Article 47 of Machinery Regulation 2023/1230: how the delegation of powers to the European Commission is exercised

Article 47 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 establishes that the European Commission may adopt delegated acts pursuant to Articles 6(2), 6(11) and 7(2) for a period of five years from the entry into force of the Regulation, automatically extended for periods of the same duration unless the European Parliament or the Council object. In practice, this means that the list of high-risk machinery and the technical requirements can be updated without having to reopen the entire Regulation, always subject to democratic control.

What exactly are the delegated acts regulated by Article 47?

A delegated act is a legal instrument that allows the European Commission to supplement or amend non-essential elements of a legislative act, without requiring Parliament and the Council to approve an entirely new law. In the case of the Machinery Regulation, Article 47 specifically refers to three delegated powers: that of Article 6(2), which allows Annex I to be updated with new categories of high-risk machinery; that of Article 6(11), which enables technical adaptations arising from technological progress; and that of Article 7(2), linked to the essential safety and cybersecurity requirements. This architecture allows the Regulation to remain up to date in the face of technological developments — for example, the emergence of new autonomous artificial intelligence functions in machinery — without blocking the regulatory framework for years.

How does the extension mechanism work and who can stop it?

The initial five-year period is tacitly extended for periods of the same duration, meaning the delegation does not expire automatically nor does it require express renewal. However, Article 47 introduces a clear democratic counterbalance: both the European Parliament and the Council may oppose the extension, and must do so no later than three months before the end of the current period. If neither institution objects within that period, the delegation automatically continues in force. This means that, for a machinery manufacturer, legal certainty about which technical requirements apply does not depend on a slow legislative process, but on an agile yet supervised control mechanism.

Who can revoke the delegation of powers and with what effects?

Both the European Parliament and the Council have the power to revoke the delegation of powers referred to in Article 47 at any time. The revocation puts an end to the delegation of the power specified in the revocation decision, takes effect the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (or on a later date specified in the decision itself) and does not affect the validity of delegated acts already in force. For an engineering firm assessing the conformity of a production line, this means that delegated acts already published — for example, an update to Annex I — remain applicable even if the delegation is subsequently revoked for the future.

Why must the Commission consult experts from the Member States before legislating?

Article 47 requires the Commission to consult the experts designated by each Member State before adopting any delegated act, following the principles established in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. This agreement sets transparency and consultation standards designed to prevent the Commission from legislating in isolation on sensitive technical matters, such as classifying a new category of collaborative robot as high-risk machinery. In practice, this creates a multi-stage process: consultation with national experts, drafting of the text, and a subsequent scrutiny period by Parliament and the Council before the delegated act finally enters into force.

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Case study: Mecanitzats Vallès, S.L.

Mecanitzats Vallès, S.L., a manufacturer of numerically controlled cutting machinery based in Sabadell with 34 employees, was preparing in 2026 for the entry into force of the Machinery Regulation on 20 January 2027. Its technical department, made up of 3 engineers, detected that two of its milling machine models incorporated machine learning modules to adjust cutting parameters in real time — a function that could be affected by future updates to Annex I via a delegated act under Article 6(2). Before investing €18,500 in recertifying both models, the company wanted to confirm whether any delegated act was in progress that could change the risk classification of those machines. Using IgeraIndustria, they checked the status of the delegation provided for in Article 47 and confirmed that, as of the date of the query, no delegated act had been published affecting their product category, thereby avoiding premature recertification and saving 6 weeks of unnecessary documentation work.

What does this mean for manufacturers and quality engineers on a daily basis?

For those managing machinery conformity, Article 47 has a very concrete practical consequence: the technical framework of the Regulation is not static. The essential cybersecurity requirements of Article 7(2), for example, can be adjusted via delegated act as new threats or technologies emerge, without waiting for a full legislative review that could take years. This requires quality departments and notified bodies to actively monitor the Official Journal of the European Union, or to rely on tools that centralize this regulatory monitoring, since a published delegated act can alter the risk assessment of a product already certified or in the design phase.

What is a delegated act and how does it differ from an implementing regulation?

A delegated act amends or supplements non-essential elements of the base Regulation, whereas an implementing regulation is limited to establishing uniform conditions for application. Article 47 specifically regulates the delegated acts linked to Articles 6(2), 6(11) and 7(2).

When does the five-year period start counting?

The five-year period starts counting from the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, that is, from July 2023, and not from the general date of application of 20 January 2027.

Can the European Parliament object to a delegated act that has already been adopted?

Article 47 regulates the general exercise of the delegation and its extension or revocation; the specific procedure for objecting to an individual delegated act once notified is regulated in the following article on objections by Parliament and the Council.

What happens if neither Parliament nor the Council rules within the three-month period?

If neither institution expresses an objection within the three-month period prior to the expiry of the period, the delegation is automatically extended for a new period of the same duration, that is, another five years.

Why is it required to consult experts from the Member States?

This requirement, anchored in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016, seeks to ensure that technical decisions with a direct impact on manufacturers across the Union are adopted with expert national participation, avoiding unilateral decisions by the Commission on matters of high industrial impact.

Does revocation of the delegation affect products already certified?

No. Article 47 expressly establishes that revocation does not affect the validity of delegated acts already in force, so certifications based on previous delegated acts remain valid after any future revocation.