1.
This Directive establishes a regulatory framework for the making available on the market and putting into service in the Union of radio equipment.
2.
This Directive shall not apply to equipment listed in Annex I.
3.
This Directive shall not apply to radio equipment exclusively used for activities concerning public security, defence, State security, including the economic well-being of the State in the case of activities pertaining to State security matters, and the activities of the State in the area of criminal law.
4.
Radio equipment falling within the scope of this Directive shall not be subject to Directive 2014/35/EU, except as set out in point (a) of Article 3(1) of this Directive.
1.
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:
(1)
‘radio equipment’ means an electrical or electronic product, which intentionally emits and/or receives radio waves for the purpose of radio communication and/or radiodetermination, or an electrical or electronic product which must be completed with an accessory, such as antenna, so as to intentionally emit and/or receive radio waves for the purpose of radio communication and/or radiodetermination;
(2)
‘radio communication’ means communication by means of radio waves;
(3)
‘radiodetermination’ means the determination of the position, velocity and/or other characteristics of an object, or the obtaining of information relating to those parameters, by means of the propagation properties of radio waves;
(4)
‘radio waves’ means electromagnetic waves of frequencies lower than 3 000 GHz, propagated in space without artificial guide;
(5)
‘radio interface’ means the specification of the regulated use of radio spectrum;
(6)
‘radio equipment class’ means a class identifying particular categories of radio equipment which, under this Directive, are considered similar and those radio interfaces for which the radio equipment is designed;
(7)
‘harmful interference’ means harmful interference as defined in point (r) of Article 2 of Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (
1
);
(8)
‘electromagnetic disturbance’ means electromagnetic disturbance as defined in point 5 of Article 3(1) of Directive 2014/30/EU;
(9)
‘making available on the market’ means any supply of radio equipment for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;
(10)
‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of radio equipment on the Union market;
(11)
‘putting into service’ means the first use of radio equipment in the Union by its end-user;
(12)
‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person who manufactures radio equipment or has radio equipment designed or manufactured, and markets that equipment under his name or trade mark;
(13)
‘authorised representative’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on his behalf in relation to specified tasks;
(14)
‘importer’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union who places radio equipment from a third country on the Union market;
(15)
‘distributor’ means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes radio equipment available on the market;
(16)
‘economic operators’ means the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer and the distributor;
(17)
‘technical specification’ means a document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by radio equipment;
(18)
‘harmonised standard’ means harmonised standard as defined in point (c) of point 1 of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012;
(19)
‘accreditation’ means accreditation as defined in point 10 of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008;
(20)
‘national accreditation body’ means national accreditation body as defined in point 11 of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008;
(21)
‘conformity assessment’ means the process demonstrating whether the essential requirements of this Directive relating to radio equipment have been fulfilled;
(22)
‘conformity assessment body’ means a body that performs conformity assessment activities;
(23)
‘recall’ means any measure aimed at achieving the return of radio equipment that has already been made available to the end-user;
(24)
‘withdrawal’ means any measure aimed at preventing radio equipment in the supply chain from being made available on the market;
(25)
‘Union harmonisation legislation’ means any Union legislation harmonising the conditions for the marketing of products;
(26)
‘CE marking’ means a marking by which the manufacturer indicates that the radio equipment is in conformity with the applicable requirements set out in Union harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing;
(27)
‘crisis-relevant goods’ means crisis-relevant goods as defined in Article 3, point (6), of Regulation (EU) 2024/2747. of the European Parliament and of the Council (
2
);
(28)
‘internal market emergency mode’ means internal market emergency mode as defined in Article 3, point (3), of Regulation (EU) 2024/2747.
2.
The Commission may adopt implementing acts to determine whether certain categories of electrical or electronic products meet the definition set out in point 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 45(3).
1.
Radio equipment shall be constructed so as to ensure:
(a)
the protection of health and safety of persons and of domestic animals and the protection of property, including the objectives with respect to safety requirements set out in Directive 2014/35/EU, but with no voltage limit applying;
(b)
an adequate level of electromagnetic compatibility as set out in Directive 2014/30/EU.
2.
Radio equipment shall be so constructed that it both effectively uses and supports the efficient use of radio spectrum in order to avoid harmful interference.
3.
Radio equipment within certain categories or classes shall be so constructed that it complies with the following essential requirements:
(a)
radio equipment interworks with accessories other than the charging devices for the categories or classes of radio equipment, specified in Part I of Annex Ia, which are specifically referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article;
(b)
radio equipment interworks via networks with other radio equipment;
(c)
radio equipment can be connected to interfaces of the appropriate type throughout the Union;
(d)
radio equipment does not harm the network or its functioning nor misuse network resources, thereby causing an unacceptable degradation of service;
(e)
radio equipment incorporates safeguards to ensure that the personal data and privacy of the user and of the subscriber are protected;
(f)
radio equipment supports certain features ensuring protection from fraud;
(g)
radio equipment supports certain features ensuring access to emergency services;
(h)
radio equipment supports certain features in order to facilitate its use by users with a disability;
(i)
radio equipment supports certain features in order to ensure that software can only be loaded into the radio equipment where the compliance of the combination of the radio equipment and software has been demonstrated.
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 44 specifying which categories or classes of radio equipment are concerned by each of the requirements set out in points (a) to (i) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph.
4.
Radio equipment falling within the categories or classes specified in Part I of Annex Ia shall be so constructed that it complies with the specifications relating to charging capabilities set out in that Annex for the relevant category or class of radio equipment.
With respect to radio equipment capable of being recharged by means of wired charging, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 44 to amend Part I of Annex Ia in the light of scientific and technological progress or market developments in order to ensure a minimum common interoperability between radio equipment and its charging devices, as well as to improve consumer convenience, to reduce environmental waste and to avoid market fragmentation, by:
(a)
modifying, adding or removing categories or classes of radio equipment;
(b)
modifying, adding or removing technical specifications, including references and descriptions, in relation to the charging receptacle(s) and charging communication protocol(s), for each category or class of radio equipment concerned.
The Commission shall continuously assess market developments, market fragmentation and technological progress with a view to identifying categories or classes of radio equipment capable of being recharged by means of wired charging for which the inclusion in Part I of Annex Ia would lead to significant consumer convenience and reduction of environmental waste.
The Commission shall submit a report on the assessment referred to in the third subparagraph to the European Parliament and to the Council, for the first time by 28 December 2025 and every 5 years thereafter, and shall adopt delegated acts pursuant to the second subparagraph, point (a), accordingly.
With respect to radio equipment capable of being recharged by means other than wired charging, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 44 in order to amend Part I of Annex Ia in the light of scientific and technological progress or market developments in order to ensure a minimum common interoperability between radio equipment and its charging devices, as well as to improve consumer convenience, to reduce environmental waste and to avoid market fragmentation, by:
(a)
introducing, modifying, adding or removing categories or classes of radio equipment;
(b)
introducing, modifying, adding or removing technical specifications, including references and descriptions, in relation to charging interface(s) and charging communication protocol(s), for each category or class of radio equipment concerned.
The Commission shall, in accordance with Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012, and by 28 December 2024, request one or more European standardisation organisations to draft harmonised standards laying down technical specifications for the charging interface(s) and charging communication protocol(s) for radio equipment capable of being recharged by means other than wired charging. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012, the Commission shall consult the committee set up under Article 45(1) of this Directive. The requirements as to the content of the requested harmonised standards shall be based on an assessment carried out by the Commission of the current state of wireless charging technologies for radio equipment, covering in particular market developments, market penetration, market fragmentation, technological performance, interoperability, energy efficiency and charging performance.
When preparing the delegated acts referred to in this Article with respect to radio equipment capable of being recharged by means of wired charging, as well as with respect to radio equipment capable of being recharged by means other than wired charging, the Commission shall take into account the degree of market acceptance of the technical specifications under consideration, the resulting consumer convenience and the extent of the reduction of environmental waste and market fragmentation that can be expected from such technical specifications. Technical specifications that are based on relevant available European or international standards shall be deemed to meet the objectives set out in the previous sentence. However, where such European or international standards do not exist, or where the Commission determines, based on its technical assessment, that they do not meet those objectives in an optimal manner, the Commission may set out other technical specifications which better meet those objectives.
