The revision of Directive 2000/14/EC: a never ending story

The Outdoor Noise Directive 2000/14/EC (OND) harmonizes the laws of the Member States on 57 types of equipment for use outdoors referring to noise emission standards, conformity assessment procedures, noise emission marking and collection of the noise emission data. Being part of the EU strategy to reduce noise at source, this Directive aims to protect the health and well-being of citizens and to protect the environment. To achieve the above objectives it establishes noise limits for 22 out of 57 equipment types, requires the noise emission marking for all the equipment and refers to mandatory test codes for the sound power level determination. The revision process started in 2007 and several studies were commissioned related to the revision of the lists of equipment, the update of the test codes, the adequacy of the conformity procedures, the revision of the noise limit values, the possible merge with the Machinery Directive, and the impact assessment on the European SMEs. Recently, the Commission decided to make use of the empowerment conferred by the OND to amend Annex III to adapt the methods of noise measurement to technical progress through a Delegated Act. This papers aims to retrace the milestones of the revision process highlighting the proposed solutions and the decisions by the Commission.