EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION 
Brussels, 10.3.2015  
COM(2015) 126 final 
2013/0165 (COD) 
  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
 
pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 
 
concerning the 
position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council concerning type-approval re quirements for the deployment of the eCall 
in-vehicle system and amending Directive 2007/46/EC 
 
EN 2   EN 2013/0165 (COD) 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
 
pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on  the Functioning of the European Union 
 
concerning the 
position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council concerning type-approval requirem ents for the deployment of the eCall 
in-vehicle system and amending Directive 2007/46/EC 
1. BACKGROUND  
Date of transmission of the proposal  to the European Parliament and 
to the Council (document COM(2013)316 final –2013/0165 (COD): 13 June 2013 
Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social 
Committee: 19 September 2013 
Date of the opinion of the Europ ean Data Protection Supervisor 
Date of the opinion of the Europ ean Parliament, first reading: 29 October 2013 
26 February 2014 
Date of adoption of the positi on of the Council: 2 March 2015 
2. OBJECTIVE  OF THE  COMMISSION  PROPOSAL 
The aim of the Commission proposal is to mandate  the eCall in-vehicle system for new types 
of cars and vans in the framewor k of the motor vehicle type a pproval, requiring these vehicles 
to be constructed as to ensure that in the event of serious road accidents an emergency call to the common European emergency call number 112 is triggered automatically. This will 
contribute significantly to reduci ng the number of casualties and fa talities in such accidents. 
3. COMMENTS
 ON  THE  POSITION  OF THE  COUNCIL 
3.1. General comments  
The Commission welcomes the political agreem ent on a compromise text reached on 1 
December 2014 by the Council and the IMCO comm ittee of the Parliament. The adoption of 
the 1st reading Council position and the plenary vot e in Parliament in April or May 2015 
should lead to the final adoption of the text . From the perspective of the Commission, the 
compromise that was reached is reasonable and can be supported.  
3.2. Comments on the amendments adop ted by the European Parliament 
3.2.1. European Parliament amendments included in full, in part or in principle in 
Council’s position at first reading 
The Council’s position in first reading enco mpasses a vast majority  of the amendments 
introduced by the European Parliament, in partic ular, most of the proposed additional recitals, 
the explicit reference to the 112-based eCall in -vehicle system, the requirement for the eCall 
EN 3   EN system to be permanently installed within the vehicle and to provide a warning to the 
occupants of the vehicle in the even t of a critical system failure.  
The Council also introduced addi tional requirements in the area of privacy and data protection 
regarding the non-use of personal data for any other purposes and the non-retention of data 
beyond what is strictly necessary for the ope ration of the eCall system. The provisions 
became even more detailed after the incorporati on of large part of the amendments of the 
European Parliament in this respect (e.g. automatic and continuous removal of data, no 
transmission of the data outside  the vehicle before the eCall is  triggered, no exchange of data 
between the in-vehicle systems, etc.). Furthe rmore, on the basis of an assessment of each 
individual requirement, a reasonable compromise  for a coherent use of both, delegated and 
implementing acts, was found. This can be supported by the Commission.  
In addition, the Council limited the period of delegation to 5 years from the entry into force of 
the Regulation without the possibi lity for tacit renewal. Subs equently, as a compromise, it 
accepted to provide for such tacit extensi on. Although, the Commission would prefer an 
unlimited delegation period, this solution can be supported as part of the package.  
On the accessibility of the eCa ll system to independent operators for repair and maintenance 
purposes, the Council introduced a link to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 and 
the possibility for the manufacturers to charge a fee, while at the same time, it also agreed on 
the additional clarification, proposed by the Eur opean Parliament, that such a fee should be 
reasonable and not exceed a nominal amount. Given that this solution does not deviate from 
the applicable EU rules on access to independent operators, the Commission can support it as part of the package.  
The Council accepted the amendment of the Eu ropean Parliament that calls on the 
Commission to assess, following a study of the co sts and benefits and broad consultation with 
stakeholders, the need of requirements for an interoperable, standardised, secure and open-
access platform and, if appropriate, to adopt a legislative initiative based on those 
requirements. This issue was not part of  the initial Commission proposal, but can be 
supported as part of the package. 
The Council also endorsed th e amendment of the European Parliament requiring the 
Commission to explore the possibilities to ex tend the scope of the Regulation to other 
categories of vehicles, such as powered tw o-wheelers, heavy goods vehicles, busses and 
coaches, and agricultural tractors, and if appropriate, to present a proposal to that  effect. This 
can be supported by the Commission.  
The clarifications brought to the drafting of the Commission text by the Council and the 
Parliament can also be supported .  
3.2.2. European Parliament amendments not in cluded in Council position at first reading 
The Council felt that the amendments of the European Parliament requiring Member States to 
report on the readiness of the eCall infrastruc ture and the Commission to take appropriate 
actions to ensure this infrastructure will be de ployed on time were not appropriate in an article 
of a Regulation dealing with the type-app roval requirements. However, the Council 
recognised that it is essential to have ready in advance the coordinate d upgrade in the public 
mobile wireless communications networks fo r conveying eCalls and PSAPs for receiving and 
handling eCalls and included ap propriate text in the recitals. This is supported by the 
Commission. The same approach was implem ented as regards the amendment of the 
European Parliament requiring the 112-based eC all system to be s ubject to periodical 
technical inspection. 
EN 4   EN 3.3. New provisions introduced by the Council and the Commission’s position  
The Council introduced a number of technical amendments, in partic ular to clarify the 
exemption from the scope of vehicles produced in  small series, individually approved vehicles 
and vehicles which for technical reasons cannot be equipped with an eC all system. It also 
provided empowerment for the Commission to adopt delegated acts in order to identify the vehicles to be exempted. This can be supported. 
Furthermore, the Council added sp ecific provisions a ddressing the co-existence of third party 
eCall services (TPS eCall) with  the 112-based eCall system. These provisions ensure that all 
vehicles are equipped with the 112-based eCa ll system on mandatory basis and that this 
system will be automatically activated should the TPS eCall fail. The solution proposed by the Counil can herefore be supported by the Commission. 
In addition, the Council introduced provisions  on the use of implementing acts and on the 
respective committee procedures for their adoption. As the application of these provisions is 
fairly limited and in the light of the compromi se reached in the context of privacy and data 
protection rules, this can also be s upported by the Commission. As to the committee 
provisions, the Commission regret s the recourse to the ‘no opini on clause’, given that the 
inclusion of such a provision c onstitutes an excepti on to Regulation 182/2011, but in the spirit 
of compromise wi ll not oppose it. 
Finally, the Council requested more lead tim e for industry to comply with the new 
requirements. The European Parliament, although not  modifying the date of application in the 
Commission’s proposal, showed openness towards a postponement and finally accepted that 
the Regulation will start to apply from 31 Ma rch 2018. The Comission agr ees that sufficient 
lead time is required and can support the compromi se date of application given that it is in 
compliance with the timeline for the deployme nt of the overall eCall infrastructure as 
provided in Decision No 585/2014/EU.    
4. CONCLUSION 
Although the Commission re grets for practical reasons the deci sion of the Counil restricting the 
delegation to the Commission to a fixed period of five years and the inclusion of the ‘no opinion 
clause’ in the committee procedure for the ad option of implementing acts, the Commission will 
refrain from opposing. 
The Council acted by a qualified majority. In conclusion, the Commission supports, in a spirit of compromise, the position adopted by 
the Council.