Reducing interference between electrical and electronic devices

KEY POINTS

Scope

• The equipment covered by this directive includes both fixed installations and other apparatus.
• It does not apply to:
  • radio equipment within the scope of Directive 2014/53/EU (see summary);
  • custom-built evaluation kits for professional use at research and development facilities;
  • radio equipment used by radio amateurs, unless the equipment is made available on the market;
  • inherently benign equipment;
  • certain types of airborne equipment, due to the amendments of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (see Article 137 of that regulation).
• The directive does not apply, or ceases to apply, in respect of essential requirements on electromagnetic compatibility, to equipment that falls within the scope of the directive where such requirements are wholly or partly laid down more specifically by other EU legislation.

Apparatus

The directive defines the responsibilities of manufacturers, importers and distributors in regard to the sale of electromagnetic apparatus.

• All apparatus (falling under the directive) on sale in the EU must bear the CE conformity marking to show it meets all the applicable essential requirements of EU legislation.
• The manufacturer must first conduct a conformity assessment¹ and draw up the technical documentation for the apparatus. These are compulsory for apparatus placed on the market, but not for apparatus to be incorporated into a given fixed installation.
• Once compliance of apparatus with the applicable requirements has been demonstrated, manufacturers must then draw up an EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking.
• Importers must check whether manufacturers have carried out conformity assessments correctly and inform the national body responsible for market surveillance if they consider that the apparatus does not conform to the essential requirements. They must also ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation, that the apparatus bears the CE marking and that it is accompanied by the required documents and information.
• Distributors must verify that the apparatus bears the CE marking and that it is accompanied by the required documents and information.
• All necessary documentation must be kept for 10 years.
• Manufacturers, importers and distributors must provide information and documentation to demonstrate conformity in a language easily understood by the competent national authority.
• Manufacturers and importers must indicate their postal address on the apparatus or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the apparatus.

In addition, the directive specifies how national authorities must identify any apparatus that is not in conformity with its requirements and prevent it from being made available.

Fixed installations

EU Member States must set out the necessary rules for identifying the person or persons responsible for establishing the compliance of a fixed installation.

Guide for the electromagnetic compatibility directive

The objective of the guide for the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive is to assist with the common application of Directive 2014/30/EU. The guide has no legal weight but deals with a number of practical issues that are of interest to manufacturers and other stakeholders.

Internal market emergency mode

Amending Directive (EU) 2024/2749 seeks to avoid disruptions to the internal market in the event of an emergency by ensuring that, once an internal market emergency mode, as set out in Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 (the Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act), has been activated by means of an implementing act adopted by the Council of the European Union, designated crisis-relevant goods and services² can be placed on the market as rapidly as possible.

Directive (EU) 2024/2749 amends Directive 2014/30/EU setting out how these emergency procedures would apply. Among other things, the new rules:

• require conformity-assessment bodies to prioritise applications for conformity of crisis-relevant products over those for products that are not;
• allow Member States, on an exceptional basis and where there is a duly justified request, to temporarily authorise the placing on the market of equipment without carrying out the normal conformity-assessment procedures, where the involvement of a notified body is mandatory and can ensure that all essential requirements are met;
• allow the competent national authorities to presume that equipment manufactured in accordance with EU standards, relevant applicable national standards or relevant applicable international standards developed by a recognised international standardisation body, identified by the European Commission as suitable to reach conformity and ensuring an equivalent level of protection to that offered by the harmonised standards, complies with the relevant applicable essential requirements;
• give the Commission the possibility to adopt, by means of implementing acts, common specifications on which the manufacturers can rely in order to benefit from a presumption of conformity with the applicable essential requirements (implementing acts laying down such common specifications remain applicable for the duration of the internal market emergency mode).