COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU
Date: 2026-01-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EC conformity marking, competition, digital technology, energy efficiency, facilities for people with disabilities, lift, maintenance, product safety, safety standard, single market

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.1.2026  SWD(2026) 23 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  of the Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU {SWD(2026) 22 final}  
 
 
The main objectives of Directive 2014/33/EU (the Lifts Directive)1 are (i) to guarantee the free 
circulation of lifts and safety components for lifts within the EU and (ii) to ensure a high level 
of protection of the health and safety of lift users and lift maintenance staff. The Lifts Directive 
has  been  applicable  since  20 April  2016,  replacing  the  previous  Directive  95/16/EC2.  An 
evaluation in 2019 concluded that the Lifts Directive was serving its purpose at that time3. 

Overall,  the  evaluation  confirmed  the  findings  of  the  2019  evaluation,  i.e.  that  the  Lifts 
Directive is fit for purpose. 

The Lifts Directive is effective in achieving its two main objectives, i.e. the single market and 
safety.  EU  lift  manufacturers  continue  to  hold  a  significant  share  of  the  global  market  and 
internal trade in the EU has increased significantly. The evaluation found that lifts in the EU 
are  safe  and  becoming  safer.  The  vast  majority  of  participants  in  the  consultations  of  this 
evaluation perceive lifts as safe, and safety as improving. 

The main shortcoming of the Lifts Directive in terms of effectiveness is the long-standing issue 
of competition on the maintenance market. The issue is caused by restricted access to the lifts, 
and  to  the  tools  and  instructions  that  are  necessary  to  repair,  maintain  and  modernise  them. 
Technological progress has exacerbated the issue, because it has become possible to digitally 
lock access to some of the lifts’ electronic parts, such as the control system. Restricted access 
to the tools, information, electronic parts, etc. means that it is difficult for lift owners to change 
maintenance companies. 

In terms of efficiency, the Lifts Directive does not generate any costs beyond the system set up 
by the New Legislative Framework (NLF). Rising costs reflect increasing costs for energy and 
labour as well as inflation. 

Similarly, the EU added value of the Lifts Directive – namely the value of the single market 
as such – has been confirmed. 

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  (recast),  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/33/oj/eng. 

2 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, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/1995/16/oj/eng. 

3  Commission  Staff  Working  Document,  Evaluation  of  the  Lifts  Directive  2014/33/EU  Accompanying  the 
document 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, 
22 February 
https://op.europa.eu/publication-detail/-/publication/909d3530-3686-11e9-8d04-
01aa75ed71a1. 

2019, 

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Coherence  with  new  pieces  of  legislation,  notably  the  Machinery  Regulation,  the  Cyber 
Resilience Act4 and the AI Act5, created a need for additional guidance. 

The evaluation found that the recommendations of the 2019 Ecodesign Preparatory Study for 
Lifts6,  notably  including  lifts  in  the  list  of  technical  building  systems  under  the  Energy 
Performance  in  Buildings  Directive7,  were  not  implemented.  As  a  result,  there  are  still  no 
requirements for the energy efficiency of lifts despite an estimated annual electricity savings 
potential  of  3  TWh/year  by  2045  (i.e.  the  order  of  magnitude  of  Malta’s  annual  electricity 
consumption). When implementing the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive, a couple 
of  Member  States  laid  down  rules  for  the  energy  efficiency  of  lifts.  This  could  potentially 
fragment the single market of lifts. 

The current scope of the Lifts Directive might limit its relevance in two ways. Its Annex III 
lists  which  safety  components  for  lifts  are  within  the  scope  of  the  Directive,  i.e.  which 
components need to be CE-marked in their own right. Given the technological developments, 
this list and therefore the scope of the Lifts Directive is outdated. Stakeholders are divided over 
whether that creates a problem in terms of safety. 

Additionally, since the Lifts Directive was adopted, it has become more important for lifts to 
be accessible for persons with disabilities. This is not squarely within the scope of the Lifts 
Directive, as the Directive focuses on safety and the single market. Accessibility goes beyond 
safety and also includes the reliability of the lift, i.e. its ability to perform its function without 
fail. Nonetheless, emerging national rules on lift accessibility are fragmenting the single market. 

Some of the shortcomings described in this evaluation are inherent to the NLF, on which the 
Lifts Directive is based. Those horizontal issues are a lack of clarity on requirements for spare 
parts, shortcomings of individual conformity assessment modules, definitions lacking for some 
concepts (e.g. ‘substantial modification’, ‘safety component’) and a lack of coordination among 
notifying authorities. 

Beyond the NLF, the evaluation confirmed that the lifts sector experiences the same issues as 
those  identified  when  evaluating  the  Standardisation  Regulation8,  such  as  long  processes  to 

4 Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2024 on horizontal 
cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements and amending Regulations (EU) No 168/2013 
and (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2020/1828, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2847/oj/eng. 

5  Regulation  (EU)  2024/1689  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13 June  2024  laying  down 
harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending Regulations (EC) No 300/2008, (EU) No 167/2013, 
(EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1139 and (EU) 2019/2144 and Directives 2014/90/EU, (EU) 
2016/797 and (EU) 2020/1828, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj/eng. 

6 https://www.isi.fraunhofer.de/en/competence-center/energietechnologien-

energiesysteme/projekte/Ecodesign.html#3. 

7  Directive  (EU)  2024/1275  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24 April  2024  on  the  energy 

performance of buildings (recast), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1275/oj/eng. 

8 Evaluation of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012: Staff working document, executive summary and supporting study 
[Evaluation study of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 on European standardisation  - Publications Office  of the 
EU]. 

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update standards. The evaluation showed a significant ‘Brussels effect’, which is mostly the 
result  of  formal  and  informal,  but  systematic,  collaboration  with  national  and  international 
standardisation bodies. 

Finally, the number of pieces of EU legislation applicable to lifts and safety components for 
lifts has doubled since 2019. Safety requirements in the previously existing EU legislation now 
exist alongside product requirements to regulate the green and digital transitions. 

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