An important change is taking place in European health and safety legislation. The new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulation, which replaces the 25-year-old PPE Directive, has finally been agreed after a delay of around a year. It will reflect modern ways of bringing PPE to the market as well as changes in technology and production techniques. The draft text for the new Regulation, (EU) 2016/425, was approved by the EU and became official upon listing in the Official Journal of the European Union on 31 March. The Regulation passed into law on 21 April, although there will be a two year transition period until its full enforcement in April 2018, repealing the old 1989 PPE Directive 89/686/ EEC. After this date, all PPE will have to be certified to the new Regulation.
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