The new EMC Directives

This page gives you a brief overview of the new Directives which appeared in late 2004. These are second editions of the EMC Directive 89/336/EC and of the Automotive EMC Directive 95/54/EC.

Last updated on 26th January 2005

The 2nd edition EMC Directive

The 2nd edition Automotive EMC Directive

DIRECTIVE 2004/108/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 December 2004 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility and repealing Directive 89/336/EEC

This Directive was published on 31st December 2004 in OJEU number L/390, pages 24-37. The full text can be found via Eur-Lex. A page describing the process of production of this Directive on the EC's website can be found here.

The second edition was begun as a result of the SLIM review (Simpler Legislation in the Internal Market) of the first edition of the EMCD (89/336/EEC). The timescale for adoption laid out in the second edition is as follows:

• Entry into force: 20th January 2005
• Transposition: Member States shall adopt and publish the provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 20th January 2007. They shall apply those provisions as from 20th July 2007.
• Directive 89/336/EEC is repealed as from 20th July 2007.
• Transitional provisions: Member States shall respect compliance with 89/336/EEC for equipment which was placed on the market before 20th July 2009.

What changes?

The real change here is that, if you don't apply correctly all the relevant harmonised standards, you can, indeed must, still carry out an EMC assessment; but there is no requirement to have this assessment reviewed by a third party such as a competent body. On the other hand, you may do so voluntarily, and the Directive allows for "Notified Bodies" to be appointed on pretty much identical terms to the old Directive's Competent Bodies, so that these organisations will almost certainly continue to offer their services under the new Directive. Their use, though, will be entirely at the manufacturer's discretion.

The other major change is to the regime for fixed installations. Equipment that is regulated by the Directive now has two subsets: apparatus, and fixed installations. The change allows different regulatory provisions for each. "Apparatus" now covers virtually everything that was covered by the old Directive, including mobile installations, and any finished appliance or combination thereof made commercially available as a single functional unit, intended for the end user and liable to generate or be affected by electromagnetic disturbance; such apparatus is subject to the full provisions of the Directive, but there is an explicit exemption now for benign apparatus.

Fixed installations

• the essential requirements
• the conformity assessment procedure
• the technical documentation and EC declaration of conformity – but some technical documentation is required
• CE marking.

This represents a significant change in the way that fixed installations and the apparatus that goes into them are regulated. Not all of the implications are yet clear, but one is that operators of installations will have to designate a "responsible person" who has responsibility for the establishment of compliance of a fixed installation with the relevant essential requirements. This will be new to most if not all such operators. Another is that the vague term "good engineering practices" will have to be fleshed out; at present there are no harmonised standards for installations, but the Commission clearly envisages that some will have to be created.

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COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2004/104/EC of 14 October 2004 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 72/245/EEC relating to the radio interference (electromagnetic compatibility) of vehicles and amending Directive 70/156/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers

This Directive was published on 13th November 2004 in OJEU number L/337, pages 13-58. The EC's Automotive industry website gives brief details. The full text of the Directive can be found via Eur-Lex. The timescale for adoption laid out in the second edition is as follows:

• Entry into force: 3rd December 2004
• Transposition: Member States shall adopt and publish the provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31st December 2005. They shall apply those provisions as from 1st January 2006.
• From 1st January 2006, member states must recognise equipment or vehicles which comply with the new Directive.
• Transitional provisions: From 1st July 2006, member states may refuse type approval to equipment or vehicles that do not comply with the new Directive. From 1st January 2009, member states shall consider certificates of conformity to be no longer valid, and may refuse the registration, sale or entry into service of new vehicles that do not comply with the new Directive. (From 1/7/06, new vehicles and equipment must comply; existing vehicles and equipment need not comply till 1/1/09).

What changes?

• The Directive allows for aftermarket equipment, not related to safety critical functions, to be provided with a self declaration according to the procedures of Directive 89/336/EEC (the EMC Directive, first edition) or 1999/5/EC (the R&TTE Directive) from manufacturers, replacing conventional third party type-approval but still subject to a Technical Service assessment. But, "Part of this declaration must be that the ESA fulfils the limits defined in ... this Directive." So a simple CE-marking to the EMC or R&TTE Directive's own standards is not sufficient: the applicable requirements must be matched to the vehicle environment.
• The test provisions and reference limits take into account the work done in international harmonisation.
• The Directive now refers to CISPR standards for emissions tests (CISPR 12 and 25) and ISO standards for immunity tests (ISO 7637, 11451 and 11452). Extra conditions for applying the tests are given (including, for instance, the requirement for immunity to GSM pulse modulation in the 800-2000 MHz frequency range). This mostly replaces the explicit but confused methods for immunity and emissions testing given in the text of the current Directive. Testing must, though, be carried out by a test house accredited to ISO 17025 (which all UKAS-accredited test houses are).
• The Directive now contains for the first time provisions relating to transient disturbances conducted along supply lines, specifically emissions of and immunity from transients according to ISO 7637-2.
• With regard to new techniques, like steering and braking by wire, tyre pressure monitoring systems or distance radar, the Directive gives particular attention to safety related functions and components. It introduces the concept of "Immunity-related functions", which are functions related to the direct control of the vehicle, functions related to driver, passenger and other road-user protection, functions which, when disturbed, cause confusion to the driver or other road users, functions related to vehicle data bus functionality, and functions which, when disturbed, affect vehicle statutory data. The vehicle or equipment is considered as complying with immunity requirements if, during the immunity tests there is no degradation of performance of these "immunity-related functions". This is more stringent than 95/54/EC which did not require immunity testing at all if equipment did not affect the driver's direct control of the vehicle.

The confusion over spot frequency emissions testing has been removed. Spot frequency testing is only required if the Technical Service has to validate test evidence supplied for inclusion in the type approval.

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