June 22, 2015
Two European Commission CE Marking workshops held last year in Brussels Belgium addressed the transposition of the new EMC and Radio Equipment Directives. The workshops answered questions on the conformity assessment requirements during the change from the current EMC and R&TTE Directives to the new legislation.
Here are some of the highlights to report…
When do manufacturers have to state the new Directives on their EU Declaration of Conformity (DoC)?
EMC Directive (EMCD)- The new Directive 2014/30/EU can only be used starting April 20, 2016, and not before. There is no transitional period and the old Directive 2004/108/EC must be used up to this date (April 20, 2016).
R&TTE Directive (RED)– The new Directive 2014/53/EU can only be used starting June 13, 2016, and not before. There is a one-year transitional period between June 2016 and June 2017 where the new 2014/53/EU or old 1999/5/EC Directive can be used.
Products transitioning from the EMC Directive to the Radio Equipment Directive
Certain products, such as broadcast receivers, are transitioning from the EMC Directive to the new Radio Equipment Directive. This may create confusion since there is not a transition period for the new EMC directive and different operational dates apply for the EMCD and RED.
The EMC Directive will become the formal requirement on April 20, 2016, and the RED on June 13, 2016. Since the new EMC Directive does not have a transition period, DoCs for broadcast receivers will need to reference the old Directive 2004/108/EC up to April 20th, 2016. Afterward only the new EMC Directive will apply until June 13, 2016, when the new RED Directive will come into operation. At that date manufacturer’s DoC can list either the new EMC directive or the RED for a period of one year. After June 13, 2017, only the RED will apply.
Notified Bodies are being directed to include an “end validity date” for currently issued NB Opinions under the R&TTE Directive until June 13, 2017. After this transition period, the R&TTE Directive will no longer apply.
Under the new RED, Notified Bodies (NBs) will issue only an NB EU Type Examination Certificate after June 2016, not an NB Opinion as with the current R&TTE Directive.
There remains an ongoing push in the European Union to transition the EMC, R&TTE, and Low Voltage Directive. Here at Elite we’re expecting more information over the next several months and will keep our newsletter/blog readers posted on the latest information as we receive it.
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