve major changes. The legal framework will remain 
unchanged  and  the  changes  are  likely  to  involve  minimal  or  no  impacts.  However,  the 
following issues will need to be addressed: 

Issue  1:  Alignment  of  the  GAD  with  the  New  Legislative  Framework  (NLF)  Decision  No 
768/2008/EC 

Many of the general problems identified by the NLF have also been observed in the context of 
implementing the GAD like differences between the qualities of the services provided by the 
notified  bodies  and  their  evaluation  and  monitoring  practises.  The  legal  framework  is  also 
experienced complex and inconsistent. 

The  Impact  Assessment  Report  on  the  NLF  Alignment  Package  has  already  examined  in 
depth  the  different  options  to  give  effect  to  the  NLF  Decision.  Since  the  options  and  their 
impacts  are  exactly  the  same  for  the  GAD,  the  GAD  Impact  Assessment  Report  did  not 
examine these aspects.  
Issue 2: Removal of the 105oC temperature limit from the definition of the scope 

The  limit  was  originally  introduced  since  the  hazards  due  to  pressure  for  the  concerned 
products were subject to national legislation in most of Member States at the time the GAD 
was adopted. Currently, these hazards are under EU harmonisation legislation implying that 
no risk to conflict with national legislation exists thus the exclusion is not considered to serve 
any more a useful purpose. 

Issue 3: The introduction of the currently missing definitions 

The current wording of the definition of the scope is not precise and has led to the need for 
interpretation. This is because the scope is defined by providing a list of uses of products, but 
no definitions for the uses are provided. In the past, lots of efforts have been put to interpret 

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the  scope  which,  however,  does  not  provide  the  necessary  legal  certainty  and  stability 
requested by stakeholders. 

Issue  4:  The  inadequate  contents  of  the  communication  of  the  types  of  gas  and  the 
corresponding supply pressures 

The types of gas and corresponding supply pressures are not subject to harmonisation in the 
framework  of  the  GAD.  In  order  to  ensure  the  availability  of  this  safety  and  performance 
relevant  data,  Article  2(2)  requires  that  Member  States  must  communicate  the  types  of  gas 
and corresponding supply pressures used on their territories. 

The information currently communicated on the gas supply conditions is not sufficient.  

Since the GAD does neither define which parameters should be provided nor harmonises the 
format of the communications, there is a need to determine these parameters and to define a 
common form to ensure the adequacy and comparability of the information. This would also 
ensure that the increase in the use of biogas would be appropriately dealt with by the GAD. 

Issue  5:  The  clarification  of  the  relationship  between  the  GAD  and  the  EU  legislation  on 
energy efficiency 

The Essential Requirement 3.5. dealing with “rational use of energy” is very generic while the 
requirements under the Ecodesign Directive and its implementing measures are very detailed. 
Also the terminology used in the GAD is outdated and must be aligned with the modern one 
used in the recent EU energy efficiency legislation. 

As  the  EU  energy  efficiency  legislation  is  evolving  fast  and  new  implementing  measures 
under  the  Ecodesign  Directive  applying  to  an  ever-larger  range  of  gas  appliances  will  be 
introduced, it is necessary to clarify the application of the Essential Requirement 3.5. where 
more specific legislation exists. 

Issue 6: Clarity of the provisions of the GAD 

No other problems have been identified with the provisions of the GAD. Also the Essential 
Requirements have proved well cover the gas risks that appliances and fittings may present. 

There are some broader safety concerns, in particular relating to CO poisoning which is the 
leading cause of fatalities associated with gas appliances. This appears to be related to matters 
outside the scope of the GAD, such as shortcomings in installation, lack of maintenance and 
incorrect use of appliances.  

The  GAD  does  currently  not  specify  the  general  design  principles  that  must  be  applied  in 
order  to  achieve  the  safety  of  appliances  and  fittings.  Although  these  principles  are  already 
considered being included in the current Essential requirements, it would be better to provide 
them in the legal text in order to avoid irresponsible parties to use e.g. only warnings instead 
of  designing  inherently  safe  products.  The  introduction  the  principles  for  safety  integration 
would also facilitate market surveillance. 

Necessity for public intervention 

The EU action in this area is based on Article 114 of the TFEU. The aspects addressed in this 
context  are  already  regulated  by  the  GAD.  This  legislation  does  not  however  address  the 
identified problem issues effectively. The study carried out and the conclusions on the options 
examined have shown that the issues will remain if the Directive is not revised. 

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2. 

ANALYSIS OF SUBSIDIARITY 

The  proper  and  effective  functioning  of  the  internal  market  requires  common  rules  for  gas 
appliances  as  regards  health  and  safety  risks  due  to  use  of  gas  as  well  as  for  their  energy 
efficiency. 

In order to avoid actions taken at national level creating obstacles to the free movements of 
appliances, any changes to the scope, procedures or requirements must be carried out at EU 
level.  This  would  also  improve  the  legal  clarity,  contribute  to  reduction  of  cost  to 
manufacturers  and  ensure  a  common  European  framework  for  placing  on  the  market  of 
appliances and fittings.  

The subsidiarity principle arises also with regard to the new provisions of the revision relating 
to the alignment with the NLF decision. Experience has shown that measures taken at national 
level have led to divergent approaches inside the EU, undermining the objectives of Internal 
Market 

Coordinated  action  at  EU  level  can  also  much  better  achieve  the  objectives  set,  and  will  in 
particular render market surveillance more effective. 

3. 

OBJECTIVES 

The objectives of this initiative are presented in Table 1. 

Table 1: General, specific and operational policy objectives 

GENERAL 

SPECIFIC 

OPERATIONAL 

Better protect health and 
safety of users of gas 
appliances and fittings as 
well as to ensure their 
appropriate performance 

Ensure that adequate safety and 
performance relevant data available 
on the framework conditions 

Specify the contents of information to be 
communicated on the types of gas and 
corresponding supply pressures used in 
Member States 

Ensure the clarity of the requirements  Clarify the provisions 

Improve the fair playing 
field for sector's 
economic operators 

Ensure legal clarity regarding the 
application of more specific EU 
legislation 

Simplify the European 
regulation environment 
in the field of gas 
appliances and fittings 

Ensure that legislation is up to date 

Introduce a new general Article on more 
specific EU legislation 

Clarify the Essential Requirement 3.5. on 
the rational use of energy 

Remove the outdated exclusion of 
appliances with a normal water 
temperature that exceeds 105oC 

Ensure clarity of the scope 

Clarify the scope by providing sector 
specific definitions 

4. 

POLICY OPTIONS 

Three alternative policy options have been considered: 

(a) 

(b) 

the “do nothing” as baseline option;  

the  “soft  law”  option  (non-legislative  alternative  consisting  of  issuing 
interpretation); and  

(c) 

the “legislative measure” option (change of the legal text). 

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The  analysis  of  impacts  of  the  policy  options  was  separately  carried  out  for  each  of  the 
identified areas of improvement. First all the policy options for each problem were subject to 
a separate qualitative analysis. Next an in-depth analysis of the social and economic impacts 
of all the options was undertaken. 

5. 

ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS 

The types of impacts assumed to be the most relevant to revision are provided in Table 2. 

Table 2: The types of impacts being most relevant to revision of the GAD 

Pre-screening of the Relevance of the Impacts 
Impact type 
Economic impacts 
Functioning of the internal market and competition 
Competitiveness, trade and investment flows 
Operating costs and conduct of business/SMEs 
Administrative burdens on businesses 
Public authorities 
Innovation and research 
Consumers and households 
Third countries and international relations 
Social impacts 
Employment and labour markets 
Standards and rights related to job quality 
Public health and safety 

Relevant? 

Relevant  
Possibly Relevant 
Relevant 
Relevant 
Relevant 
Possibly Relevant 
Relevant 
Possibly Relevant 

Possibly Relevant 
Possibly Relevant 
Relevant 

Since the modification of the scope cannot be justified, the GAD legal framework will remain 
unchanged.  As  a  consequence,  the  affected  economic  operators  and  the  other  stakeholders 
will also remain the same as currently and the suggested changes represent rather an exercise 
to  improve  the  readability  and  clarity  of  the  scope,  the  Essential  Requirements  and  other 
provisions. 

The  absence  of  particular  concrete  problems  that  need  to  be  addressed  implies  that  the 
proposed  modifications  do  not  have  significant  economic,  social  or  environmental  impacts 
except  the  minor  impacts  of  clarifications  which  will  yet  highly  facilitate  the  application  of 
the GAD. Consequently, it is impossible to derive quantitative data on any specific impacts. 
Therefore the expected marginal benefits have been dealt with in a proportionate way carrying 
out  a  qualitative  assessment  enabling  selection  of  the  preferred  option.  For  instance,  it  is 
possible  to  assess  whether  the  proposed  changes  are  favourable  to  safety  and  whether  the 
effects of an option provide a steady solution to the identified issue.  

To  the  extent  possible,  it  was  assessed,  whether  the  implementation  of  a  proposed  change 
entails  costs  to  manufacturers  and  authorities.  However,  it  should  be  noted  that  it  was  not 
possible to monetise the effects since the proposed changes do not change in practise the legal 
framework. 

The social impacts consist of benefits to the health and safety of the installers and users of gas 
appliances. However, the improved legal clarity and availability of data relevant for ensuring 
safe and energy efficient products may also have a slight positive impact on employment and 
achieving objectives like the Europe 2020 target of a 20% increase in energy efficiency. 

Summary of the results of the main impacts and their extent is presented below in Table 3.  

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Table 3: The most relevant impacts to revision of the GAD 

Impacts of the 
preferred sub-
options 

Social impact 

Issue 2 

Issue 3 

Issue 4 

Issue 5 

Issue 6 

No impacts 
except ensures 
safety of products 
with a normal 
water 
temperature 
above 105oC 

Slight 
reduction of 
non-
compliant 
products 

Safety of 
users and 
installer is 
improved 

Improved 
used safety, 
reduction 
of non-
compliant 
products 

Contributes 
reaching 
Europe 2020 
target, 
reduction of 
non-
compliant 
products 

Economi
c impact 

None 

Impact 
on cost-
competit
iveness 

Clearer 
scope 
facilitates 
interpretatio
n 

Savings 
through 
technical 
and legal 
clarity 

Savings 
through 
technical 
and legal 
clarity 

Clearer 
legal 
situation, 
easier 
market 
surveillanc
e 

None 

Impact 
on 
capacity 
to 
innovate 

Impact 
on 
internati
onal 
competit
iveness 

None 

None 

Product 
development 
facilitated 

Increased 
readiness to 
invest on 
product 
development
, easier 
market 
access 

None 

None 

None 

None 

More 
sophisticated 
designs 
improve 
international 
competitiven
ess 

Impact 
in SMEs 

None 

None 

None 

None 

None 

6. 

COMPARISON OF OPTIONS 

On  the  basis  of  the  outcome  of  the  in-depth  assessment  of  the  options,  a  comparison  was 
performed  to  determine  which  options  would  deliver  net  benefits.  Next  the  results  of  the 
comparisons  were  brought  to  one  comparison  table  in  order  to  visualise  the  impacts  and  to 
select the preferred options (Table 4). The criteria used in the options appraisal included the 
effectiveness, the efficiency and the coherence of the option. 

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Table 4. Comparison of the policy options 

Effectiveness 

Efficiency 
Costs Benefits 

Coherence 
(does the option 
contribute to better 
regulation and Single 
Market Act) 

Scope - Product coverage 

a) 
Do nothing 

0 

b) 
Soft law 

0 
Specific objective not met 
as the 105oC temperature 
limit remains making it 
possible to avoid applying 
the GAD 

0 

0 

0 

- 
Costs due to 
remaining 
interpretation needs 

0 
None identified 

0 
No change, no 
contribution 

c) 
Legislative 
measure 

++ 
Specific objectives fully 
met; improvement of 
health and safety; clear 
legal situation 

0 
No impact but in 
theory a more level 
playing field for 
manufacturers 

Sector specific terminology and definitions 

+ 
Legal clarity reduces 
administrative burden thus 
costs 

++ 
Optimally 
contributing option; 
clear legal situation 

a) 

b) 

c) 

0 

0 

0 

0 

+ 
Specific objectives partly 
met but legal clarity not 
reached; new 
interpretation needs will 
arise in case of innovative 
products 
++ 
Specific objectives fully 
met as the scope and 
Essential Requirements 
are clarified; clear legal 
situation 

- 
Costs due to 
remaining 
interpretation needs 
on case by case basis 

+ 
Slight reduction of non-
compliant products 

+ 
Will slightly 
contribute 

0 
No specific costs; 
clarification 
facilitates 
implementation 
resulting in savings 

++ 
Legal clarity reduces 
administrative burden; 
reduction of non-
compliant products thus 
improved safety 

++ 
Optimally 
contributing option; 
clear legal situation 
assured 

Communication of the types of gas and the corresponding supply pressures  

0 

0 

0 

- 
Specific objectives not 
met as guidance may 
result in reliance on safety 
relevant data without 
cross-checking implying 
that unsafe designs might 
enter the market, no 
guarantee of quality of 
data 
++ 
Specific objectives fully 
met; adequate health, 
safety and performance 
relevant information is 
made available; clear legal 

0 

- 
No contribution 

- 
Costs related to 
frequent need to 
update guidance, 
costs due to 
difficulties to obtain 
adequate data 

- 
Does not guarantee 
reduction of non-
compliant products, may 
mislead stakeholders to 
rely on data provided 

++ 
Cost savings as 
reliable data 
available; reduction 
of administrative 
burden; means to 

++ 
Reduction of non-
compliant products; legal 
and technical clarity 
reduces costs; product 
development facilitated 

++ 
Optimally 
contributing option; 
clear legal situation 
assured 

a) 

b) 

c) 

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situation 

verify the 
compatibility of 
products facilitates 
market access 

Rational use of energy 

a) 

b) 

c) 

0 

0 

0 

0 

+ 
Specific objectives partly 
met, improved clarity 
regarding more specific 
legislation, but difficulties 
to identify which 
regulations should be 
applied remain 
++ 
Specific objectives fully 
met as coherence of EU 
legislation is achieved; 
legal clarity is provided 

- 
Costs related to 
developing guidance, 
costs for 
manufacturers due to 
administrative burden 
to identify applicable 
legislation 
+ 
Administrative 
burden is reduced, 
identification of 
legislation s is 
facilitated, 
overlapping of 
requirements is 
avoided bringing 
savings 

+ 
Guidance would slightly 
facilitate identification of 
legislation; minor 
reduction of non-
compliant products 

0 
Will slightly 
contribute; unclear 
legal situation 
remains unchanged 

++ 
Reduction of non-
compliant products; 
clarified legal situation 
facilitates development of 
new products 

++ 
Optimally 
contributing option; 
contributes to 
Europee 2020 
objective to improve 
energy efficiency; 
increases coherence 
of EU legislation 

Requirements 

a) 

b) 

c) 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 
Only marginal impacts as 
no shortcomings with the 
current requirements were 
identified 
++ 
Specific objectives fully 
met, clarity of legal 
requirements is ensured 

- 
Minor costs related to 
developing guidance 

+ 
Slight reduction of non-
compliant products  

+ 
Will slightly 
contribute 

+ 
No specific costs 
except cost savings 
for market 
surveillance 

+ 
Improved readability of 
requirements reduces 
administrative burden; 
market surveillance is 
facilitated 

+ 
Will slightly 
contribute 

7. 

MONITORING AND EVALUATION 

The  monitoring  and  evaluation  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  legislation  will  be  based  on  the 
feedback received through the various cooperation mechanisms like the Working Group Gas 
Appliances and the GAD Administrative Cooperation group. 

In  particular  the  GAD  ADCO  group  will  discuss  the  national  market  surveillance  programs 
and the outcome of their execution, number of non-compliant products detected, types of non-
compliances, etc. The Member States will be invited to use the RAPEX system, the ICSMS 
database as well as the safeguard clause notification procedure. Additional feedback will be 
obtained  from  the  cooperation  mechanisms  provided  for  by  NLF  Regulation  765/2008. 
Different indicators based on information provided by the authorities will be used to monitor 
the reduction of non-compliant products 

In line with its “Smart regulation” policy the Commission will evaluate the effectiveness of 
the Gas Appliances Regulation within a period of  5  up  to  a  maximum  of 10  years  after the 
date of application of the Regulation. 

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