News

During the fourth F-Gas Consultation Forum, scheduled for 25 March 2020, the consultants appointed by the Commission were to make presentations and have a discussion with the stakeholders. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, stakeholders are now requested to comment on the available presentations by 20 April.

The guidance notes from the EU are still those published in 2019. Meanwhile, the negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU started in February. The United Kingdom has meanwhile withdrawn some of its guidance notes and replaced these with updates referring the documents released by the EU.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), Eurovent Associate Member REHVA has developed a guidance document and collected a bibliography, complemented by a dedicated website to guide the industry in relation to the virus outbreak.

On a monthly basis, the Eurovent Team compiles a global overview of the latest developments concerning new standardisation activities and technical regulations of relevance for the HVACR industry. Our Notifications allow members to be prepared for developments that can have an impact on them and their products.

On Friday, 13 March, the EU Commission published a communication outlining a series of measures that it is taking to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though health issues are a national competence, the European Commission plans actions in four areas to support the Member States. Moreover, on 16 March, the Commission has sent to the Member States a draft proposal for a State Aid Temporary Framework to support the economy in the context of the outbreak. This Temporary Framework will allow full flexibility for Member States under the ‘State aid rules’.

Within the EEPLIANT2 project, a number of Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs) monitored and verified in a coordinated manner the conformity of 64 Professional Refrigerated Storage Cabinets with the Ecodesign Regulation 2015/1094 and Energy Labelling Regulation 2015/1094. Seven penalties were imposed, and products were removed from the market.

The European Commission has unveiled its new Circular Economy Action Plan, one of the flagship initiatives of the European Green Deal. The Action Plan provides an overview of upcoming policies to reduce resource use and improve the circularity of European value chains. It includes a Sustainable Product Policy Framework, the main aim of which is to widen the Ecodesign Directive beyond energy-related products and include sustainability and circularity principles.

Mr Stefano Salvini is no longer with us. As a true industry leader, well known and respected in the standardisation world, Stefano played a major role in shaping the future of the EU commercial refrigeration industry. In the lines below, Francesco Scuderi, Eurovent’s Deputy Secretary General and former colleague of Stefano drafts a short profile of him and thanks him for his long-term commitment and efforts.

The European Commission is expected to announce its Circular Economy Action Plan on 10 March 2020. It will include a series of initiatives that should result in a strategy for the built environment.

To meet the EU’s energy and climate targets for 2030, EU Member States need to establish a 10-year NECP for the period of 2021 to 2030 by the end of 2018. The Commission assessed the various plans and provided recommendations to the Member States. The final NECPs, except for those from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain and United Kingdom have been published on the Commission website at the end of February 2020.