RPA Risk Policy Analysts Expost Evaluation of the

RPA Risk & Policy Analysts Ex-post Evaluation of the Gas Appliances Directive Presentation to the Working Group – Gas Appliances Dr. Peter Floyd, Managing Director, Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd. Eszter Kantor, Consultant, Risk & Policy Analysts Ltd. 10 March 2011

Disclaimer The views and propositions expressed herein are those of Risk & Policy Analysts and do not necessarily represent any official view of the European Commission or any other organisation mentioned in this Presentation RPA

Introduction to RPA Ø Independent consultancy established in 1990 Ø Focus on policy and project appraisal, impact assessment, hazard/risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis Ø Completed 650 studies (including over 80 for the European Commission) Ø RPA leads major Impact Assessment/Evaluation Framework Contracts with DG Enterprise and DG SANCO RPA

Study Aims Ø Assessment of the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and utility of the Directive Ø Analysis of the impact of the Directive based on available data, survey results and interviews Ø Particular interest in any existing barriers and obstacles to optimal application RPA

Approach Ø Task 1 - Project Inception including a presentation to WG-GA on 20 September Ø Task 2 - Data Collection and Collation Ø Task 3 - Consultation Ø Task 4 - Interim Report (submitted 19 November) Ø Task 5 - Country Studies (10 MS + Turkey) Ø Task 6 – Evaluation Ø Task 7 – Final Reporting (FR Submitted 2 March) RPA

The Gas Appliances Market Ø 30 million GA sold and installed per year with an associated € 40 billion turnover – especially boilers, cookers, fires and water heaters Ø Large variations by country - high connection rates for mains gas in Netherlands, UK, Italy but very low in Sweden and Finland (no mains gas in Malta and Cyprus) Ø Generally the EU is a mature replacement market but some (LPG) growth in new MS Ø Significant data gaps on LPG appliances, gas refrigerators, lighting and fittings and commercial use of gas appliances RPA

Consultation: On-line Survey Ø Links sent to 200+ stakeholders especially industry, MS Authorities and Notified Bodies Ø Survey closed on 10 December 2010 Ø 83 responses received…. . Ø 17 Ministries (13 MS + 1 non-EU) Ø 49 Industry (35 Manufacturers, 8 Associations and 6 Suppliers from 8 countries) Ø 14 Notified Bodies and 3 Standards Organisations (from 8 countries) RPA

Country Studies Aim: to assess in a detailed way how the GAD is being applied by a sample of 11 countries Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey Semi-structured interviews focusing on: Ø national characteristics regarding gas appliances Ø costs and benefits associated with GAD Ø problems/issues of particular concern RPA

Evaluation criteria table to guide the analysis drawing on all data sources (desk studies, questionnaire responses and country case studies) The main evaluation findings are that the GAD has: Ø had a positive impact on the effective operation of the internal market Ø reduced costs for manufacturers Ø improved consumer safety At the same time concerns remain regarding: Ø potentially adverse effects on SMEs Ø some barriers remain due to differing national requirements and differences in gas quality Ø CO poisoning RPA

Conclusions The Gas Appliances Directive has been implemented successfully in all Member States. The functioning of the Directive is efficient and is effective in meeting its objectives. Specific outcomes include: Ø trade within the EU market in gas appliances has increased significantly since the introduction of the GAD Ø number of gas appliance related accidents appears to be declining Ø innovation has focused particularly on safety devices and, increasingly, on improving energy efficiency RPA

Recommendations – GAD Provisions Consideration should be given to: Ø expanding the scope of the GAD, but a thorough assessment of the impacts, especially on SMEs, should be undertaken Ø harmonised requirements for reporting on gas supply conditions (under Article 2) Ø tightening standards for CO emissions from gas appliances RPA

Recommendations – GAD Implementation Consideration should be given to: Ø making testing requirements, and hence costs, more proportionate for one-off and short-run products, perhaps through promoting greater awareness of the potential for voluntary measures under the GAD Ø disseminating information regarding the different installation rules (information platform? ) Ø the encouragement of Notified Bodies to increase their collaborations with each other RPA

Recommendations – Other Issues Consideration should be given to: Ø harmonised requirements for the regular inspection of gas appliances and specification of an operating lifetime, to raise awareness of the need for maintenance Ø the designation of MS authorities to undertake market surveillance for gas appliances (in accordance with the New Legislative Framework) Ø a harmonised approach to appointing Notified Bodies and reviewing their performance to enhance MS control over Notified Bodies (also in line with NLF) RPA

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