Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union No. 165/1 on 29/06/2023. It will enter into force after a 42 month transitional period from its signing, definitively replacing the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC as of 20/01/2027. However, some articles will enter into force earlier:

1. Articles 26 to 42 shall apply from 20 January 2024;
2. Article 50, paragraph 1 shall apply from 20 October 2023;
3. Article 6, paragraph 7, and articles 48 and 52 shall apply from 19 July 2023;
4. Article 6, paragraphs 2 to 6, paragraph 8, and paragraph 11, article 47 and article 53, paragraph 3, shall apply from 20 July 2024.

The need to update European legislation on machinery had already been evident for some time. Technological progress, the evolution of regulatory frameworks, and the increasing cooperation among European states, made this update ever more urgent.

The regulation defines machinery as:

1. an assembly, fitted with or intended to be fitted with a drive system other than directly applied human or animal effort, consisting of linked parts or components, at least one of which moves, and which are joined together for a specific application;
2. an assembly referred to in point (a), missing only the components to connect it on site or to sources of energy and motion;
3. an assembly referred to points (a) and (b), ready to be installed and able to function as it stands only if mounted on a means of transport, or installed in a building or a structure;
4. assemblies of machinery referred to in points (a), (b) and (c), or of partly completed machinery, which, in order to achieve the same end, are arranged and controlled so that they function as an integral whole;
5. an assembly of linked parts or components, at least one of which moves, and which are joined together, intended for lifting loads and whose only power source is directly applied human effort;
6. an assembly as referred to in points (a) to (e) missing only the uploading of the software intended for the specific application foreseen by the manufacturer;

It follows the criteria defined by the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, adding point (f) to the definition. In the past, the topic now addressed by this specific point has sparked much debate among experts and manufacturers, particularly concerning the definition of “partly completed machinery.” Some interpretations argued that, in the absence of the software intended for the specific application, the equipment—being unable to perform its functions—could not be classified as machinery but rather as partly completed machinery. With this addition, the regulation has dispelled any doubts: it is machinery.