New moves will ensure harmonised regulations cover construction machines being used on-road in Europe. This will be a substantial development for the construction machinery segment, ending years in which manufacturers have had to meet varying and complicated requirements.
The Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE) has welcomed a proposal for a regulation to harmonise requirements on approval and market surveillance of non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) travelling on public roads. The road circulation legislation was published by the European Commission after years of preparation. This represents a potential economic benefit of €846 million over 10 years for the European NRMM industry.
CECE President Alexandre Marchetta, commenting on today’s proposal, said: “This long-awaited proposal could not have come at a better time as it coincides with the 30th anniversary of the European Single Market. Indeed, we recognise this as a fundamental step towards closing this gap in the Single Market. We have been advocating for this as the only way to remove market obstacles and unnecessary financial burdens deriving from 27 different national homologation procedures, but also maintain a high level of safety throughout the whole EU.”
CECE has actively engaged with the European Commission throughout the process, by providing arguments and technical elements in cooperation with other European industry associations. The legal text constitutes the framework. It is based on the tractor-type approval legislation, but also incorporates simplification measures taking into account the specificities of the NRMM industry. The delegated acts specifying the technical requirements will be published during the three years following the approval of the framework proposal.
In this respect, a 12-month preparatory study was launched in February 2023, with the aim of looking into technical requirements, conformity assessment procedures and test procedures that will be required for the machinery. The European Commission has already begun discussions with the European Council and Parliament to advance negotiations on the proposal and CECE is looking forward to speedy progress on this area to deliver a truly harmonised system as soon as possible.
