29.3.2014 Official Journal of the European Union L 96/251 DIRECTIVE 2014/33/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts and safety components for (recast) lifts (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (3), Whereas: Directive 95/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 1995 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts () has been  substantially — amended (.  Since further amendments are to be made, that Directive should be recast in the interests of clarity. 1 Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products (°) lays down rules on the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, provides a framework for the market surveillance of products and for controls on products from third countries, and lays down the general principles of the CE marking. Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on a common framework for the marketing of products (°) lays down () OJ C 181, 21.6.2012, p. 105. (%) Position of the European Parliament of 5 February 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 20 February 2014. () OJ L 213, 7.9.1995, p. 1. (*) See Annex XIII, Part A. () OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30. () OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 82. common principles and reference provisions intended to apply across sectoral legislation in order to provide a coherent basis for revision or recasts of that legislation. Directive 95/16/EC should be adapted to that Decision. The lifts covered by this Directive only come into existence as finished products once they have been permanently installed in buildings or constructions. Consequently, lifts cannot be imported into the Union and are only placed on the market and not subsequently made available: there are no ‘importers” or ‘distributors’ of lifts. This Directive covers safety components for lifts which are new to the Union market when they are placed on the market; that is to say they are either new safety components made by a manufacturer in the Union or new or second-hand safety components imported from a third country. On 8 June 1995 the Commission adopted Recommen- dation 95/216/EC of & June 1995 concerning improvement of safety of existing lifts (") to the Member States concerning improvement of safety of existing lifts. This Directive should apply to all forms of supply, including distance selling. Economic operators should be responsible for the compliance of lifts and safety components for lifts with this Directive, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain, so as to ensure a high level of protection of health and safety of persons and, where appropriate, the safety of property, and to guarantee fair competition on the Union market. All economic operators intervening in the supply and distribution chain should take appropriate measures to ensure that they only place on the market lifts and make available on the market safety components for lifts which are in conformity with this Directive. It is necessary to provide for a clear and proportionate distribution of obligations which correspond to the role of each economic operator in the supply and distribution chain. () O] L 134, 20.6.1995, p. 37.