REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Second Report on the operation of Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU
Date: 2024-04-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EC conformity marking, European standard, European standardisation body, application of EU law, harmonisation of standards, market approval, market supervision, marketing standard, radio telecommunications, technical standard

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.4.2024  COM(2024) 158 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Second Report on the operation of Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU  
 
 
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Introduction 

1.1  The Radio Equipment Directive 

The Radio Equipment Directive 1 (RED) ensures a single market 2 for radio equipment by setting 
essential requirements for safety, health, electromagnetic compatibility and the efficient use of the 
radio spectrum. It also provides the basis for further regulation governing some additional aspects. 

Article 47(2) of the RED requires the European Commission to review the operation of the RED 
and to report thereon to the European Parliament and to the Council by 12 June 2018 and every 
5 years thereafter. This report fulfils that requirement for the period until 12 June 2023. 

1.2  Political context 

This report covers a period where ‘A Europe fit for the digital age’ was one of the priorities set by 
the Commission political guidelines for the 2019-2024 term. Of relevance for radio equipment is 
the fact that those guidelines mentioned the Internet of Things; joint standards for the EU’s 5G 
networks; standards for new technologies; and high standards for privacy, (cyber)security, safety 
and ethics.  

This  period  was  also  marked  by  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  which  substantially  increased  the 
demand  for  remote  access,  thereby  also  accelerating  the  adoption  of  related  radio  equipment 
technologies and the need to promote cybersecurity. 

Regarding the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, any EU-based economic operator that purchases a 
product from the UK become an importer. Additionally, UK notified bodies lost their status as 
EU-notified  bodies  and  were  removed  from  the  Commission's  information  system  on  notified 
organisations (the NANDO database). 

Russia’s  illegal  invasion  of  Ukraine  has  raised  awareness  of  the  role  of  telecommunication 
equipment  in  cybersecurity  and  the  need  to  increase  the  level  of  resilience  of  radio  equipment 
products on the EU market. The importance of high-precision radio equipment such as drones or 
dual-use products for both military and civil use (including a number of wireless devices) must be 
highlighted. 

1 Directive 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on the harmonisation of the 
laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment and repealing Directive 
1999/5/EC. 
2 The references in this report to  ‘single market’, ‘EU’ or ‘Member States’, should, wherever necessary, be read in 
conjunction with section 2.9 of the Blue Guide on the implementation of EU product rules 2022,) and section 1.2.2.1 
of the Guide to the RED,). 

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2  Legislative developments 

Since 2018,  several  pieces of legislation  relevant  to the RED  have been  adopted and more are 
under preparation.  

2.1  Regulation (EU) 2018/1139: civil aviation (airborne equipment, drones) 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 3 (EASA Regulation) modified the RED and, in particular, the regime 
applicable to the placing on the market of aviation radio equipment. 

2.2  Delegated Regulation 2019/320: access to emergency services from smartphones using 

the Galileo system 

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/320 4 made the essential requirement set out in Article 3(3)(g) of 
the  RED  applicable  to  smartphones  as  from  17 March 2017.  Smartphones,  when  accessing 
emergency  services,  must  support  technical  solutions  for  the  reception  and  processing  of  WiFi 
data, data from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), compatible and interoperable with 
at  least  the  Galileo  system;  and  for  making  that  data  available  for  transmission  in  emergency 
communications. 

In the absence of harmonised standards, manufacturers must have the conformity of their radio 
equipment products with this essential requirement assessed by a notified body. 

2.3  Regulation (EU) 2019/1020: market surveillance and compliance of products  

Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 5 applies since 16 July 2021 to products that are subject to the EU’s 
harmonisation legislation, including the RED. 

2.4  Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30: cybersecurity 

The Commission adopted on 29 October 2021 Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 6, which will 
make the essential requirements set out in Articles 3(3)(d), (e) and (f) of the RED applicable to 
certain  categories  of  radio  equipment.  An  impact  assessment  has  been  performed  by  the 
Commission. 

3 Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the 
field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency . 
4 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/320 of 12 December 2018 supplementing of Directive 2014/53/EU of 
the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the application of the essential requirements referred to in 
Article 3(3)(g) of that Directive in order to ensure caller location in emergency communications from mobile devices. 
5 Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance 
and compliance of products. 
6 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 of 29 October 2021 supplementing Directive 2014/53/EU of the 
European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the application of the essential requirements referred to in 
Article 3(3), points (d), (e) and (f), of that Directive. 

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More  specifically,  the  Delegated  Regulation  will  improve  network  resilience,  better  protect 
consumers’ privacy and reduce the risk of monetary fraud. 

The Delegated Regulation covers internet-connected wireless devices and other devices, such as 
radio toys, radio childcare equipment and radio wearables.  

The Delegated Regulation will become applicable on 1 August 2025. Hence, the manufacturers 
will have sufficient time to adapt their products 7. 

The Commission issued on 5 August 2022 a standardisation request 8 to the European Committee 
for Standardisation (CEN) and to the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation 
(CENELEC)  to  develop  relevant  harmonised  standards  by  30 June 2024 9.  This  will  help 
manufacturers to comply with the new requirements.  

The Cyber Resilience Act will constitute the evolution  of  Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, 
because it will cover all digital products and will address their whole life cycle. 

2.5  Directive (EU) 2022/2380 (the Common Charger Directive) 

Several  options  regarding  the  implementation  of  common  charger  were  studied  in  an  impact 
assessment.  The  RED  was  amended  by  Directive (EU) 2022/2380 10  (the  Common  Charger 
Directive),  that  introduces  the  requirements  of  the  ‘common  charging’  solution  into  the  RED, 
particularly: 

•  USB-C will be the harmonised charging port. 

•  Harmonisation will stop different producers unjustifiably limiting charging speed and will 

ensure that the charging speed is the same when using any compatible charger. 

•  Consumers will be able to purchase a new electronic device without a new charger.  

•  Producers  will  need  to  provide  relevant  visual  and  written  information  about  charging 

characteristics. 

These requirements will apply from 2024 to all handheld mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, 
headphones,  headsets,  portable  speakers,  handheld  videogame  consoles,  e-readers,  earbuds, 

7 The deadline established in Commission Delegated Regulation 2022/30 has been postponed from 1 August 2024 to 
1 August 2025,  following  a  formal  request  from  CEN  and  CENELEC.  The  amending  Delegated  Regulation 
(2023/2444) has been adopted and published in the OJEU. 
8 Commission Implementing Decision on a standardisation request to CEN and CENELEC as regards radio equipment 
in  support  of  Directive  2014/53/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and  Commission  Delegated 
Regulation (EU) 2022/30. 
9 The initial deadline was established on 30 September 2023 and has been postponed to 30 June 2024, following the 
formal request of CEN and CENELEC. 
10 Directive (EU) 2022/2380  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23 November 2022  amending 
Directive 2014/53/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the 
market of radio equipment. 

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keyboards,  mice  and  portable  navigation  systems.  They  will  also  apply  to  laptops  from 
28 April 2026. This scope of application of products may be extended in the future. 

The “Common Charger” Directive will be complemented by corresponding requirements under a 
review of the Ecodesign Implementing Regulation for External Power Supplies (EPS). The main 
options put forward are to: 

• 

Inform  consumers  by  marking  the  “common  chargers”  with  a  corresponding  logo  and 
pictogram. 

•  Prevent non-compliant proprietary chargers being sold with RED devices. 
•  Scale up the benefits of interoperability by extending the scope of “common chargers” to 

equipment other than the RED devices. 

The regulatory review is expected to be completed in 2024.  

The  Commission  will  report  whether  an  extension  of  the  unbundling  requirements  and/or 
mandatory unbundling to cables should be considered. 

3  Non-legislative developments 

3.1  RED notified bodies 

One  of  the  main  consequences  of  the  increasing  number  of  the  RED’s  requirements  is  that 
notifying authorities have to assess the competence of notified bodies to meet the newly activated 
essential requirements. 

The NANDO system has been adapted to show which essential requirements a notified body can 
meet.  

3.2  Radio equipment not subject to national restrictions 

In  accordance  with  Article 1(3)  of  Commission  Decision  2000/299/EC 11,  the  Commission 
published in 2020 a list of equipment that falls within the scope of ‘Class 1’ (i.e. equipment that 
can be placed on the market and put into service without restrictions). This list is currently being 
updated  in  order  to  reflect  the  modifications  to  the  EU  and  national  radio  spectrum  access 
regulations. 

3.3  Update of the RED guide 

The RED guide is a non-binding document that that helps market surveillance authorities, industry 
and notified bodies to implement the RED consistently. 

11 It remains valid under the RED, with the exception of the provisions of  Commission Decision 2000/299/EC that 
refer to the ‘alert sign’. 

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The latest version of the RED guide was issued in December 2018 and is publicly available. An 
update of the RED guide is currently being considered. 

4  Harmonised standards in support of the RED 

4.1  Citations of standards 

Since 2018, the Commission has published references of 72 harmonised standards in the Official 
Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Standards published in the OJEU L series provide with 
presumption of conformity to the RED essential requirements when properly used. 

A number of discussions of legal nature have taken place with the relevant technical committees 
of  CEN,  CENELEC  and  the  European  Telecommunications  Standards  Institute  (ETSI).  The 
following  main  topics  have  been  proactively  clarified  by  the  Commission  services  so  that  the 
standardisation could continue to develop: 

• 

Implementation of receiver parameters to increase the resilience of radio equipment and 
avoid the production of harmful interferences. 

•  Objectivity and verifiability of standards to avoid giving an excessive degree of freedom 

to the manufacturer to implement technical specifications. 
Innovation and competitiveness of the testing industry in the EU. 

• 
•  Tolerances and measurement uncertainties to avoid artificial modifications of the technical 

limits and to foster more accurate measurements. 

4.2  Standardisation requests 

Since 2018, the Commission has adopted two standardisation requests for harmonised standards 
supporting the RED.  

4.2.1  Access to emergency services from smartphones – Article 3(3)(g) of the RED 

To support the implementation of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/320, the Commission adopted 
a standardisation request 12 addressed to ETSI, who decided not to accept.  

To ensure a consistent approach and given that participation of a notified body will be required in 
order to perform the conformity assessment, the Commission has published guidelines for notified 
bodies. 

12 Commission Implementing Decision on a standardisation request to ETSI as regards handheld mobile phones in 
support of Directive 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council in conjunction with Commission 
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/320.  

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4.2.2  Cybersecurity – Article 3(3)(d), (e) and (f) of the RED 

The  Commission  has  supported  manufacturers  in  complying  with  the  new  requirements  on 
cybersecurity  by  requesting  CEN-CENELEC  to  develop  three  harmonised  standards 13.  CEN-
CENELEC accepted the request in September 2022.  

4.3  Harmonised standards in support of Article 3(1) of the RED 

There only a few harmonised standards in support of Article 3(1)14 of the RED. This is because 
they have either not been proposed for citation by the European standardisation organisations or 
because they did not meet the RED legal requirements to be cited. In any case, the involvement of 
a  notified  body  is  not  required  in  order  to  demonstrate  conformity  with  these  essential 
requirements. 

5  Member States’ activities 

5.1  Member States’ reports under Article 47(1) of the RED 

The  Member  States  submitted  reports  on  the  implementation  of  the  RED  in  2021  and  2023, 
highlighting the following points. 

•  Most  Member  States  informed  stakeholders  and  other  authorities  on  RED’s  latest 

developments. 

•  No issue was reported regarding cross-sectors cooperation of authorities. 
•  Some authorities participate in national and European standardisation bodies. Other forums 
for cooperation on standards include the Telecommunication Conformity Assessment and 
Market  Surveillance  Committee  (TCAM),  the  RED  administrative  co-operation  group 
(ADCO RED) and the Committee on Standards. 

•  To assess conformity assessment bodies that are seeking to become notified bodies, most 
Member States rely on national accreditation bodies (NABs) 15. Some Member States have 
suggested establishing a coordination mechanism even at the European Co-operation for 
Accreditation (EA) and harmonising the assessment of notified bodies across the EU by 
only allowing assessment via accreditation. 

•  The  emerging  risks  and  challenges  include  artificial  intelligence,  reconfigurable  radio 
systems, refurbished products, drones, digital labelling, imports from  non-EU countries, 
regular revision of legislation and standards, capacity to perform tests, e-commerce and 
installation of products. 

13 Commission  Implementing  Decision  on  a  standardisation  request  to  CEN  and  CENELEC  as  regards  radio 
equipment  in  support  of  Directive 2014/53/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and  Commission 
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30. 
14 Requirements on safety and electromagnetic compatibility. 
15 See Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. 

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5.2  Update of activities of ADCO RED 

Since 2011, ADCO RED has been publishing annual statistics on market surveillance activities. 
The number of inspections rose to 11491 in 2022 with a non-compliance rate of about 60%. This 
result does not represent the overall compliance of radio equipment on the market because most 
MSAs concentrate the inspections in problematic sectors.  

Between 2018 and 2022, ADCO RED carried out two campaigns (IoT devices and private mobile 
radio (PMR) and PMR 446 products). 

In  2021,  ADCO  RED  started  its  participation  in  the  EU-funded  joint  actions:  JAHARP  2020 
(specific absorption rate (SAR) on connected devices, IoT-connected devices in cooperation with 
customs,  and  a  harmonised  approach  for  the  assessment  of  the  administrative  requirements  for 
product  sectors  under  Regulation (EU) 2019/1020);  and  JAHARP  2021  (Wireless  Local  Area 
Network WLAN 5GHz and radio equipment in cars). 

ADCO RED has prepared and published several guides or other sources of information sources 
for stakeholders on a number of topics, including the applicability of the RED to specific products. 

Regarding the internet-supported information  and communication system for the pan-European 
market  surveillance  (ICSMS), ADCO RED  has  worked with  the Commission  on preparing the 
implementation of the RED interface. 

5.3  EU Testing Facility 

In accordance with the  procedures  for designating  the EU Testing  Facilities (EUTF)  set out  in 
Implementing  Regulation (EU) 2022/1267 16, 
appointed  Lithuania’s 
Communications Regulatory Authority as the EUTF for radio equipment. The EUTFs are required, 
within  the  area  of  their  designation,  to  perform  the  duties  established  by  Article 21  of 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 17. 

the  Commission 

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Implementation and enforcement 

6.1  Risk assessment 

Manufacturers  of  radio  equipment  must  perform  risk  assessment  before  carrying  out  the 
conformity assessment. In particular, they have to evaluate the risks and the likelihood of them 
occurring in order to carry out concrete technical mitigation measures. The RED does not establish 
any particular risk assessment methodology. 

16 Commission  Implementing  Regulation (EU) 2022/1267  of  20 July  2022  specifying  the  procedures  for  the 
designation of Union testing facilities for the purposes of market surveillance and verification of product compliance 
in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council. 
17 Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance 
and compliance of products. 

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In  addition,  the  evaluation  of  the  risk  assessment  performed  by  the  manufacturers  is  under  the 
remit  of  the  Member  States.  A  common  approach  by  authorities  is,  therefore,  part  of  the 
coordination activities of ADCO RED. 

6.2  Access  to  emergency  services  by  autonomous  maritime  radio  devices  (delegated 

regulation) 

The expert group has considered how to ensure the appropriate use of the automatic identification 
system  (AIS)  and  the  global  maritime  distress  and  safety  system  (GDMSS)  for  autonomous 
maritime radio devices (AMRD) to  access  emergency services, including avoiding interference 
with other maritime equipment.  

Its preliminary conclusion is that the essential requirements 18 set out in the RED can address the 
nature of topics in the recently issued ITU-R 19 recommendations. Detailed specifications can be 
integrated into relevant harmonised standards.  

6.3  Formal objection to the SAR measurement standard 

In  2022,  France  formally  objected  to  a  harmonised  standard  on  SAR  measurement 20.  France 
considers  that  it  is  necessary  to  revise  this  standard  because  the  current  version  allows  the 
manufacturer to freely choose a measurement distance between 0 and 5 mm. It considers that the 
standard should specify the measurement distance at which the maximum level is reached. The 
current approach allows the manufacturer to use a distance with a lower SAR level. 

The Commission requested a technical report from CENELEC, which concluded that the highest 
SAR usually occurs at a distance of 0 mm. The expert group on radio equipment has broadly agreed 
with this approach. CENELEC will update the relevant standard accordingly. 

6.4  Radio equipment in vehicles 

The Commission has drawn attention to the fact that vehicle manufacturers must ensure (via a risk 
assessment) that the RED-compliance of a wireless device is not altered after it has been installed 
in the vehicle and is being operated with other pieces of radio equipment.  

6.5 

Interference with meteorological radars caused by 5 GHz RLAN equipment 

Interference of 5 GHz radio local area network (RLAN) equipment with meteorological radars is 
a  long-standing  problem.  Such  interference  is  one  of  the  main  concerns  of  the  weather  radar 

18 Article 3(2) and Article 3(3)(g) of the RED. 
19 Recommendation ITU-R M.2135-0. 
20 EN 50 566:2017. Product standard to demonstrate the compliance of wireless communication devices with the basic 
restrictions and exposure limit values related to human exposure to electromagnetic fields in the frequency range from 
30 MHz to 6 GHz: handheld and body-mounted devices in close proximity to the human body. 

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community  because  interference  can  impair  data  quality  and  post-processing  algorithms.  The 
sources of interference are difficult to track because they are so short-lived.  

The Commission asked the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to conduct a study to analyse the problem 
and propose solutions. None of these options provides a complete solution, however, because the 
frequency band is shared by both services. Furthermore, the most feasible solutions would require 
improved coordination among national authorities. The harmonised standard EN 301 893 V2.1.1, 
implementing the DFS 21 mechanism, has  been demonstrated to  be  a way  to  avoid  interference 
when properly used.  There  are not  shortcomings either  regarding the  current  EU regulation  on 
RLAN at 5 GHz 22. 

6.6  Access to the emergency services using the VoLTE technology 

In 2022, the Netherlands raised the issue of the lack of interoperability of VoLTE 23 technology 
for voice calls. Quite often voice calls cannot be established when a smartphone is used in the 
network of a different operator (roaming service) that has shut down 2G and 3G networks. This 
issue is especially problematic for the access of emergency services (E112) because there is no 
alternative to a voice call. 

The technical specifications of the cellular network are developed by 3GPP, a global partnership 
in which ETSI participates. ETSI has presented a report which concludes that this issue is mainly 
due to the lack of commercial agreements between network operators, which in turn prevents the 
VoLTE service from being fully operational. 

The Commission’s provisional conclusion services is that the RED is not the right tool to address 
this issue because the RED cannot impose any obligations on network operators. 

6.7  eLabelling 

The industry has proposed implementing requested marks and information in digital format. The 
aim  is  to  improve  the  industry’s  competitiveness  by  ending  the  need  to  provide  printed 
information. It would also be consistent with the EU’s green approach. 

Several  Member  States  are  concerned  that  this  might  make  it  more  difficult  to  perform  MSAs 
because it would be more complicated to access information in a digital format. They also consider 
that this measure might be burdensome for some economic operators such as distributors. 

21 Dynamic frequency selection is a technical element that automatically shifts the transmission to another frequency 
if it is detected that the channel is occupied.  
22 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2307. 
23 Voice over LTE (Long-Term Evolution). This is the technology used by the fourth generation of cellular networks 
(4G) to implement the voice service. 

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6.8  Products subject to refurbishment, remanufacturing and repair 

Refurbishment,  remanufacturing  and  repair  is  a  fast-growing  market,  especially  in  the  field  of 
smartphones. It contributes to the circular economy through product life extension. 

Regarding the RED, operators that make changes to products legally qualify (according to the Blue 
Guide) as manufacturers if they substantially alter the equipment in such a way that its compliance 
with the essential requirements might be affected. A way needs to be developed to reconcile the 
requirements for the circular economy with the requirements for the protection of consumers and 
public assets established in the RED.  

7  Update on RECDA’s activities 

The Radio Equipment Directive Compliance Association (REDCA) is the association of notified 
bodies performing conformity assessments under the RED. 

In  2018,  the  REDCA  discussed  5G  technology,  the  SAR  and  risk  assessments.  The  ‘RED  NB 
refused certificate’ database was implemented on CIRCABC system. In addition, a guidance note 
(TGN) 24 on risk assessment was discussed and a new version published. 

In 2019, the REDCA discussed on the identification of fake test reports. A discussion on active 
antenna resulted in the revision of the relevant TGN. The REDCA had a preliminary discussion 
on cybersecurity. 

In 2020, the REDCA rules for the voting process on TGNs were revised, so that only RED notified 
bodies can now vote. There were further updates on cybersecurity as a general topic and further 
discussions on 5G active antenna. 

In 2021, there were further discussions on radio equipment in vehicles. In addition, the REDCA 
ran a series of E112/Galileo webinars. 

In 2022, based on comments from the Transparency Register, the REDCA rules were updated.. 
Discussions on tolerances and measurement uncertainties in standards took place. 

In the first half of 2023, REDCA ran a workshop with CEN/CENELEC  on the standardisation 
request for Delegated Regulation on cybersecurity. 

8  Report topics required by Article 47(2) of the RED 

Article 47(2) of the RED requires reporting by the Commission to the European Parliament and 
Council on 6 specific objectives. The Commission gathered input by surveying the members of 
the Commission expert group on radio equipment.  

24 The aim of the TGNs is to address the lack of clarity regarding the RED and/or the RED Guide as perceived within 
the REDCA. 

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8.1  Objective 1. Coherent system at EU level for all radio equipment 

Survey respondents raised the following issues: 

•  Ensuring consistency with many other relevant pieces of legislation is a challenge. 
•  The  lack  of  a  fully  harmonised  spectrum  access  regulation  in  the  EU  creates  market 

fragmentation. 

•  Remaining differences between Member States should be removed. 
•  The  essential  requirements  established  by  Article  3(3)  of  the  RED  are  not  related  to 
interferences and electromagnetic immunity, and should therefore be regulated elsewhere.  

•  The RED should be transformed into a regulation. 

8.2  Objective 2. Convergence of telecom, audio-visual and IT sectors 

Respondents to the survey considered the increasing number of wirelessly connected products and 
the growing body of related legislation as an obstacle to applying the RED. One suggestion was to 
merge the RED, the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive and the Low Voltage Directive. It 
was proposed to establish requirements and harmonised standards for combinations of radio and 
non-radio electrical products. There was also a call for more active guidance on cybersecurity. 

8.3  Objective 3. Regulatory measures to be harmonised at international level 

Survey respondents raised the following issues: 

•  Consistency between pieces of legislation is of paramount importance. 
• 

It is necessary to consider how the circular economy will be implemented in the RED sector 
(for example, refurbished products). 

•  Standards are considered important in the international perspective. Their citation should 
be must faster. After the Commission  tightened its  rules for the citation of standards to 
increase legal certainty, some international standards were no longer harmonised standards. 

•  Electronic CE marking and digital documentation should be studied. 
•  Market surveillance actions and enforcement should be more harmonised. 
•  Harmonisation  of  the  requirements  for  radio  equipment  between  the  EU  and  North 

America is considered to have great potential. 
International cooperation on market surveillance and on accreditation is important. 

• 

8.4  Objective 4. High level of consumer protection 

Survey respondents raised several issues. 

•  Self-assessment  based  on  harmonised  standards  creates  a  dynamic  and  self-adapting 
framework. However, compliance is too dependent on the integrity of the manufacturers 

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and has led to low levels of compliance. A register in which exclusively notified bodies 
could register products would help improve compliance.  

•  The  safeguard  procedure  is  not  easily  applicable  (in  particular,  when  a  decision  is 

challenged in court).  

•  SAR values should be printed on the package so that the consumers are informed.  

8.5  Objective 5. Portable radio equipment interworks with accessories, in particular with 

common chargers 

The survey respondents welcomed the adoption of the Common Charger Directive and noted that: 

•  The  Common  Charger  Directive  will  need  to  be  updated  in  the  future  to  accommodate 

technical and legal developments and to regulate further aspects. 

•  The reduction of electrical waste and the renewal of the Ecodesign Directive need to be 

considered when developing further rules on common chargers. 

•  Product manuals should contain information on the interworking with accessories.  

8.6  Objective 6. Display of required information on integral screen 

Most respondents saw the benefits (especially in terms of reducing (paper) waste) but were aware 
of the challenges that this would pose for market surveillance authorities, customs control and final 
users. Respondents pointed out complications (e.g. the products have to have a battery that is at 
least partially charged; the need to open the package and to remove the screen protection film; and 
the need for information to be unchangeable). They therefore called for this to be regulated as well.  

Some respondents pointed to potential solutions, such as providing a QR code or having the CE 
marking on the package.  

9  Conclusion 

The Radio Equipment Directive has been applicable for more than 8 years. During this period, it 
ensured a level playing field for the radio equipment sector and protected the health of the users 
as well as the radio spectrum in order to prevent harmful interferences from occurring. 

The RED has been designed in a neutral way that allows adaptation to new risks and technological 
evolution by using two mechanisms. First, the harmonised standards are continuously updated to 
cater  for  state-of-the-art  and  new  telecommunication  technologies.  Second,  the  adoption  of 
delegated acts under the RED responds to needs as regards access to the emergency services and 
cybersecurity protection. 

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