Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1444 of 2 July 2026 repealing Regulations (EC) No 1497/2007 and (EC) No 1516/2007 on leakage checking requirements for certain equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases
Date: 2026-07-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission
Subjects: air conditioning, cold store, electrical engineering, environmental risk prevention, fire protection, fluorine, greenhouse gas, labelling, pollution control, technical specification








L_202601444EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2026/1444


3.7.2026







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2026/1444
of 2 July 2026
         
repealing Regulations (EC) No 1497/2007 and (EC) No 1516/2007 on leakage checking requirements for certain equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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


Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2024 on fluorinated greenhouse gases, amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 (1), and in particular Article 5(8) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Commission Regulations (EC) No 1497/2007 (2) and (EC) No 1516/2007 (3) were adopted to lay down minimum requirements for the checking of leakage in stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump equipment, as well as in fire protection systems, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4). Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 has been repealed and replaced by subsequent Union legislation on fluorinated greenhouse gases, namely Regulation (EU) 2024/573.












(2)


Since the adoption of Regulations (EC) No 1497/2007 and (EC) No 1516/2007, Union legislation on fluorinated greenhouse gases has evolved towards more comprehensive and integrated rules, including requirements on leakage prevention, monitoring, certification and record-keeping, which rendered several provisions of those Regulations redundant. Some of the technical requirements laid down in those Regulations are based on detection methods and practices that reflect the state of technology at the time of their adoption and do not adequately take account of subsequent technological developments. Moreover, the methodological approach set out in those Regulations is too wide allowing for divergent approaches and does not ensure a harmonised application across the Union. In practice, the methodological approaches laid down in those Regulations are no longer used broadly.












(3)


The rules set out in Regulations (EC) No 1497/2007 and (EC) No 1516/2007 are no longer necessary and, in practice, have been replaced by up-to-date leak checking methodologies applied across the Union for the concerned equipment. In order to ensure legal clarity and reduce administrative burdens, those Regulations should be repealed without being replaced.












(4)


The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on fluorinated greenhouse gases,





HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:



Article 1

Repeal

Regulations (EC) No 1497/2007 and (EC) No 1516/2007 are repealed.


Article 2

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 2 July 2026.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L, 2024/573, 20.2.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/573/oj.

(2)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 1497/2007 of 18 December 2007 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, standard leakage checking requirements for stationary fire protection systems containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (OJ L 333, 19.12.2007, p. 4, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2007/1497/oj).

(3)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 1516/2007 of 19 December 2007 establishing, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, standard leakage checking requirements for stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment containing certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (OJ L 335, 20.12.2007, p. 10, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2007/1516/oj).

(4)  Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (OJ L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/842/oj).


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/1444/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)