Cableway installations. Proposal for a new regulation

Around 17,500 cableway installations currently exist in Western Europe and the Alps, representing 60% of the global total. European industry has generally held a dominant position in the global cableway installations market, with the ski industry remaining the primary market for cableway technology.

The proposed regulation, covering the European Economic Area, is to replace Directive 2000/9/EC relating to cableway installations designed to carry persons. Its aim is to simplify the current rules, align them with the EU's New Legislative Framework, and address some problems experienced in implementing the existing Directive. Given its predominantly technical nature, the new regulation was developed with input from experts via targeted consultations.

The Commission's impact assessment revealed a broad consensus among Member States, manufacturers, notified bodies and stakeholders regarding the need to simplify and clarify the current rules. The European Economic and Social Committee issued an opinion on the proposal in 2014. On 10 November 2015, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament voted in favour of the interinstitutional agreement reached at informal trilogues between the Commission, Council and Parliament.

The vote in plenary was expected in January 2016.