Legal act: 
Directive 2014/34/EU

Consolidated act:
29/03/2014 (Languages available: NL, RO, SV)

Scope

1. This Directive shall apply to the following, hereinafter referred to as ‘products’:
   1. equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres;
   2. safety devices, controlling devices and regulating devices intended for use outside potentially explosive atmospheres but required for or contributing to the safe functioning of equipment and protective systems with respect to the risks of explosion;
   3. components intended to be incorporated into equipment and protective systems referred to in point (a).
2. This Directive shall not apply to:
   1. medical devices intended for use in a medical environment;
   2. equipment and protective systems where the explosion hazard results exclusively from the presence of explosive substances or unstable chemical substances;
   3. equipment intended for use in domestic and noncommercial environments where potentially explosive atmospheres may only rarely be created, solely as a result of the accidental leakage of fuel gas;
   4. personal protective equipment covered by Council Directive 89/686/EEC of 21 December 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to personal protective equipment (1);
   5. seagoing vessels and mobile offshore units together with equipment on board such vessels or units;
   6. means of transport, i.e. vehicles and their trailers intended solely for transporting passengers by air or by road, rail or water networks, as well as means of transport in so far as such means are designed for transporting goods by air, by public road or rail networks or by water. Vehicles intended for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere shall not be excluded from the scope of this Directive;
   7. the equipment covered by point (b) of Article 346(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Definitions

Protective systems means devices other than components of equipment which are intended to halt incipient explosions immediately and/or to limit the effective range of an explosion and which are separately made available on the market for use as autonomous systems.

Making available on the market means any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.

Placing on the market means the first making available of a product on the Union market.

Importer means any natural or legal person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market.

Distributor means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the market.

Withdrawal means any measure aimed at preventing a product in the supply chain from being made available on the market.

Article 14 - EU declaration of conformity

1. The EU declaration of conformity shall state that the fulfilment of the essential health and safety requirements set out in Annex II has been demonstrated.
2. The EU declaration of conformity shall have the model structure set out in Annex X, shall contain the elements specified in the relevant conformity assessment procedures set out in Annexes III to IX and shall be continuously updated. It shall be translated into the language or languages required by the Member State in which the product is placed or made available on the market.
3. Where a product is subject to more than one Union act requiring an EU declaration of conformity, a single EU declaration of conformity shall be drawn up in respect of all such Union acts. That declaration shall contain the identification of the Union acts concerned, including their publication references.
4. By drawing up the EU declaration of conformity, the manufacturer shall assume responsibility for the compliance of the product with the requirements laid down in this Directive.

Article 15 - General principles of the CE marking

The CE marking shall be subject to the general principles set out in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

Article 16 - Rules and conditions for affixing the CE marking and other markings

1. The CE marking shall be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the product or to its data plate. Where that is not possible or not warranted on account of the nature of the product, it shall be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents.
2. The CE marking shall be affixed before the product is placed on the market.
3. The CE marking shall be followed by the identification number of the notified body, where that body is involved in the production control phase. The identification number of the notified body shall be affixed by the body itself or, under its instructions, by the manufacturer or his authorised representative.
4. The CE marking and, where applicable, the identification number of the notified body shall be followed by the specific marking of explosion protection, the symbols of the equipment-group and category and, where applicable, the other markings and information referred to in point 1.0.5 of Annex II.
5. The CE marking and the markings, symbols and information referred to in paragraph 4, and, where applicable, the identification number of the notified body, may be followed by any other mark indicating a special risk or use. Products that are designed for a particular explosive atmosphere shall be marked accordingly.
6. Member States shall build upon existing mechanisms to ensure correct application of the regime governing the CE marking and shall take appropriate action in the event of improper use of that marking.

Application of the directive

The directive applies from 20 April 2016. It repeals Directive 94/9/EC with effect from 20 April 2016.