OFFICIAL TITLE

Council Directive of 3 May 1989 on the approximation of the laws of the Members States relating to electromagnetic compatibility (89/336/EEC). The complete text of the EMC Directive has been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities No. L 139, 23 May 1989

AMENDMENTS TO THIS DIRECTIVE

• Directive 91/263/EEC, OJEC No. L 128, 23 May 1991,

• Directive 92/31/EEC, OJEC No. L 126, 12 May 1992,

• Directive 93/68/EEC, OJEC No. L 220, 30 August 1993,

• Directive 93/97/EEC, OJEC No. L 290, 24 November 1993.

• Directive 98/13/EEC, OJEC No.

OBLIGATORY SINCE

The EMC Directive is obligatory since January 1, 1996

SCOPE OF THE EMC DIRECTIVE

This Directive applies to all apparatus liable to cause electromagnetic disturbance or the performance of which is liable to be affected by such disturbance. It defines the protection requirements and inspection procedures relating thereto.

EXCLUDED FROM THE SCOPE OF THE DIRECTIVE

Totally excluded:

• motor vehicles;

• medical devices;

• active implantable medical devices;

• equipment for aircraft in flight;

• radio-amateur equipment not available commercially.

Excluded from the immunity requirements:

• non automatic weighing instruments

Excluded from the emission requirements:

• agricultural and forestry tractors

REQUIREMENTS OF THE EMC DIRECTIVE

The EMC Directive sets the essential requirements for electrical and electronic equipment that may disturb or even be disturbed by other equipment. These requirements are divided into the following categories:

• Requirements with regard to the emission of the equipment

• Requirements with regard to the immunity of the equipment

• Requirements with regard to the users manual 

MAIN OBJECTIVE

The main objective of the EMC Directives is the protection of the health and safety of persons, and thus to prevent, as far as possible, the placing on the market and putting into service of unsafe or otherwise non-compliant products.

CONFORMITY MARKING

Conformity with the EMC Directive is indicated with the CE Marking, which is a mandatory marking for products falling within the scope of this Directive. CE stands for Conformité Européenne, French for European conformity.

Without the CE Marking, and thus without complying with the provisions of the Directive, the product may not be placed on the market or put into service in the European countries that form the European Economic Area (the EEA consists of the fifteen member states of the EU and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.)

However, if the product meets the provisions of the applicable European Directives these countries may not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market or putting into service of the product. Thus, the CE Marking can be regarded as the products trade passport for Europe.