Proposal for a Council Directive on registration documents for motor vehicles and their trailers (97/C 202/10) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(97) 248 final - 97/0150(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 30 May 1997)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 75 (1) (d) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty, in cooperation with the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas the Community has adopted a certain number of measures that are intended to create an internal market consisting of an area without frontiers within the free movement of goods, persons, services and capitals is guaranteed in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty;

Whereas, as a necessary condition for permission to use the roads on their territory, all of the Member States shall require drivers of vehicles registered in another Member State to hold the corresponding certificate of registration;

Whereas harmonization of the form and content of the registration certificate will facilitate its comprehension and thus help towards the free movement, on the roads in the other Member States, of vehicles registered in a Member State;

Whereas the content of the registration certificate must enable it to be checked that the holder of a driving license issued pursuant to Directive 91/439/EEC (1) on driving licences, solely drives those categories of vehicles for which he is authorized, and thus helps to improve road safety;

Whereas, as a necessary pre-requisite for registering a vehicle that has previously been registered in another Member State, all of the Member States require the documents certifying that registration and the technical conformity of the vehicle;

Whereas harmonization of the presentation of the contents of the registration certificate will facilitate the registration of vehicles that have previously been registered in another Member State, and will contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market;

Whereas issuing a registration certificate in two parts, of which the second is exclusively used in order to register a vehicle, will make it easier to check the rightful ownership of a vehicle, and will thus help to improve the functioning of the internal market;

Whereas certain Member States operate a system of roadside checks that are based on direct access to the national registration database which does not make it essential, for the purposes of ensuring, inter alia, compliance with Directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences, that the driver of a vehicle registered in that Member State shall carry the registration certificate on board the vehicle; whereas, therefore, the issue of a registration certificate in those Member States may be restricted to just one of the two parts of which the certificate consists,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

This Directive shall apply to the documents issued by the Member States at the time of registration of motor vehicles and their trailers, as defined in Article 2.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Directive:

- 'motor vehicle`: means any power-driven vehicle as defined in Article 1 and in Annex II A to Directive 70/156/EEC, as amended (2), and in Article 1 of Directive 92/61/EEC,

- 'trailer`: means a non-self-propelled vehicle which is designed and constructed to be towed by a motor vehicle,

- 'registration`: means the issuing of a serial number to a vehicle by the competent authorities of a Member State, to be known as the registration number, that is intended to identify a vehicle and its holder in road traffic,

- 'registration certificate`: means the document which certifies that the vehicle is registered in a Member State.

Article 3

1. At the time of registration of a motor vehicle or a trailer Member States shall issue a registration certificate consisting of two parts in accordance with the models set out in Annexes I and II.

2. Member States may issue a registration certificate consisting solely of Part I of the model set out in Annex I where vehicles are used on their national territory, if, in the event of a roadside check, they have in their possession a system of access to the registry of vehicles.

3. Where a motor vehicle or a trailer previously registered in one Member State is re-registered in another Member State, the competent authorities in that Member State shall return the registration certificate to the authorities in the Member State in which it was issued.

Article 4

For the purposes of this Directive, the registration certificate issued by a Member State shall be recognised by the other Member States.

Article 5

1. For the purposes of identifying a vehicle and its holder in road traffic, Member States may require that the driver of a vehicle carries Part I of the corresponding registration certificate.

2. At the time of registration of a vehicle previously registered in another Member State, Member States shall require that the holder of a registration certificate submits both Part I and Part II of the registration certificate, if both parts were issued in the Member State of registration.

Article 6

Any amendments necessary in order to adapt the annexes to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7.

Article 7

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee provided for in Council Directive 96/. . ./EC for the purpose of amending Directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences, hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee`, which shall consist of representatives of the Member States with a representative of the Commission as chairman.

2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148, paragraph 2, of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.

3. The Commission shall adopt measures which apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith.

4. In that event, the Commission shall defer application of the measures which it has decided to adopt for a period to be laid down in each instrument adopted by the Council, but which may in no case exceed three months from the date of communication.

The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit referred to in the previous paragraph.

Article 8

1. After consulting the Commission, Member States shall, before 1 July 1998, adopt the laws, regulations or administration provisions necessary to comply with this Directive as from 1 July 1999.

2. When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

3. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive, and the models for registration certificates adopted in conformity with the provisions of Annexes I and II.

Article 9

Member States shall lay down the system of penalties for breaching the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all the measures necessary to ensure that those penalties are applied. The penalties thus provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify the Commission of the relevant provisions not later than 1 July 1998 and shall notify any subsequent changes as soon as possible.

Article 10

The Member States shall assist one another in the implementation of this Directive and shall, if need be, exchange information on the registration certificates that they have issued.

Article 11

This Directive shall enter into force on the day following its publication.

Article 12

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No L 237, 24. 8. 1991, p. 1.

(2) Directive 92/53/EEC of 18 June 1992 (OJ No L 225, 10. 8. 1992, p. 1).

ANNEX I

PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE

PART I

I. The overall dimensions of Part I of the registration certificate shall not be greater than an A4 format (210×297 mm).

II. The paper used for Part I of the registration certificate shall be made secure by using at least two of the following techniques:

- graphics,

- watermark,

- fluorescent fibres, or

- fluorescent imprints.

III. Part I of the registration certificate may consist of several pages. Member States shall determine the number of pages in accordance with the information contained in the document and its layout.

IV. The first page of Part I of the registration shall contain:

- the name of the Member State issuing Part I of the registration certificate,

- the distinguishing mark of the Member State issuing Part I of the registration certificate; those marks shall be as follows:

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- the name of the competent authority,

- the words 'Part I of the Registration Certificate`, printed in large type in the language or languages of the Member States issuing the registration certificate; they shall also appear, after a suitable space, in small type, in the other languages of the European Community,

- the words 'European Community`, printed in the language or languages of the Member States issuing Part I of the registration certificate,

- the number of the document.

V. Part I of the registration certificate shall also contain the following data, identified by the corresponding code:

A - registration number

B - date of first registration

C - holder of the registration certificate:

C1 - surname

C2 - other names

C3 - address in the Member State of registration on the date of issue of the document

D - vehicle:

D1 - manufacturer/trade name

D2 - commercial name

E - vehicle identification number

F - maximum laden mass:

F1 - technically permissible mass (in kilograms) except for motorcycles

G - mass of the vehicle with bodywork, and with coupling device in the case of a towing vehicle, in running order (in kilograms)

H - validity of the registration, if not unlimited

I - date of registration

M - type-approval number

R - engine:

R1 - capacity (in cm³) for motorcycles

R2 - maximum net power (in kW) for motorcycles

S - power/weight ratio (in kW/kg): R2/G for motorcycles

U - number of seats, including the driver.

VI. Part I of the registration certificate may, moreover, contain the following data, identified by the corresponding code:

F - maximum laden mass:

F2 - of the vehicle in service in the Member State of registration (in kilograms)

F3 - of the combination in service in the Member State of registration (in kilograms)

J - owner or keeper of the vehicle:

J1 - surname

J2 - other names

J3 - address in the Member State of registration, on the date of issue of the document

L - vehicle category

M - type-approval number

N - number of axles

O - wheelbase (in mm)

P - distribution of technically-permissible maximum laden mass among the axles:

P1 - axle 1 (in kilograms)

P2 - axle 2 (in kilograms)

P3 - axle 3 (in kilograms)

Q - technically permissible maximum towable mass of the trailer:

Q1 - braked (in kilograms)

Q2 - unbraked (in kilograms)

R - engine:

R1 - maximum capacity (in cm³)

R2 - maximum net power (in kW)

R3 - rated speed (in min-1)

R4 - fuel

T - colour of the vehicle

V - maximum speed (in km/h)

W - sound level:

W1 - stationary (in dB(A))

W2 - engine speed (in min-1)

W3 - drive-by (in dB(A))

X - exhaust emissions:

X1 - CO (in g/km or g/kWh)

X2 - HC (in g/km or g/kWh)

X3 - NOx (in g/km or g/kWh)

X4 - HC + NOx (in g/km)

X5 - particulates for diesel (in g/km or g/kWh)

X6 - corrected absorption coefficient for diesel (in min-1)

X7 - CO2 (in g/km)

X8 - combined fuel consumption (in l/100 km)

Y - fuel tank(s) capacity (in l).

VII. Member States may include additional information on the registration certificate Part I, only if this information is either stated on the type-approval documentation in accordance with Directive 70/156/EEC or can be derived from it by simple calculation.

ANNEX II

PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE

PART II

I. The overall dimensions of Part II of the registration certificate shall not be greater than an A4 format (210×297 mm).

II. The paper used for Part II of the registration certificate shall be made secure by using at least two of the following techniques:

- graphics,

- watermark,

- fluorescent fibres, or

- fluorescent imprints.

III. Part II of the registration certificate may consist of several pages. Member States shall determine the number of pages in accordance with the information contained in the document and its layout.

IV. The first page of Part II of the registration shall contain:

- the name of the Member State issuing Part II of the registration certificate,

- the distinguishing mark of the Member State issuing Part II of the registration certificate; those marks shall be as follows:

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- the name of the competent authority,

- the words 'Part II of the Registration Certificate`, printed in large type in the language or languages of the Member States issuing the registration certificate; they shall also appear, after a suitable space, in small type, in the other languages of the European Community,

- the words 'European Community`, printed in the language or languages of the Member States issuing Part II of the registration certificate,

- the number of the document.

V. Part II of the registration certificate shall also contain the following data, identified by the corresponding code:

A - registration number

B - date of first registration

D - vehicle:

D1 - manufacturer/trade name

D2 - commercial name

E - vehicle identification number

M - type-approval number

VI. Part II of the registration certificate may, moreover, contain the following data, identified by the corresponding code:

J - owner or keeper of the vehicle:

J1 - surname

J2 - other names

J3 - address in the Member State of registration, on the date of issue of the document

K - new owner or keeper of the vehicle:

K1 - surname

K2 - other names

K3 - address

K4 - date and signature of the former owner or keeper

L - vehicle category.

VII. Member States may include additional information on the registration certificate Part II, only if this information is either stated on the type-approval documentation in accordance with Directive 70/156/EEC or can be derived from it by simple calculation.