COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 96/44/EC of 1 July 1996 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 70/220/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles (Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 70/220/EEC of 20 March 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles (1), as last amended by Directive 94/12/EC (2), and in particular Article 5 thereof,
Whereas Council Directive 70/220/EEC is one of the separate directives of the EEC type-approval procedure which has been established by Council Directive 70/156/EEC (3), as last amended by Commission Directive 95/54/EC (4); whereas, consequently, the provisions laid down in Directive 70/156/EEC relating to the vehicle systems, components and separate technical units apply to this Directive;
Whereas Directive 70/220/EEC lays down the specifications for the testing of the emissions of the motor vehicles covered by its scope, whereas, in view of the experience gained and the state of the art of the laboratory techniques it appears appropriate to adapt these specifications accordingly;
Whereas it is equally appropriate to align the test conditions of Directive 70/220/EEC with those of Council Directive 80/1268/EEC of 16 December 1980 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the emissions of carbon dioxide and the fuel consumption of motor vehicles (5), as last amended by Commission Directive 93/116/EC (6), in particular as far as the relationship between the reference mass of the vehicle and the equivalent inertia which is to be used, is concerned;
Whereas this Directive shall bring the provisions of the use of the equivalent inertia of Directive 70/220/EEC into accordance with the provisions of Directive 80/1268/EEC and the wording of the information document and the type-approval certificate of Directive 70/220/EEC into accordance with the wording of Directive 70/156/EEC;
Whereas these amendments relate only to the administrative provisions and the techniques of emissions measurement contained in the Directive; whereas it is not necessary therefore to invalidate existing approvals to the Directive nor to prevent the registration, sale and entry into service of new vehicles covered by such approvals;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Adaptation to Technical Progress established by Directive 70/156/EEC,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
The Annexes to Directive 70/220/EEC are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Directive.
Article 2
With effect from 1 January 1997, Member States may no longer grant:
- EEC type-approval pursuant to Article 4 (1) of Directive 70/156/EEC, or
- national type-approval, unless the provisions of Article 8 (2) of Directive 70/156/EEC are invoked,
for a new type of vehicle on grounds relating to air pollution by emissions if it fails to comply with the provisions of Directive 70/220/EEC.
This Directive will not invalidate any approval previously granted under Directive 70/220/EEC, nor prevent extension of such approvals under the terms of the Directive under which they were originally granted.
Article 3
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 1996. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by the Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main procedure of the national law that they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
Article 4
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 5
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 1 July 1996.