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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Mobile machinery

Completing the mobile machinery internal market

Mobile machinery (also known as NRMM: non road mobile machinery), includes a wide range of machinery designed to perform specific operations in off-road environments, such as

  • agricultural machinery (e.g. sprayers, combined harvesters, forestry equipment)
  • construction machinery (e.g. lifting and handling equipment, earthmoving machinery, mobile cranes, industrial trucks)
  • gardening machinery (e.g. lawnmowers)
  • municipal machinery (e.g. for street cleaning or snow removal)

Occasionally, such machinery would need to travel on the public roads to move from one location to the next one.

EU legislation and mobile machinery

The Commission is working on a new legislative initiative to harmonise the road circulation safety requirements for mobile machinery (self-propelled and towed).

Many aspects of the machinery sector have been harmonised. However, ‘road safety requirements’ such as lights, brakes, steering, dimensions, etc., are currently regulated at a national level and manufacturers have to comply with requirements which vary between EU countries. This causes administrative burdens and regulatory charges for manufacturers plus possible road safety concerns for the EU countries with more stringent rules.

The European Commission committed to address these problems and improve the functioning of the Internal Market through a new legislative act which will harmonise safety requirements for the road circulation of mobile machinery (self-propelled mobile and towed machinery).

Consultation activities

The Commission is in process of conducting a series of consultation activities with all concerned stakeholders

Relevant information

The objective of this impact assessment on the EU harmonisation of the requirements for the road circulation of mobile machinery was to collect data and evidence.

Unregulated certificates warning

Unregulated certificates, which are often called ‘voluntary certificates’ besides other names, are often issued for some products covered by EU harmonisation legislation by certification bodies not acting in their capacity as notified bodies under EU law. These practices are misleading since only notified bodies may issue certificates of compliance for harmonised products and only in the area for which they are notified. For example, if a body is notified to issue certificates for machinery, it should not issue certificates (voluntary or other) for non-machinery products (such as personal protective equipment – masks).

Please note that, under EU law, voluntary or other additional certificates are not a recognised means to prove compliance. Consequently, they have no value in the case of checks by market surveillance authorities or customs. However, an exception arises in instances where voluntary certification is outlined in specific legislation. In such cases, while the certificate is not obligatory, it must adhere to explicit requirements if chosen to be acquired.

Voluntary certificates can create the impression that the product conforms with applicable EU harmonisation legislation, although such certificates are not issued by an authorised body.

Voluntary certificates must not be confused with third-party conformity assessment certification by notified bodies within the area for of competence for which they are notified, due to the use of terms such as ‘certification’ or ‘independent third party’ or the presence of the CE marking on the certificate.

CE marking can only be affixed after testing the product and performing the conformity assessment procedure prescribed by the applicable EU harmonisation legislation. It is not acceptable for voluntary certificates to bear a CE marking.

Contact

  • GROW-MOBILE-MACHINERYatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (GROW-MOBILE-MACHINERY[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)

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