Starting with a historic review on machine-related safety, this article describes in detail the effect of European product safety legislation on the design of safety-conform machinery in Germany. It presents the structure and the aims of the European Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Furthermore it discusses the effects of the essential health and safety requirements defined in the European Machinery Directive and describes the principle of the 3-step-method in safety engineering and it's realization during design and construction of machinery. Next, the system of European Standards is presented, which define the state of the art in machine safety according to the European Machinery Directive. The article also discusses the legal relevance of harmonized European Standards and their limitations for the realization of safety-engineering solutions. In special focus are current questions of machine safety, especially methods to assure the functional safety and reliability of control systems and how to prevent frequently discovered manipulations of safety devices. Future developments in machinery safety, as far as they are yet predictable, complete the article.