(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) and Commission Implementing Decision C(2026)2132 (5), 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 out in Implementing Decision C(2020)7924.

(4)

On the basis of the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2020)7924, CEN drafted harmonised standard EN ISO 374-6:2025 on protective gloves for hairdressers.

(5)

On the basis of the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2020)7924, CEN revised harmonised standard EN 343:2019 on protective clothing against rain, the reference to which is published in the Official Journal of the European Union by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279 (6). As a result, CEN adopted the harmonised standard EN ISO 24232:2025.

(6)

Furthermore, on the basis of the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2020)7924, CEN amended the following harmonised standards, the references to which are published in the Official Journal of the European Union by Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279: EN ISO 16321-1:2022 on eye and face protection for occupational use and EN ISO 16321-3:2022 on mesh protectors. As a result, CEN adopted the following amendments: EN ISO 16321-1:2022/A1:2025 and EN ISO 16321-3:2022/A1:2026.

(7)

The Commission, together with CEN, has assessed whether EN ISO 374-6:2025, EN ISO 16321-1:2022/A1:2025, EN ISO 16321-3:2022/A1:2026 and EN ISO 24232:2025 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 Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2016/425: EN ISO 374-6:2025, EN ISO 16321-1:2022/A1:2025, EN ISO 16321-3:2022/A1:2026 and EN ISO 24232:2025. 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)

Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279 provides references to harmonised standards conferring a presumption of conformity with Regulation (EU) 2016/425. In order to ensure that the references to 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.

(10)

It is necessary to withdraw the references to harmonised standards EN 343:2019, EN ISO 16321-1:2022 and EN ISO 16321-3:2022 from the Official Journal of the European Union, given that those standards have been amended. It is therefore appropriate to delete those references from Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279.

(11)

It is also necessary to withdraw the references to harmonised standards EN 144-1:2000 as amended by EN 144-1:2000/A1:2003 and EN 144-1:2000/A2:2005, EN 144-2:1998, EN 144-3:2003 as amended by EN 144-3:2003/AC:2003 on outlet and thread connections for gas cylinder valves, and EN 148-1:1999 on threads for facepieces from the Official Journal of the European Union, given that the harmonised standards are outdated and the citation of the new versions is not expected as they do not form part of Commission Implementing Decision C(2020)7924. It is therefore appropriate to delete theses references from Annex I to Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279.

(12)

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 references to harmonised standards EN 343:2019, EN ISO 16321-1:2022 and EN ISO 16321-3:2022.

(13)

Harmonised standards EN 12941:1998 as amended by EN 12941:1998/A1:2003 and EN 12941:1998/A2:2008 on powered filtering devices incorporating a helmet or a hood, and EN 12942:1998 as amended by EN 12942:1998/A1:2002 and EN 12942:1998/A2:2008 on powered filtering devices incorporating full face masks, half masks or quarter masks, have been revised by CEN and their references have been included in Annex II to Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279. In accordance with that Annex, they are withdrawn on 8 October 2026. The new versions of the standards, EN 12941:2023 and EN 12942:2023, require the use of SF6 gas for the inward leakage test, and only a very limited number of notified bodies are able to perform it, resulting in longer times to process manufacturer’s applications to review the EU type examination certificates. Therefore, to give more time to the market to adapt to the new test procedure, it would be appropriate to postpone the date of withdrawal of harmonised standards EN 12941:1998 as amended by EN 12941:1998/A1:2003 and EN 12941:1998/A2:2008, and EN 12942:1998 as amended by EN 12942:1998/A1:2002 and EN 12942:1998/A2:2008 for an additional year. While EN 12941:2023 and EN 12942:2023 bring significant changes to some of the applicable essential requirements, this postponement is not expected to have a detrimental effect on the safety levels of the concerned products. The rows in Annex II to Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279 concerning the harmonised standards EN 12941:1998 as amended by EN 12941:1998/A1:2003 and EN 12941:1998/A2:2008, and EN 12942:1998 as amended by EN 12942:1998/A1:2002 and EN 12942:1998/A2:2008 should therefore be replaced.

(14)

Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1279 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(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 enter into force on the day of its publication.

(1)

Annex I is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Decision;

(2)

Annex II is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Decision.