Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/895 of 14 May 2025 amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 as regards the harmonised standards for hearing protectors, personal fall protection equipment, mountaineering equipment, knee protectors, protective clothing against tick bites and electrically insulating helmets, drafted in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Date: 2025-05-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EC conformity marking, European standard, harmonisation of standards, market approval, protective equipment, safety standard, technical specification, technical standard








L_202500895EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/895


16.5.2025







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/895
of 14 May 2025
         
amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 as regards the harmonised standards for hearing protectors, personal fall protection equipment, mountaineering equipment, knee protectors, protective clothing against tick bites and electrically insulating helmets, drafted in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), and in particular Article 10(6) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


In accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), personal protective equipment that is in conformity with harmonised standards or parts thereof, the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, is to be presumed to be in conformity with the essential health and safety requirements set out in Annex II to that Regulation covered by those standards or parts thereof.












(2)


By Commission Implementing Decision C(2020)7924 (3), the Commission made a request to the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec) to revise and to complete the work on harmonised standards in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 to ensure that they continue to reflect the generally acknowledged state of the art in order to meet the essential health and safety requirements set out in Annex II to that Regulation.












(3)


Implementing Decision C(2020)7924 has been amended by Commission Implementing Decision C(2024)2750 (4) in order to adapt the scope of the request by adding and removing certain standards to take into account the latest technical and scientific progress, as well as the latest developments of standardisation activities at international and European levels, and to extend the deadline of standardisation activities in relation to certain standards and draft standards as the work on some of them could not be completed by the deadlines set in Implementing Decision C(2020) 7924.












(4)


On the basis of the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2020)7924, CEN drafted the following new harmonised standards in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425: EN 14404-2:2024 on requirements for wearable knee protectors (type 1), EN 14404-3:2024 on requirements for the individual combination of knee pads and garments (type 2), EN 14404-4:2024 on requirements for the combination of interoperable knee pads and garments (type 2), EN 14404-6:2024 on requirements for kneeling systems (type 4) and EN 17487:2024 on garments with permethrin as-treated articles supporting the protection against tick bites.












(5)


On the basis of the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2020)7924, CEN revised the following harmonised standards, the references of which are published in the Official Journal of the European Union by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 (5): EN 352-2:2020 on earplugs, EN 353-2:2002 on guided type fall arresters including a flexible anchor line, EN 958:2017 on energy absorbing systems for use in klettersteig (via ferrata) climbing and EN 17109:2020 on individual safety systems for rope courses.












(6)


As a result, CEN adopted the following standards and the amendments thereto: EN 352-2:2020+A1:2024, EN 353-2:2024, EN 958:2024 and EN 17109:2020+A1:2024.












(7)


The Commission, together with CEN, has assessed whether EN 352-2:2020+A1:2024, EN 353-2:2024, EN 958:2024, EN 14404-2:2024, EN 14404-3:2024, EN 14404-4:2024, EN 14404-6:2024, EN 17109:2020+A1:2024 and EN 17487:2024, comply with the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2020)7924.












(8)


The following harmonised standards and the amendments thereto satisfy the essential health and safety requirements which they aim to cover and which are set out in Regulation (EU) 2016/425: EN 353-2:2024, EN 958:2024, EN 14404-2:2024, EN 14404-4:2024, EN 14404-6:2024, EN 17109:2020+A1:2024 and EN 17487:2024. It is therefore appropriate to publish the references of those harmonised standards and of the amendments thereto in the Official Journal of the European Union.












(9)


Having examined the harmonised standard EN 352-2:2020+A1:2024, the Commission concluded that the standard does not require the earplugs to bear labelling indicating the noise attenuation level provided by them, thus failing to satisfy the essential health and safety requirement set out in point 3.5, second paragraph, of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/425. With regards to the harmonised standard EN 14404-3:2024, the Commission concluded that compliance with clause 5.5.1.3 of the harmonised standard, which lays down requirements for the dimension of the zone of protection of knee protectors, is also necessary to confer presumption of conformity with essential health and safety requirement in point 1.3.1. of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/425, which aims to ensure the adaptation of the product to user morphology. This clause is not listed in Annex ZA to the standard. These harmonised standards should therefore be published in the Official Journal of the European Union with a restriction.












(10)


Finally, Cenelec issued a correction to the harmonised standard EN 50365:2023 on electrically insulating helmets, the reference of which is published in the Official Journal of the European Union by Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941. This resulted in the harmonised standard EN 50365:2023 as corrected by EN 50365:2023/AC:2024-09. The correction EN 50365:2023/AC:2024-09 is indispensable for the correct application of EN 50365:2023 as a harmonised standard. It is therefore appropriate to publish the reference of EN 50365:2023 as corrected by EN 50365:2023/AC:2024-09 in the Official Journal of the European Union.












(11)


Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 provides the references of harmonised standards conferring a presumption of conformity with Regulation (EU) 2016/425. In order to ensure that the references of harmonised standards drafted in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 are listed in one act, the references of those standards and of the amendments thereto should be included in that Annex.












(12)


It is necessary to withdraw the reference of harmonised standards EN 352-2:2020, EN 353-2:2002, EN 958:2017, EN 17109:2020 and EN 50365:2023 from the Official Journal of the European Union, given that those standards have been revised. It is therefore appropriate to delete theses references from Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941.












(13)


Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 should therefore be amended accordingly.












(14)


In order to give manufacturers sufficient time to prepare for the application of the revised standards, it is necessary to defer the withdrawal of the reference of harmonised standards EN 352-2:2020, EN 353-2:2002, EN 958:2017 and EN 17109:2020.












(15)


Compliance with a harmonised standard confers a presumption of conformity with the corresponding essential requirements set out in Union harmonisation legislation from the date of publication of the reference of such standard in the Official Journal of the European Union. This Decision should therefore enter into force on the day of its publication,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Decision.


Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Point (1) of the Annex shall apply from 16 November 2026.




Done at Brussels, 14 May 2025.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/1025/oj.

(2)  Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on personal protective equipment and repealing Council Directive 89/686/EEC (OJ L 81, 31.3.2016, p. 51, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/425/oj).

(3)  Commission Implementing Decision C(2020)7924 of 19 November 2020 on a standardisation request to the European Committee for Standardization and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization as regards personal protective equipment in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(4)  Commission Implementing Decision C(2024)2750 of 29 April 2024 amending Implementing Decision C(2020)7924 on a standardisation request to the European Committee for Standardization and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization as regards personal protective equipment in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(5)  Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 of 2 May 2023 on harmonised standards for personal protective equipment drafted in support of Regulation (EU) 2016/425 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 125, 11.5.2023, p. 37, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2023/941/oj).




ANNEX
Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/941 is amended as follows:






(1)


rows 21, 31, 67 and 175 are deleted;










(2)


the following rows are inserted in sequential order:






‘21a.


EN 352-2:2020+A1:2024
Hearing protectors – General requirements – Part 2: Earplugs
Notice: This standard does not require labelling indicating the noise attenuation level on the product. Compliance with this standard therefore does not confer a presumption of conformity with point 3.5., second paragraph, of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/425.’;




‘31a.


EN 353-2:2024
Personal fall protection equipment – Part 2: Guided type fall arresters including a flexible anchor line’;




‘67a.


EN 958:2024
Mountaineering equipment – Energy absorbing systems for use in klettersteig (via ferrata) climbing – Safety requirements and test methods’;




‘147a.


EN 14404-2:2024
Personal protective equipment – Knee protectors for work in the kneeling position – Part 2: Requirements for wearable knee protectors (type 1)’;




‘147b.


EN 14404-3:2024
Personal protective equipment – Knee protectors for work in the kneeling position – Part 3: Requirements for the individual combination of knee pads and garments (type 2)
Notice: In addition to clauses 5.5.1.1, 5.5.1.2, 5.5.5.1 and 5.5.5.2, compliance with clause 5.5.1.3 is also necessary to confer presumption of conformity with essential requirement in point 1.3.1. of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/425’;




‘147c.


EN 14404-4:2024
Personal protective equipment – Knee protectors for work in the kneeling position – Part 4: Requirements for the combination of interoperable knee pads and garments (type 2)’;




‘147d.


EN 14404-6:2024
Personal protective equipment – Knee protectors for work in the kneeling position – Part 6: Requirements for kneeling systems (type 4)’;




‘175a.


EN 17109:2020+A1:2024
Mountaineering equipment – Individual safety systems for rope courses – Safety requirements and test methods’;




‘177a.


EN 17487:2024
Protective clothing – Garments with permethrin as-treated articles supporting the protection against tick bites’;














(3)


row 189.I is replaced by the following:






‘189.I


EN 50365:2023
Live Working – Electrically insulating helmets for use on low and medium voltage installations
EN 50365:2023/AC:2024-09’.











ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/895/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)