Machinery Directive has been updated.

Machinery Directive has been updated.

Under the favor of state of art, the machinery sector has become less dependent on human operators. New machines work on defined tasks and in structured environments, where they can learn to perform new actions and become more autonomous.

The European Commission Report on the safety and liability implications of Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and Robotics of 19 February 2020 states that the emergence of new digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, IoT, and robotics poses new challenges in terms of product safety and It showed that existing product safety legislation, including the2006/42/EC Directive, contains several gaps that need to be addressed in this respect.

As a result of the studies carried out in this context,  2023/1230 regulation determining new rules regarding machines and repealing the 2006/42/EC Machinery Directive, the technical regulation used for CE marking for machines, and the 73/361/EEC Regulation on Certification and Marking of Wire Ropes, Chains and Hooks, was published in the EU Official Journal on 29 June 2023.

The new regulation is aimed to regulate gaps such as cyber security, not addressed in the current product safety legislation, and needed due to the development of technology and the evolution of the machinery sector. Therefore, the new Regulation covers safety risks such as protection against corruption arising from new digital technologies.

The regulation, will be valid as of January 14, 2027 in general and some articles will be valid earlier. In addition, EC-type examination certificates and approval decisions issued in accordance with Directive 2006/42/EC will remain valid until the end of their validity period.