Background
Directive 2014/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of simple pressure vessels (SPVD) lays down uniform rules on the placing on the market and putting into service of simple pressure vessels. The Directive entered into force on 18 April 2014 and applies from 20 April 2016. It repealed Directive 2009/105/EC.
Objectives
Directive 2014/29/EU aims to guarantee free movement of simple pressure vessels which are new to the Union market when they are placed on the market while ensuring a high level of safety. In Annex I, it lays down essential safety requirements for the protection of the health and safety of persons, and the protection of domestic animals and property with regard to the hazards resulting from the leakage or bursting of simple pressure vessels.
Definitions
Simple pressure vessels in the scope of the Directive are vessels manufactured in series and subjected to an internal gauge pressure greater than 0.5 bar, made to contain air or nitrogen, and are not intended to be fired. It also covers parts and assemblies contributing to the strength of the vessel under pressure made of certain qualities of steel or aluminium. It excludes vessels designed for nuclear use, vessels installed on ships and aircraft and fire extinguishers. Art. 2 also contains a list of legal definitions of terms used in the Directive, e.g. "manufacturer", "importer", "distributor" or "placing on the market".
Further legal definitions are given for the terms "authorised representative", "economic operators", "technical specification" (document), "harmonised standard", "accreditation", "national accreditation body", "conformity assessment", "conformity assessment body", "recall", "withdrawal", "Union harmonisation legislation" and "CE marking".
Contents
The Directive establishes a notification procedure and obliges the Member States to nominate competent authorities. Details of the procedure are laid down in Annex II of the Directive.
For the notification procedure, the Directive also refers to Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and which lays down rules on the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, provides a framework for the market surveillance of products and for controls on products from third countries, and lays down the general principles of the CE marking.
The directive lays down provisions on the obligations of manufacturers (Art. 6), importers (Art. 8) and distributors (Art. 9) of simple pressure vessels in the notication process. Manufacturers shall ensure that they have been designed and manufactured in accordance with the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I. This concerns newly manufactured as well as second hand vessels which are placed on the EU market, regardless of their origin.
Annexes
- Annex I - Essential safety requirements
- Annex II - Conformity assessment procedures
- Annex III - Inscriptions, instructions, definitions and symbols
- Annex IV - EU declaration of conformity
- Annex V - Repealed Directive with the amendment thereto (referred to in Article 43) / Time-limits for transposition into national law and dates of application of the Directives set out in Part B of Annex IV to Directive 2009/105/EC
- Annex VI - Correlation table
Read the full text of Directive 2014/29/EU
National laws implementing this Directive
Further information
Simple Pressure Vessels Directive (DG Growth)