Directive 2013/35 - Minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields) (20th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)

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1.

Current status

This directive has been published on June 29, 2013, entered into force on the same day and should have been implemented in national regulation on July  1, 2016 at the latest.

2.

Key information

official title

Directive 2013/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields) (20th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) and repealing Directive 2004/40/EC
 
Legal instrument Directive
Number legal act Directive 2013/35
Original proposal COM(2011)348 EN
CELEX number i 32013L0035

3.

Key dates

Document 26-06-2013
Publication in Official Journal 29-06-2013; OJ L 179, 29.6.2013,Special edition in Croatian: Chapter 05 Volume 008
Effect 29-06-2013; Entry into force Date pub. See Art 18
End of validity 31-12-9999
Transposition 01-07-2016; At the latest See Art 16

4.

Legislative text

29.6.2013   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 179/1

 

DIRECTIVE 2013/35/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 26 June 2013

on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields) (20th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) and repealing Directive 2004/40/EC

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 153(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),

Whereas:

 

(1)

Under the Treaty, the European Parliament and the Council may, by means of directives, adopt minimum requirements for the encouragement of improvements, in particular of the working environment, to guarantee a better level of protection of the health and safety of workers. Such directives are to avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings.

 

(2)

Article 31(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union provides that every worker has the right to working conditions which respect his or her health, safety and dignity.

 

(3)

Following the entry into force of Directive 2004/40/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields) (18th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (3), serious concerns were expressed by stakeholders, in particular those from the medical community, as to the potential impact of the implementation of that Directive on the use of medical procedures based on medical imaging. Concerns were also expressed as to the impact of the Directive on certain industrial activities.

 

(4)

The Commission examined attentively the arguments put forward by stakeholders and, after several consultations, decided to thoroughly reconsider some provisions of Directive 2004/40/EC on the basis of new scientific information produced by internationally recognised experts.

 

(5)

Directive 2004/40/EC was amended by Directive 2008/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), with the effect of postponing, by four years, the deadline for the transposition of Directive 2004/40/EC, and subsequently by Directive 2012/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), with the effect of postponing that deadline for transposition until 31 October 2013. This was to allow the Commission to present a new proposal, and the co-legislators to adopt a new directive, based on fresher and sounder evidence.

 

(6)

Directive 2004/40/EC should be repealed and more appropriate and proportionate measures to protect workers from the risks associated with electromagnetic fields should be introduced. That Directive did not address the long-term effects, including the possible carcinogenic effects, of exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields, for which there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence establishing a causal relationship. This Directive is intended to address all known direct biophysical effects and indirect effects caused by electromagnetic fields, in order not only to ensure the health and safety of each worker on an individual basis, but also to create a minimum basis of...


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This text has been adopted from EUR-Lex.

5.

Original proposal

 

6.

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