Targeted survey allows industry to feed into the EU’s evaluation of the Recreational Craft Directive.
2 October 2025

The EU commission is currently undergoing an evaluation and review of the Recreational Craft Directive, currently in the preliminary consultation phase. The Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (CSES) and EMISIA, acting on behalf of the European Commission’s DG GROW Unit H.2 (Machinery, Equipment and AI), is conducting a one-month survey to gather feedback from various stakeholders.

With the recent regulatory, technological and market developments, the survey is a means to gather critical feedback regarding the RCD implementation to date and to consider the extent such developments may impact the legislation’s fitness for purpose as well as any challenges not currently addressed through the Directive.

To assist with your responses, please see the following document prepared by CSES, which has some key points stemming from research to date (see pages 7-11 in pdf)

Agenda item 3.1 – Evaluation of the RCD – CSES 25.09

The following stakeholders are invited to respond to the targeted consultation:

  • Competent authorities that are responsible for the implementation of the Directive, including market surveillance authorities and national notifying authorities;
  • Businesses, including large firms and SMEs in the recreational craft supply chain (including boat builders and engine manufacturers);
  • Businesses in the circular economy (e.g. remanufacturers and repairers);
  • Professional organisations at European or national levels representing industry and users;
  • Notified bodies, including members of the Recreational Sectoral Group (RSG);
  • Representatives of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN);
  • Experts in the recreational craft sector, including but not limited to naval architects, boat designers, engineers, professional consultants, Harmonised Standards consultants, etc., and
  • Representatives of regional Sea Conventions, the European Maritime Sea Agency (EMSA), and NGOs.


Industry can feed directly into this survey through the following link - Evaluation of the Recreational Craft Directive 2013/53/EU (RCD), with the survey open until 31st October 2025.

Please also feed in any comments you have to the British Marine Technical team via technical@britishmarine.co.uk.