5. Conclusion

The Machinery Directive in force today is a complex legal instrument, but a pragmatic one. Risks have been exhaustively considered, and the technical means are rarely suggested, but almost always left to the manufacturer's choice. The result is a remarkable degree of design freedom, albeit within the framework of the various mechanisms described above. What's more, the Machinery Directive takes a practical approach, always conceiving risk as a possibility. The risk assessment exercise consists in weighting this risk in order to determine its acceptability, or to establish the need for subsequent measures.

For many manufacturers, harmonized standards will play a fundamental role in guiding technical choices, while guaranteeing compliance with the essential requirements of the Machinery Directive. They act as a translation tool between a legal text and the technical...