COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approval and market surveillance of non-road mobile machinery circulating on public roads and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020
Date: 2023-03-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EC conformity marking, approval, machinery, market approval, market supervision, road network, road safety, technical specification, technical standard

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.3.2023  SWD(2023) 66 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT  Accompanying the document  Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approval and market surveillance of non-road mobile machinery circulating on public roads and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020                 {COM(2023) 178 final} - {SEC(2023) 145 final} - {SWD(2023) 64 final} - {SWD(2023) 65 final}  
 
 
Executive Summary Sheet 

Impact assessment  on a  proposal for a  regulation of  the European Parliament and of the Council  on the road 
approval of non-road mobile machinery. 

A. Need for action 

Why? What is the problem being addressed?  
Non-road  mobile  machinery  means  any  self-propelled  or  towed  machinery  that  is  designed  and  constructed 
specifically  to  perform  work  and  which,  because  of  its  construction  characteristics,  is  not  suitable  for  carrying 
passengers  or  for  transporting  commercial  goods.  The  main  types  belong  to  the  agricultural  and  forestry, 
construction,  garden,  material  handling  and  municipal  equipment  sectors.  These  machines  may,  from  time  to 
time,  need  to  circulate  on  the  road  to  go  from  one  workplace  to  another.  While  many  of  their  aspects  are 
harmonised at EU level (machinery safety, electromagnetic compatibility, exhaust emissions, etc.), requirements 
for the road circulation of remain one aspect for which the rules are currently not harmonised at EU level. 

Currently, technical requirements and approval procedures for the road circulation of non-road mobile machinery 
are  decided  at  Member  State  level.  This  legislation  often  differs  between  Member  States,  which  means  that 
manufacturers selling on several markets are obliged to tailor their production to comply with rules in the target 
national markets and they must also have their vehicles tested in every Member State. This results in delays and 
significant costs. Having multiple national rules undermines the functioning of the single market. In addition, end 
users such as rural contractors or construction companies who provide services in multiple EU countries may not 
be able to use their non-road mobile machinery across borders. Finally, the lack of harmonised requirements for 
the road circulation of non-road mobile machinery is not optimal in terms of road safety. 

What is this initiative expected to achieve?  
By setting uniform requirements at EU level, the sector could save  up to €0.85 billion over ten years. Having a 
harmonised set of technical requirements  is also likely to increase and level  up road safety standards for non-
road mobile machinery across the EU. 

What is the value added of action at EU level?  
A set of technical requirements agreed by all EU countries can be best achieved at EU level. This initiative  will 
help  complete  the  single  market  for  non-road  mobile  machinery  and  achieve  a  high  and  uniform  level  of  road 
safety across the EU. It is therefore in line with the subsidiarity principle set out in Article 5 TEU. 

B. Solutions 

What  legislative  and  non-legislative  policy  options  have  been  considered?  Is  there  a  preferred 
choice and if so, why?  
The policy options considered are set out below. 

  Option 0 - Baseline: ‘no action’. 
  Option 1 - EU approval of the entire mobile machine granted by Member States authorities (old 
approach).  This  policy  option  follows  the  principles  of  EU  legislation  on  vehicles,  where  the  technical 
specifications to comply with the general requirements are integrated in the legislation. 

-  1.a)  Type  approval:  for  most  components,  systems  and  separate  technical  units  the  road 
approval would involve a third party (independent authorised body). 
- 1.b) Simplified type approval: for components, systems and separate technical units that are 
more critical for road safety, the conformity assessment would involve a third party (independent 
authorised body). For components, systems and separate technical units that are less critical for 
road safety,  the conformity assessment  would be  based  on reports  or self-certifications by the 
manufacturer. 

  Option 2 - CE marking of the entire mobile machine granted by the manufacturer (new approach). 
This policy option follows the principles of new EU legislation on the non-road use of mobile machinery 
(e.g. the Machinery  Directive),  where  only  the  essential safety requirements are  embedded  in  law,  not 
the detailed technical specifications. 

All options can, in principle, be implemented through either a directive or a regulation. 

The following aspects of the legislation were also assessed:  

(i) 

(ii) 

making  it  mandatory  (replacing  the  current  27  national  rules),  or  optional  (an  alternative  to  the 
current 27 national rules);  
including (or not) towed equipment in the scope; and  

1 

 
 
 
(iii) 

limiting  (or  not)  the  scope  to  non-road  mobile  machinery  with  a  maximum  design  speed  not 
exceeding 40 Km/h. 

The preferred  policy  option  is  1.b  simplified  type  approval  covering  self-propelled  machinery  only  (not 
towed), with a maximum design speed limit of 40 km/h, in the form of a regulation. The regulation will be 
mandatory after a transitional period. 

The  type-approval  system  that  details  technical  specifications  in  the  legislation  is  the  widely  accepted  and 
trusted framework for road safety in Europe. It should be simplified to be proportionate and take account of the 
characteristics  of  non-road  mobile  machinery  (low  circulation  frequency).  An  optional  policy  seems  more 
adequate in a first step, to become mandatory  after  a transitional period during which manufacturers will  have 
the  choice  whether  to  apply  for  the  EU  type-approval  (and  benefit  from  the  free  movement)  or  for  national 
legislation (valid for that country only). 

It would only cover self-propelled machinery since most of the towed equipment can already be type-approved 
under  other  vehicle  categories.  The  machinery  in  scope  would  have  a  maximum  design  speed  limit  set  at 
40 km/h to prevent misapplication of the new framework to faster vehicles at the expense of road safety, most of 
which could be type-approved under current vehicle categories. Lastly, since the technical requirements will be 
highly detailed and leave practically no room for discretion when transposing them, a regulation is preferred. 

Who supports which option?  
Option 1b - optional - was widely supported by Member State authorities, industry and user associations. Only 
the  technical  services  preferred  Option  1a  and  mandatory  rules.  Most  Member  State  authorities  supported 
limiting  the  scope  to  self-propelled  machinery  only  with  a  maximum  design  speed  limit  of  40 km/h,  while 
manufacturers  favoured  including  towed  equipment  and  not  setting  a  speed  limit.  All  stakeholders  preferred  a 
regulation. 

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise the main benefits)?  
Total benefits for economic operators: estimated net savings of €846 million over 10 years, of which €502 million 
for manufacturers and distributors and €344 million for rental companies and end users. Since the administrative 
cost is estimated at 4% of the total, the overall administrative saving is calculated as €3,38 million per year. 
The technical services will see an increased turnover, partially offset by a decrease in the number of approvals. 
Road users: will benefit from harmonised rules that ensure high road safety across the EU.  

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise the main costs)?  
The estimated costs for manufacturers, distributors, rental companies and end users are offset by far by the 
estimated savings. The net savings are estimated above. 

How will businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises be affected?  
In the non-road mobile machinery manufacturing sector, 98% of companies are SMEs, which account for 18% of 
revenue  and  29%  of  employment.  Many  SMEs  are  strong  exporters  and  will  benefit  significantly  from  having 
simplified EU-wide rules. The net savings for SMEs in the manufacturers and distributors group are estimated at 
€90 million over 10 years. The net savings for SMEs in the rental companies and end users are estimated at €62 
million over 10 years. Therefore, the total benefit for SMEs amounts to €152 million over 10 years. 

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations?  
Member  States  will  face  some  adaptation  costs  to  adjust  to  the  new  regulation.  However,  since  they  already 
handle  several  type-approval  frameworks  for  other  vehicles,  they  have  the  structure  and  technical  services  in 
place to handle this additional regulation without it posing a significant burden. 

Will there be other significant impacts?  
No other significant impacts are estimated. 

D. Follow-up 

When will the policy be reviewed?  
The new regulation should be evaluated within 5 years of its entry into force. 

2