21 Jul 2008
The European Commission published its draft EuP Working plan 2009-2011, setting out an indicative list of energy-using product groups for the next three years. The groups are considered as priorities for the implementation of the EuP Directive 2005/32/EC. The capital goods industry is affected.
There are ten product groups proposed:
- air-conditioning systems and heat pumps
- electric and fossil-fuel heating equipment
- food-preparing equipment
- in-house networking and data processing, storing and providing equipment
- industrial and laboratory furnace and ovens
- machine tools
- refrigerating equipment
- sound- and image-processing machines and equipment
- transformers
- water-using equipment (incl. agricultural and farming machines)
The
draft clearly shows that capital goods are considerably affected by the
EuP Directive. The EuP Working Plan will be updated every three years.
The
EuP Consultation discussed the draft working plan on 28 May 2008. The
European Commission will now adopt the draft and will then implement it
by launching preparatory studies for the working groups.
The
European Commission's approach involves both opportunities and risks.
In fact, there are opportunities for the engineering industry to
initiate innovations and to bring in its experience as solution
provider. However, a product policy bears the inherent risk of design
control. The EuP Directive goes to the core of each manufacturer's
competence: the design of his product. It, therefore, has a significant
impact on the innovative ability and competitiveness of our sector.