REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the implementation and functioning of Directive 2014/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts and safety components for lifts
Date: 2019-02-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EC conformity marking, application of EU law, disabled person, harmonisation of standards, lift, market approval, market supervision, marketing standard, product safety, safety standard

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 22.2.2019  COM(2019) 87 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the implementation and functioning of Directive 2014/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts and safety components for lifts {SWD(2019) 26 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the implementation and functioning of Directive 2014/33/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of 
the Member States relating to lifts and safety components for lifts 

1. INTRODUCTION 

Directive 2014/33/EU on lifts and safety components for lifts1 (‘the Directive’) was adopted 
on  26 February  2014.  The  EU  legal  framework  relating  to  lifts  was  initially  introduced  by 
means of two directives: Directive 84/528/EEC lifting and mechanical handling appliances2 of 
17 September 1984 and Directive 84/529/EEC on electrically, hydraulically or oil-electrically 
operated  lifts3  of  17  September  1984.  As  of  1  July  1999,  both  directives  were  repealed  by 
Directive  95/16/EC  on  lifts4  of  June  1995  which  was  later  on  replaced  by  Directive 
2014/33/EU.  

The Directive aims to: 

  achieve  a  high  level  of  protection  of  users,  installers  and  maintenance  personnel  of 

lifts across the EU; and  

  contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by harmonising aspects of 

Member States’ laws relating the the health and safety of lifts. 

Article  46  of  the  Directive  requires  the  Commission  to  submit  a  report  to  the  European 
Parliament and the Council regarding its implementation and functioning. This report is to be 
based  on  a  consultation  of  relevant  stakeholders  and  accompanied,  where  applicable,  by  a 
proposal for revision of the Directive. 

On this basis, the Commission has evaluated the Directive, drawing on  an external study on 
the evaluation of the Directive5 which included various stakeholder consultations6; and other 
data sources7. 

1   Directive  2014/33/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  February  2014  on  the 
harmonisation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  lifts  and  safety  components  for  lifts,  OJ  L  96, 
29.3.2014, p. 251. 

2   Council Directive 84/528/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States 
relating to common provisions for lifting and mechanical handling appliances, OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 72. 
3   Council Directive 84/529/EEC of 17 September 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States 

relating to electrically operated lifts, OJ L 300, 19.11.1984, p. 86. 

4   European Parliament and Council Directive 95/16/EC 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. 

5   Performed by a consortium led by Technopolis Consulting Group Belgium, final report available at  

https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/9f1a5907-e539-11e7-9749-01aa75ed71a1/  

6   Consultations carried out by the external consultant for the study: 

online public consultation (June 2016 – January 2017); 
several targeted surveys; 

 
 
  workshop held in the context of the Member States’ Lifts Working Group; and  
 
The evaluation was discussed in meetings of the Commission’s interservice steering group. 

interviews with industry representatives, including SMEs, notified bodies and authorities. 

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The  evaluation  is  drawn  up  in  a  Staff  Working  Document  ('SWD')8  that  accompanies  this 
report. As the Directive was evaluated less than 3 years after the national laws transposing it 
were  supposed  to  become  applicable,  the  evidence  base  was  relatively  limited.  However, 
since  Directive  2014/33/EU  is  the  result  of  a  pure  alignment  of  Directive  95/16/EC  to  the 
New  Legislative  Framework  Decision  No  768/2008/EC9  with  no  major  changes  in  the 
substance,  the  evaluation  covered  also  the  period  before  the  entry  into  force  of  the  current 
Directive, i.e. 1 July 1999 to 19 April 2014 covered by Directive 95/16/EC.  

The evaluation has assessed the performance of the Lifts Directive on the basis of the extent 
to which it meets its objectives (effectiveness), its efficiency (with a focus on examining the 
regulatory – including administrative – costs and benefits and potential for simplification, its 
coherence with other EU legislation, its relevance versus stakeholders needs and its EU added 
value. 

2. DIRECTIVE’S AIM AND MAIN PROVISIONS 

The  Directive  establishes  the  legal  framework  for  placing  on  the  market  lifts  and  safety 
components for lifts, and for putting into service lifts.  

The two main objectives of the Directive are: 

  Ensuring  the  free  movement  of  lifts  and  safety  components  for  lifts  throughout  the 
EU, contributing to, and effectively operating internal market for the said products. As 
such,  Member  States  must  allow  marketing  on  their  territory  of  lifts  and  safety 
components for lifts that comply with the requirements of the Directive; 

  Guaranteeing  that  lifts  and  safety  components  for  lifts  within  the  scope  of  the 
Directive are safe for users and maintenance personnel thus improving the health and 
safety of these groups.  

The Directive harmonises the provisions related to lifts and safety components for lifts and is 
based on the principles of the "New Approach" meaning that it is limited to the expression of 
the  essential  health  and  safety  requirements  (EHSRs)  which  lifts  and  safety  components  on 
the market are subject to and must fulfil. 

The  main  provisions  are  related  to  the  scope  and  definitions,  obligations  of  economic 
operators, procedures for conformity assessment, EHSRs and market surveillance, namely:  

  For the scope and definitions: the scope of the Directive, the definition of installer of a lift 
and manufacturer of safety components, placing on the market and making available on the 
market, etc.; 

7   Analysis of available official statistics (Eurostat, Prodcom and Amadeus Database), studies, and information 
provided  by  industry  associations,  annual  reports  of  economic  operators,  information  on  accidents  from 
national studies and national reports on market surveillance. 

8   Commission Staff Working Document, Evaluation of the Lift Directive 2014/33/EU, SWD(2019)26 Final. 
9   Decision  No  768/2008/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  9  July  2008  on  a  common 
framework for the marketing of products, and repealing Council Decision 93/465/EEC, OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, 
p. 82. 

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  For  obligations  of  economic  operators:  in  accordance  to  the  NLF  Decision  No 
768/2008/EC,  definition  of  obligations  of 
installers,  manufacturers,  authorised 
representatives,  importers  and  distributors  as  well  as  specific  provisions  on  e.g.  the  two-
way flow of information between the person responsible for the building construction and 
the lift installer; 

  For  conformity  assessment  procedures:  provisions  on  procedures  for  notification  of 
notified  bodies,  criteria  applicable  to  notified  bodies  and  conformity  assessment 
procedures; 

  For  EHSRs:  definition  of  the  health  and  safety  objectives  to  be  achieved  including 
provisions for granting lift accessibility to disabled persons and for preventing the risk of 
crushing;  

  For  market  surveillance:  provisions  in 

  accordance  with  the  NLF  Decision  No 
768/2008/EC  including  Union  market  surveillance  and  control  of  lifts  or  safety 
components for lifts entering the Union market, procedures for dealing with lifts and safety 
components for lifts presenting risk at national level, Union safeguard procedure, etc. 

3. TRANSPOSITION AND IMPLEMENTATION 

In  order  to  enable  achieving  the  objectives,  the  Directive  harmonised  certain  aspects  of 
Member  States’  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  relating  to  lifts  and  their 
safety components. Its provisions must be transposed and implemented by Member States. 

The Directive has been uniformly transposed across Member States. There is no evidence of 
any transposition difficulties with the exception of one issue identified in the evaluation study 
in  relation  to  the  transposition  of  “the  prior  approval”  provision  laid  down  by  the  third 
paragraph of EHSR 2.2. This point is further discussed in Section 4.2. below.  

As  for  its  implementation,  some  minor  discrepancies  across  Member  States  were  identified 
with regard to the definitions used, the way how the two-way flow of information between the 
installer  and  person  responsible  for  work  on  the  building  is  put  in  place,  the  provisions  for 
accessibility of lifts to disabled persons, the possibility of giving a prior approval to prevent 
the risk of crushing, the conformity assessment and the EC type-examination certificates and 
the market surveillance practises. 

The definition of "installer" as provided by the Directive has been transposed by 26 Member 
States;  The  Estonian  legislation  initially  contained  a  different  definition  referring  to  the 
installer as "manufacturer". The use of the term "manufacturer" instead of "installer" had no 
impact on the application of the Directive. Furthermore, the Estonian legislation transposing 
Directive 2014/33/EU now also refers to the term “manufacturer”. 

Article  6(1)  of  the  Directive  sets  up  the  two-way  flow  of  information  ensuring  that  the 
person responsible for work on the building and the installer both provide each other with the 
necessary information and take the appropriate steps in order to ensure the proper operation 
and safe use of the lift. This article is transposed exactly as it is in the national legislation of 
26  Member  States.  The  Austrian  and  Hungarian  legislations  both  provide  for  specific 

3 

 
 
mechanisms guaranteeing this flow of information. These minor differences do not impact the 
application of the Directive. 

Twenty  Member States  have included into their  national  transposition legislation provisions 
relating to the accessibility of lifts to disabled persons transposing the provisions exactly as 
they are in the Directive. The remaining eight Member States have included lift accessibility 
provisions  mainly  into  their  national  building  regulations.  The  majority  of  Member  States 
have  set  up  additional  or  more  specific  provisions  to  regulate  accessibility  of  building  into 
their national building regulations. This aspect falls within national competence.10  

Twenty Member States have transposed directly the third paragraph of the EHSR 2.211 of the 
Directive  affording  Member  States,  in  specific  cases,  the  possibility  of  giving  "prior 
approval",  particularly  in  existing  buildings,  to  adopt  other  appropriate  means  to  avoid  the 
risk of crushing than by providing free space or refuge beyond the extreme positions of the lift 
car.  In  four  Member  States,  the  "prior  approval"  can  be  applied  only  when  a  lift  is  to  be 
installed in “existing buildings” where structural constraints exist. In practice, the approval is 
implemented  differently  in  Member  States.  Considering  various  design  solutions  based  on 
different  technologies,  the  "prior  approval"  procedure  allows  installers  to  use  alternative 
means  to  avoid  the  risk  of  crushing.  However,  the  differences  in  the  criteria  applied  by 
Member  States  makes  it  more  difficult  for  installers  to  find  information  about  the  national 
implementation practises. The impact of such practices on the functioning of the Directive is 
discussed in section 4.2. below. 

Conformity assessment procedures  to  be  applied by the safety  components  manufacturers 
and the lift installers, as defined in Article 15 and 16 of the Directive, have been transposed 
and  are  implemented  in  all  Member  States.  Some  stakeholders  reported  that  installers  were 
sometimes requested to  provide further evidence on lift compliance in addition to  EC type-
examination  certificates.  Such  implementation  issues  have  been  removed  as  the  new 
Directive 2014/33/EU amended the content of the type-examination certificates. 

Market surveillance is an essential tool for enforcing legislation and is based on measures to 
check  that  products  meet  the  relevant  EHSRs  and  that  non-compliant  products  are  brought 
into  compliance  or  withdrawn/recalled  from  the  market.  No  specific  procedures  were  laid 
down  in  Directive  95/16/EC.  The  framework  for  market  surveillance  has  been  set  up  by 
Regulation  (EC)  No  765/2008  and  Directive  2014/33/EU  includes  specific  provisions  for 
market  surveillance  based  on  it.  The  evaluation  demonstrated  that  market  surveillance  has 

10   For instance, in France, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the UK, building regulations “accessible” passenger lifts 
should  conform  to  harmonised  standard  EN  81-70.  In  Poland,  the  national  building  regulations  include 
specific provisions for granting disabled persons accessibility to lifts, aligning with the recommendations of 
the  Declaration  made  by  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission.  In  Cyprus,  Italy  and 
Latvia  the  building  regulations  provide  for  specific  requirements  on  the  dimensions  of  the  lift  car,  on  the 
presence of telephone devices and on the exact location of lift control panels. In Spain, Latvia and Italy local 
regulations prescribe additional requirements such as the use of Braille system.  

11   "The  lift  must  be  designed  and  constructed  to  prevent  the  risk  of  crushing  when  the  car  is  in  one  of  its 

extreme positions. 
The objective will be achieved by means of free space or refuge beyond the extreme positions. 
However, in specific cases, in affording Member States the possibility of giving prior approval, particularly 
in existing buildings, where this solution is impossible to fulfil, other appropriate means may be provided to 
avoid this risk." 

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been  differently  implemented  across  Member  States,  in  terms  of  strategies,  extent  of 
monitoring activities and frequency and types of checks.  

Notified  bodies’  notification  procedures,  as  defined  in  Article  28  of  the  Directive,  have 
been implemented differently across Member States. Accreditation is the preferred means of 
demonstrating technical capacity of notified bodies12 and 19 Member States have transposed 
this article making accreditation13 mandatory. Where accreditation is not used, notified bodies 
shall  provide  the  notifying  authority  with  all  the  documentary  evidence  necessary  for  the 
verification  of  its  compliance  with  the  relevant  requirements.  Implementation  differences  in 
notification procedures do not have impact on the application of the Directive. 

4. KEY FINDINGS OF THE EVALUATION 

4.1. Relevance 

The  evaluation  concluded  that  the  original  objectives  of  the  Directive  are  as  valid  today  as 
when the Directive was first proposed. In particular, the objectives of ensuring high level of 
safety  of  users,  installers  and  maintenance  personnel  and  free  movement  of  lifts  and  their 
safety components continue to be fully relevant. 

Overall, the Directive is perceived as being clear. However, the evaluation revealed that there 
is  a  need  to  investigate  how  to  improve  the  clarity  of  the  scope  of  the  Directive  as  regards 
major modifications of lifts in service which would trigger application of the Directive instead 
of  national  regulations,  the  definition  of  "installer"  used  in  the  Directive  instead  of 
"manufacturer"  of  a  lift  and  the  concepts  of  "putting  into  service"  and  "placing  on  the 
market". Regarding the provisions on the “prior approval” concerns were expressed, on one 
hand, relating to the non-harmonised criteria used by Member States to grant or reject a prior 
approval  leading  to  divergent  practises  and,  on  the  other  hand,  regarding  possibility  that 
different  safety  standards  might  emerge  across  the  EU.  Some  concerns  were  also  identified 
regarding the clarity of provisions for accessibility of lifts to disabled persons due to the fact 
that  different  national  accessibility  requirements  apply  to  the  entire  building  while  the 
accessibility of lifts is regulated by the Directive. 

Besides  being  relevant  to  the  free  movement  of  the  products  in  its  scope,  the  evaluation 
demonstrated the Directive to be an appropriate policy tool also to overall address new risks 
entailed by technological developments related to lifts. Consistently with the New Approach, 
the Directive defines only the risks to be dealt with and the safety objectives to be achieved, 
entrusting manufacturers and installers to  choose the technical  solutions  to comply  with  the 
legislation. This allows innovation to occur in the lift sector.  

12   http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/goods/building-blocks/accreditation_en  
13   According  to  Art.2  of  Regulation  765/2008,  “accreditation  shall  mean  an  attestation  by  a  national 
accreditation body that a conformity assessment body meets the requirements set by harmonized standards 
and, where applicable, any additional requirements including those set out in relevant sectoral schemes, to 
carry out a specific conformity assessment activity”. 

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4.2. Effectiveness 

The steady growth rate of the value of the intra- and extra-EU trade is a strong indicator that 
the  Directive  has  effectively  contributed  to  a  well-functioning  internal  market  for  lifts  and 
safety  components,  through  the  harmonisation  of  the  relevant  national  legislation.  The 
Directive’s  effectiveness  is  further  enhanced  by  the  legal  certainty  and  transparency  it 
provides. Data on lift-related accidents  in the EU is  fragmented  and lack  on details.  Hence, 
these  data  can  only  provide  selected,  anecdotal  indications  on  the  number  and  trends  of 
accidents over time. Overall, it can be inferred that the Directive has managed to contribute to 
the  increase  of  lift  safety  by  looking  at  the  declining  number  of  accidents  involving 
maintenance personnel per number of lifts in service. As far as users are concerned, the data 
provided  by  available  national  reports  suggest  that  the  impact  of  the  Directive  is  in  no 
circumstances adverse and the Directive could even have brought a minor contribution to the 
improvement on the level of lift safety. 

The evaluation also concluded that the conformity assessment procedures proved adequate 
to ensure the highest degree of health and safety for users and maintenance personnel. This is 
largely  recognised  by  stakeholders  and  linked  to  the  downstream  control  performed  by 
notified bodies.  

Among other things, the definition of "installer", the concepts of "placing on the market" 
and "putting into service" of lifts, the provision on the two-way flow of information set up 
in Article 6(1) and notified bodies’ notification procedures, discussed above under section 
3.  are  further  clarified  in  the  revised  'Guide  to  the  Application  of  the  Lifts  Directive 
2014/33/EU’14  (hereafter  "the  Lifts  Guide")  the  clarity  of  what  is  widely  recognised  by  the 
stakeholders.  In  addition,  the  'Blue  Guide'15  provides  for  clarification  regarding  harmonised 
application of the Union product harmonisation legislation like Directive 2014/33/EU. 

However,  the  evaluation  highlighted  some  factors  that  limited  the  effectiveness  of  the 
Directive. Regarding the "prior approval" procedure, Member States have adopted diverging 
national practises thus making it difficult for installers to find information about the national 
approval procedures and criteria applied. The Directive leaves "room for manoeuvre" for lift 
installers to cover the risk of crushing, the problem being lack of transparency and certainty in 
the  granting  of  the  prior  approval  by  the  Member  States’  authorities.  The  evaluation 
concluded  that,  despite  the  fact  that  "prior  approval"  is  in  line  with  the  New  Approach,  the 
'Lifts  Guide'  does  not  currently  provide  sufficiently  detailed  guidance  regarding  this 
procedure. 

Regarding the accessibility of lifts to disabled persons, provisions on lift accessibility have 
been  implemented  differently  in  across  the  EU.  However,  the  accessibility  requirements  for 
lifts  are  harmonised  through  the  Directive  while  accessibility  of  buildings  fall  under  the 
competence  of  Member  States.  Although  most  of  the  stakeholders  do  not  perceive  national 
provisions  on  accessibility  as  burdensome  or  hindering  the  internal  market,  the  Lifts  Guide 
could be used to further clarify the division of competencies. 

14   https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/29961 
15   The “Blue Guide” on the implementation of EU product rules, 2016; 2016/C 272/01. 

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Differences in implementation of market surveillance across Member States were identified 
in terms of strategies, extent of monitoring activities, frequency and types of checks, and level 
of  penalties,  this  negatively  impacting  the  Directive's  overall  effectiveness.  Nonetheless, 
evidence  collected  suggests  that  the  level  of  non-compliance  of  lifts  and  their  safety 
components  placed  on  the  market  is  actually  extremely  low.  This  positive  accomplishment 
relates to the strong and positive role of notified bodies in the conformity assessment process, 
acting as “ultimate controllers” of product compliance with the Directive. In addition, the new 
NLF  aligned  Directive  2014/33/EU  has  considerably  improved  the  market  surveillance 
framework  for  lifts  due  to  introduction  of  much  more  comprehensive  provisions  on  market 
surveillance. 

The development of harmonised standards has been key to ensure an effective application 
of  the  Directive.  Indeed,  they  are  largely  used  as  the  most  common  means  to  demonstrate 
compliance  with  the  EHSRs.  Via  the  presumption  of  conformity  mechanism,  harmonised 
standards  allow  manufacturers  and  installers  to  avoid  the  additional  costs  for  testing 
compliance of solutions alternative to those provided by the standards. Mainly for this reason, 
voluntary  harmonised  standards  are  de  facto  perceived  as  binding  by  economic  operators. 
This is particularly the case for SMEs, which do not have sufficient resources to test technical 
solutions  alternative to  standards. Another issue  is  the sometimes lengthy procedure needed 
by CEN to develop harmonised standards implying that standards may not always be able to 
cope with the speed of technological progress. SMEs might also be potentially disadvantaged 
by  the  way  standards  are  developed  the  process  not  being  sufficiently  transparent  and 
inclusive.  While  the  Commission  is  committed  to  involve  the  broadest  possible  range  of 
stakeholders in the standardisation activities, the question of the representation of SMEs in the 
process  of  development  of  hENs  relates  to  the  internal  organisation  of  the  relevant  ESOs 
which are independent private bodies. 

4.3. Efficiency   

There is no clear view of the Directive’s overall impact on costs for businesses since it has not 
been  possible  to  reconstruct  a  baseline  scenario  or  identify  other  points  of  comparison.  In 
addition,  very    limited  data  is  available  from  the  time  before  the  entry  into  force  of  the 
Directive.  Stakeholders  consulted  in  the  framework  of  the  evaluation  did  not  provide 
quantitative estimates of the impacts  of the Directive  and were undable to establish a direct 
causal  link  between  its  coming  into  application  and  the  increase  in  sales.  The  analysis  is 
therefore based on qualitative information.  

Based on the available qualitative data, it seems that that overall the Directive outweight costs 
and benefits for all stakeholder categories. Moreover, there is no evidence that the compliance 
costs entailed by the Directive increased in comparison to the period before 1999. In any case, 
by the harmonisation of different national regimes, the Directive simplifies the administrative 
and compliance requirements for selling abroad  lifts and safety components. In this respect, 
there  seem  no  more  potential  for  further  simplification.    It  should  however  be  noted  that 
benefits from easy access to internal market seems not evenly spread, with larger companies 
benefiting more than SMEs from harmonisation due to their orientation to intra- EU export. 
This is true for both SME economic operators and SME Notified Bodies 

7 

 
 
Finally,  available  statistics  show  a  reduction  in  lift-related  accidents  involving  maintenance 
personnel  over  recent  years,  which  could  lead  to  think  of  an  increase  in  lift  safety. 
Unfortunately,  available  accident  statistics  do  not  allow  to  establish  a  direct  causal  link 
between the Directive and an increase in lift safety since statistics do not distinguish between 
old lifts in service and those placed on the market under the Directive, and do normally not 
indicate the cause of accidents. 

4.4. Coherence    

Overall, the Directive is considered to be coherent with other EU legislation, and no problems 
have been identified in this respect. No evidence of inconsistencies between the Directive and 
other  EU  legislation  relevant  for  lifts,  with  particular  regard  to  Directive  2006/42/EC  on 
machinery16, Regulation (EU) 2016/424 on cableway installations17 and Regulation (EU) No 
305/2011  on  construction  products18  was  identified.  However,  the  interfaces  between  these 
Directives are not always completely clear.  

No major contradictions emerged between the Directive and national building legislation. As 
for  the  internal  coherence  of  the  Directive,  requirements  for  lift  installers  and  safety 
component  manufacturers  can  be  considered  as  generally  clear  and  no  overlapping  rule  has 
been identified.  

4.5. EU added value 

An  EU  approach  remains  the  most  appropriate  response  and  is  more  likely  to  achieve  the 
objectives  set  by  the  Directive  than  national  approaches.  In  fact,  the  Directive  reduced  the 
regulatory  fragmentation  among  Member  States  through  alignment  of  national  legislation 
relating  to  the  lift  sector,  which  benefited  both  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market  and 
positively contributed to the safety of lifts. A vast majority of stakeholders recognise the EU 
added  value  of  the  Directive,  in  particular  in  terms  of  enhanced  free  movement  of  lifts  and 
their saety components, and their increased safety. 

5. CONCLUSIONS AND WAY FORWARD 

The outcome of the evaluation is positive. The evidence collected confirms that the Directive 
is working well and that its objectives are generally met. The Directive is also deemed to be 
an efficient means to establish a Union wide harmonised framework for lifts and their safety 
components. No inefficiency or simplification potential requiring legislative changes has been 
identified. The Directive is also considered coherent, relevant and clearly brings added value 
at EU level. 

However, a few findings affecting the functioning of the Directive have been detected. In that 
context,  a  distinction  shall  be  made  between,  on  one  hand,  aspects  related  to  the 

16   Directive  2006/42/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  May  2006  on  machinery,  and 

amending Directive 95/16/EC (recast) , OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 24. 

17   Regulation  (EU)  2016/424  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  9  March  2016  on  cableway 

installations and repealing Directive 2000/9/EC, OJ L 81, 31.3.2016, p. 1. 

18   Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down 
harmonised  conditions  for  the  marketing  of  construction  products  and  repealing  Council  Directive 
89/106/EEC, OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5. 

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implementation of the Directive and thus calling for improving its implementation and, on the 
other  hand,  factors  that  would  require  a  possible  change  of  its  scope  and/or  product 
requirements via a legislative process.  

In the light of the results of the evaluation there are not sufficient elements to conclude that 
the  Directive  would  need  to  be  revised.  However,  the  Comission  considers  that  issues 
identified  in  the  evaluation  process  could  be  responded  by  further  enhancing  a  uniform 
implementation of the Directive, in particular through application of soft measures like better 
coordination and improved guidance.  

It  would  also  be  important  to  ensure  that  up-to-date  information  about  Member  States' 
accessibility  requirements  for  built  environment  and  approaches  in  transposing  the  "prior 
approval"  procedure  are  made  available  for  all  economic  operators  and  notified  bodies 
concerned.  

Furthermore, to facilitate market access, while highlighting the voluntary nature of application 
of harmonised standards conferring the presumption of conformity to the Directive's essential 
health and safety requirements, measures would need to be taken to ensure timely availability 
of standards for manufacturers and installers, in particular for the SMEs. 

The  lifts  sector  has  well-established  forums,  which  can  be  used  to  put  in  place  measures 
aiming to improve the implementation and functioning of the Directive, namely 

 
 

 

the Lifts Working Group (Lifts WG); 
the  Lifts  Administrative  Co-operation  group  of  market  surveillance  authorities  (Lifts 
AdCo); and 
the co-ordination group of Lifts Notified Bodies (NB Lifts). 

Consequently,  as  response  to  the  findings  of  the  evaluation,  the  Commission  will  take  the 
following measures: 

  On  the  unclarity  of  some  definitions:  The  Commission  will  intensify  its  coordination 
efforts in the framework of the Lifts WG to clarify the terminology of the Directive, e.g. 
"installer",  "placing  on  the  market"  and  "putting  into  service",  as  requested  by 
stakeholders.  

  On  the  prior  approval:  The  Commission  will  bring  the  issue  before  the  Lifts  AdCo  to 
improve  the  coordination  among  Member  States  with  the  objective  to  emergence  of  a 
more coherent and uniform application of "prior approval" procedure provided in the point 
2.2,  last  paragraph,  of  Annex  I  to  the  Directive  in  order  to  ensure  full  transparency  and 
improve legal certainty,  

  On the accessibility of lifts to disabled persons: The Commission will further clarify the 
borderline between the lifts  accessibility requirements of the Directive vis-à-vis  national 
legislation  on  accessibility  of  buildings  and  constructions  by  raising  the  issue  in  the 
framework of the Lifts WG. In particular, attention will be drawn to different conditions 
of  installation  and  use  of  lifts,  e.g.  depending  on  the  type  of  building  and  its  function, 
level of floors, etc. 

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Once endorsed by the Lifts WG, the improved and new guidance on the provisions which the 
evaluation perceived as lacking clarity will be introduced as amendments to the 'Lifts Guide' 
which is the main reference document in support of the interpretation and implementation of 
the Directive. 

  On  market  surveillance:  The  Commission  will  carefully  monitor  the  enforcement  of  the 
Directive  across  all  Member  States  and  the  activities  of  the  Lifts  AdCo.  It  will  also 
suggest  concerted  actions  in  the  framework  of  cooperation  of  competent  market 
surveillance authorities (MSAs). 

The Commission will encourage the members of the Lifts AdCo to disseminate among the 
competent  MSAs  more  detailed  information  about  their  respective  National  Market 
Surveillance Programs, information on sources of accident statistics and invite the group 
to explore possible synergies. The Commission will continue to focus on facilitating the 
smooth  cooperation  between  MSAs  to  ensure  that  only  compliant  lifts  and  safety 
components for lifts are placed on the market and maintain fair competition. 

The Commission also notes that its 'Goods Package' proposal19 includes a proposal for a 
new  regulation  in  the  area  of  market  surveillance  which,  amongst  others,  aims  to 
strengthen controls by MSAs and customs officers to prevent unsafe products from being 
placed on the Union market.  

  On  the  standardistaion  process:  In  order  to  ensure  the  timely  availability  of  harmonised 
standards  coferring  the  presumption  of  conformity  to  the  EHSRs  of  the  Directive,  the 
Commission  has  already  taken  necessary  measures  in  order  to  support  and  increase  its 
involvement  on  the  standards  development  processes.  The  new  Standardisation  Request 
M/54920  gives  the  necessary  tools  to  monitor  and  guide  the  preparation  of  harmonised 
standards in support of the Directive. Special efforts will be put to efficiently implement 
the  actions  to  enhance  transparency,  reinforce  legal  certainty  and  speed  of  adoption  of 
standards  in  accordance  with  the  the  Commission  Communication  on  Harmonised 
Standards21. 

19   Goods Package: Proposal for a Regulation on Compliance and Enforcement of EU Product Legislation  - EU 

Product Compliance Network, COM(2017)795. 

20   Commission Implementing Decision of 21.9.2016 on a  standardisation request to  the European Committee 
for Standardisation as regards lifts and safety components for lifts in support of Directive 2014/33/EU of the 
European Parliament and of the Council, C(2016) 5884 final. 

21   Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic 
and  Social  Committee  –  Harmonised  standards:  Enhancing  transparency  and  legal  certainty  for  a  fully 
functioning Single Market, COM(2018) 764 final. 

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