G/TBT/N/EU/214  
 
28 May 2014  
(14-3174)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member: EUROPEAN UNION 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible: European Commission 
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above : 
European Commission 
EU-TBT Enquiry Point 
Fax: +(32) 2 299 80 43 E-mail: eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tbt/  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [ X ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  T-category 
motor vehicles 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Draft 
Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the environmental and propulsion 
performance requirements of agricultural and forestry vehicles (31 pages, in English). 
6. Description of content: Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approv al and market surveillance of agricultural 
and forestry vehicles (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p.1) sets out a comprehensive Union type-approval system for agricultural and forestry vehicles. It also sets out the fundamental 
rules and principles on functional safety, occupational safety and environmental 
performance and delegates to the European  Commission the power to lay down the 
technical specifications in delegated acts.  
According to Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013, the specific limit values, test 
procedures and requirements for polluting exhaust emissions laid down for mobile machinery in Directive 97/68/EC shall apply to agricultural and forestry vehicles. In 
addition, Directive 2000/25/EC sets out, in it s Annexes I and II, the requirements for EU 
type-approval of a type of engine or engine family as a separate technical unit in terms of the pollutants emitted, and the requir ements for the EU type-approval of an 
agricultural and forestry vehicle type equipped with an internal combustion engine. That 
Directive will be repealed by Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 with effect from 1 January 
2016 and therefore its provisions must be carri ed over to the notified draft. Finally, 
Directive 2009/63/EC sets out, in its Annex VI, the requirements for EU type-approval of 
wheeled agricultural and forestry vehicles in terms of the permissible external sound 
levels. That Directive will be repealed by Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 with effect from 1 January 2016 and therefore its provisions must be carried over to the notified draft too. G/TBT/N/EU/214 
 
- 2 - 
 
  The Commission is empowered to make reference to specific testing procedures and 
emission limit values set-out in Directiv e 97/68/EC and to carry over the specific 
technical requirements and test procedures for environmental performance of 
agricultural and forestry vehicles from the repealed Directives, adapted when necessary 
to technical progress. As far as possible, the requirements are based on, or refer to, international requirements adopted und er the UNECE framework (Revised 1958 
Agreement). Moreover, the enclosed draft is fu lly aligned to the provisions of Directive 
97/68/EC with respect to the recognition of alternative type approval according to UNECE regulations. In this respect, type-app rovals and, where applicable, the pertaining 
approval marks for the emissions of exhaust pollutants are recognised as being 
equivalent to an approval covered by the no tified draft for the engine types and engine 
families of agricultural and forestry vehicles. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable: The term "agricultural and forestry vehicles" covers a wide range of different 
types of agricultural and forestry tractors (categories T and C), trailers (category R), 
interchangeable towed equipment (category S) as well as certain types of all-terrain 
vehicles, type-approved as agricultural or forestry vehicles.  
In line with the European strategy on air quality 
(http://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/cafe/general/keydocs.htm ), the European 
Union has gradually strengthened the emission standards for motor vehicles, in 
particular for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. 
This will now also be the case for agricultural and forestry vehicles.  
For these reasons the notified draft stipulates the detailed technical provisions and test 
procedures in those areas, setting uniform rules for vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders to determine the propulsion performance of agricultural and forestry 
vehicles. In particular making reference to UNECE Regulations replacing current EU 
legislation is one of the most significant elements to reduce complexity and at the same time helping to reduce burden to vehicle manufacturers, approval authorities and 
technical services. 
8. Relevant documents:  
 Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the Europe an Parliament and of the Council of 5 
February 2013 on the approval and mark et surveillance of agricultural and 
forestry vehicles (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 1) 
http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:060:0001:0051:EN:PDF  
 Directive 97/68/EC of the European Parlia ment and of the Council of 16 December 
1997, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to 
measures against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from 
internal combustion engines to be installed in non-road mobile machinery (OJ L 59, 27.2.1998, p. 1) 
http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1997L0068:20130110:EN:PDF  
 Directive 2000/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 
2000 on action to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate 
pollutants by engines intended to power agricultural and forestry vehicles and 
amending Council Directive 74/150/EEC (OJ L 173, 12.7.2000, p. 1) 
http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2000L0025:20111208:EN:PDF  
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    End of July 2014 1 January 2016 
10. Final date for comments: 60 days from notification G/TBT/N/EU/214 
 
- 3 - 
 
  11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [ ], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresse s, if available of the other body:  
European Commission 
EU-TBT Enquiry Point 
Fax: + (32) 2 299 80 43 E-mail: eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
The text is available on the EU-TBT Website : http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tbt/  
http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2014/tbt/eec/14_2491_00_e.pdf