GEN – 1455.00. The Eurovent Team compiles a global overview of the latest developments concerning new standardisation activities, technical regulations and legislative developments of relevance for the HVACR industry.
European legislative developments
At present, around 2.650 European legislative initiatives are listed on the Commission Better Regulation website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives_en
The timing announced for these initiatives, while precisely for Roadmaps and Public Consultations can be indicative for adoption, and still change, by the Commission, as for example, the adoption of new or revised Ecodesign Regulations.
The most relevant initiatives are marked bold, these include tentative schedules for adoption.
Calls for evidence: Upcoming
Title | Planned for | link |
|---|---|---|
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products – Product priorities | Fourth quarter 2022 | |
Energy efficiency – Ecodesign requirements for air heating and cooling products (review) | Upcoming | |
European standardisation – evaluation | First quarter 2023 | |
Energy labelling requirements for solid fuel boilers (review) | Upcoming | |
Energy efficiency – review of energy labelling for professional refrigerators | Upcoming | |
Energy efficiency – review of Ecodesign requirements for professional refrigeration products | Upcoming |
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Public Consultations: Upcoming
Title | Feedback period | link |
|---|---|---|
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products – Product priorities | Upcoming | |
Waste from electrical and electronic equipment – evaluating the EU rules | Upcoming |
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Commission Adoption: Feedback Open
Title | Feedback period | link |
|---|---|---|
Certification of carbon removals – EU rules | 01 December 2022 – 13 March 2023 | |
Air quality – revision of EU rules | 27 October 2022 – 13 March 2023 |
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Commission Adoption: Upcoming
Title | Feedback period | link |
|---|---|---|
European Critical Raw Materials Act | Upcoming | |
Chemicals legislation – revision of REACH Regulation to help achieve a toxic-free environment | Upcoming |
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Technical Regulations
The 2015/1535/EU Directive compels the Member States to notify to the Commission and to each other all the draft technical regulations concerning products. The aim of this procedure is to avoid creation of unjustified barriers between Member States. Sometimes, these notifications appear quite late within the database. These regulations may be found under: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/
Interested parties (companies, associations, individuals) can send their comments directly to the European Commission, DG Growth, unit B2 ‘Prevention of technical barriers’. This should happen within 4 weeks of the publication of the notification so that DG Grow can study the issue and decide on the action. The mail should be addressed to Mr Casella Giuseppe, Head of Unit).
The Commission website has been updated and now includes the details of the national contact persons (name, email, phone*), thus making it easier to liaise with them:
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/contact/contact-points/
*For Austria, Latvia and Netherlands, only the relevant authority is given, but without the details of the contact person.
The Commission and Member States have three months to introduce comments or detailed opinions.
Detailed opinions extend the status quo period by three months and oblige the issuing Member State to argue on their legislation and to explain the action that it intends to take in response to the detailed opinion.
In the case of comments, only a clarification on the interpretation of the notified text is required. The Member State concerned shall take comments into account as far as possible. The impact of comments is therefore limited.
It is to be noted that the Commission can block a draft for a period of 12-18 months if European Union harmonisation work is to be undertaken or is already underway in the same field.
Country | Reference | Title | Reception date | Standstill end date |
Romania | 2022/885/RO | Guidance on methods for preventing and control radon ingress in new buildings, | 2022-12-29 | 2023-03-30 |
Turkey | 2022/8004/TR | DRAFT COMMUNIQUE ON THE AMENDMENT OF COMMUNIQUE ON CONFORMITY INSPECTION OF SOME CONSUMER PRODUCTS | 2022-12-26 | 2023-03-27 |
Belgium | 2022/881/B | Preliminary Draft Decree of the Flemish government establishing a temporary operating framework for the use of soil materials containing PFAS and further specifying the remediation criterion referred to in Article 19(1) of the Soil Decree for soil containing PFAS | 2022-12-23 | 2023-03-24 |
Netherlands | 2022/873/NL | Order No IENW/BSK-2021/… of the Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management of [date] amending the Vehicles Order in connection with expiry of the option to designate special mopeds in the Road Traffic Act 1994 and the approval of special mopeds by the Road Traffic Service and updating of the permanent requirements on special mopeds | 2022-12-22 | 2023-03-23 |
Slovenia | 2022/867/SI | Rules on metrological requirements for measuring transformers | 2022-12-16 | 2023-03-17 |
Poland | 2022/866/PL | Draft Regulation of the Minister of Climate and the Environment on detailed conditions for the operation of the power system | 2022-12-15 | 2023-03-16 |
Poland | 2022/862/PL | Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology on the requirements to be met by sound level meters and the detailed scope of tests performed during the legal metrological control of these measuring instruments | 2022-12-14 | 2023-03-15 |
Germany | 2022/853/D | Draft Changes to the Model Administrative Provisions – Technical Building Regulations (MVV TB) – Issue 2023/1 (consulted on as MVV TB 2022/1) | 2022-12-12 | 2023-03-13 |
Slovakia | 2022/854/SK | Technical Conditions of the distribution system operator Stredoslovenská distribuÄná, a.s. | 2022-12-12 | 2023-03-13 |
Belgium | 2022/823/B | Royal Decree on measuring instruments intended to indicate quantity when marketing certain liquid motor fuels and other liquid fuels | 2022-11-28 | 2023-03-01 |
Estonia | 2022/825/EE | Amendments to the Regulations of the Minister for the Environment with regard to updating the end-of-waste criteria for biodegradable waste | 2022-11-28 | 2023-03-01 |
Belgium | 2022/826/B | Royal Decree prohibiting the export of certain hazardous substances to non-EU countries | 2022-11-29 | 2023-03-01 |
Belgium | 2022/827/B | Draft Royal Decree to limit the placing on the market of single-use products harmful to the environment and to increase the recycled content of certain products | 2022-11-29 | 2023-03-01 |
Liechtenstein | 2022/9015/FL | Act of … amending the Building Act [BauG] | 2022-11-29 | 2023-03-01 |
Liechtenstein | 2022/9020/FL | Act of … amending the Building Act (BauG) | 2022-12-09 | 2023-03-01 |
Malta | 2022/713/MT | Restrictions on Placing on the Market of Single-Use Plastic Products (Amendment) Regulations, 2022. | 2022-10-28 | 2023-01-30 |
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WTO TBT notifications
The notifications worldwide under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can be consulted on:
- http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm
- https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Browse/FE_B_S006.aspx
- https://www.epingalert.org/en#/browse-notifications
The following new, updated or corrected notifications were made available:
Country | Reference/Title | Reception date  – Standstill end date |
United States of America | G/TBT/N/USA/682/Rev.1  Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Distribution Transformers Notified document (1) | 2023-01-12 2023-03-13 |
Chinese Taipei | G/TBT/N/TPKM/504/Add.1  Amendments to the Legal Inspection Requirements for Plugs and Socket-Outlets for Fixed Wiring and 7 Other Power Distribution ProductsNotified document (1), Notified document (2) | 2023-01-10 |
United States of America | G/TBT/N/USA/1873/Add.1/Corr.2Â Â Energy Labeling RuleNotified document (1) | 2023-01-10 |
Brazil | G/TBT/N/BRA/1469Â Â Public Consultation 81, 19 December 2023. Notified document (1) | 2023-01-10 2023-03-09 |
United States of America | G/TBT/N/USA/1131/Rev.1Â Â Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Uninterruptible Power Supplies Notified document (1) | 2023-01-06 2023-03-06 |
Brazil | G/SPS/N/BRA/2125  Draft Resolution number 1132, 15 December 2022 Notified document (1), Notified document (2) | 2023-01-05 2023-02-18 |
Chinese Taipei | G/TBT/N/TPKM/503/Add.1  Amendment to legal inspection requirements for household pressure regulators for liquefied petroleum gas Notified document (1), Notified document (2) | 2023-01-05 |
Chile | G/TBT/N/CHL/617  Especificaciones Técnicas para el Diseño de la Etiqueta de Eficiencia Energética para los Aparatos de refrigeración de uso doméstico (Technical specifications for the design of energy efficiency labels for domestic refrigerating appliances) (18 pages, in Spanish) Notified document (1), Notified document (2) | 2023-01-05 2023-03-06 |
United States of America | G/TBT/N/USA/1949/Add.1Â Â Significant New Use Rules on Certain Chemical Substances (22- 1.5e) | 2023-01-05 2023-01-17 |
Brazil | G/TBT/N/BRA/1461/Corr.1Â Â Correction of the final date for comments | 2023-01-05 |
United States of America | G/TBT/N/USA/595/Rev.1Â Â Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims Notified document (1) | 2023-01-04 2023-02-21 |
Brazil | G/TBT/N/BRA/1463Â Â Public Consultation 72, 4 October 2022; | 2023-01-04 2023-02-17 |
United States of America | G/TBT/N/USA/963/Add.5  Energy Conservation Program for Certain Industrial Equipment: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Warm Air Furnaces Notified document (1), Notified document (2), Notified document (3) | 2023-01-04 |
United States of America | G/TBT/N/USA/1811/Add.1/Corr.1Â Â Energy Conservation Program: Test Procedure for Air-Cooled, Three-Phase, Small Commercial Package Air Conditioning and Heating Equipment With a Cooling Capacity of Less Than 65,000 Btu/h and Air-Cooled, Three-Phase, Variable Refrigerant Flow Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps With a Cooling Capacity of Less Than 65,000 Btu/h Notified document (1) | 2023-01-04 |
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Recommended actions
Product Groups and manufacturers are recommended to check the contents of these proposals.
If requested, the Eurovent Association can react or file a WTO complaint. Eurovent tends to accompany most of the listed European legislative initiatives.
Related documents and links
All related documents and articles can be found in the respective sections in the right sidebar.
- GEN – 1417.00 – Notifications – Standardisation, European initiatives August-September 2022
- http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm
- https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Browse/FE_B_S006.aspx
- https://www.epingalert.org/en#/browse-notifications
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