Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 97/68/EC 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"

(2001/C 260/01)

On 15 January 2001 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 27 June 2001. The rapporteur was Mr Barros Vale.

At its 383rd plenary session (meeting of 11 July), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 94 votes to one with two abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. The Committee welcomes the proposal for amending Directive 97/68/EC, which is designed to "extend the scope of the current Directive on emissions from compression ignition engines to be used in non-road mobile machinery ... to cover small spark ignition engines also. This will contribute to achieving ambient air quality targets especially concerning formation of ozone".

1.2. The current Directive only covers compression engines with a power output above 18 kW but not more than 560 kW. It includes emission limits for carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and particulates. The different limit values are to be implemented in two stages - the first stage coming into force in 1999 and the second stage between 2000 and 2003, depending on the engine power output. Since their power and higher fuel consumption make compression engines a more important source of environmental pollution, Directive 97/68/EC introduced provisions for these engines but left small spark ignition engines to be regulated later. The fifth recital of the Directive specifies that the scope of the Directive could be extended to cover gasoline engines used in machinery with a power output of not more than 19 kW.

1.3. The aim of the Commission in presenting its proposal is to promote better air quality by laying down standards and testing methods for the maximum limits on gaseous emissions from engines with a power output of not more than 19 kW. The inclusion of such small gasoline engines is in response to the fifth recital in Directive 97/68/EC. The reason for including testing methods for determining the maximum limits on emissions is that there are no ISO standards at the moment and the rules appended to the proposal for such tests are considered to offer a swifter solution.

2. General comments

2.1. In the absence of cost-effectiveness studies for spark ignition engines for non-road machinery under the Auto-Oil II programme, the Commission has used the data collected from "extensive studies on the environmental benefits, the effects of the emissions and the costs for the standards decided upon" carried out in the USA. It is assumed that the cost-effectiveness used in the US regulatory process is also typical for European conditions. US estimates were based on the assumption that the legislation was introduced in the USA only. It is thought that many European manufacturers are producing engines on a global market and have to develop and produce engines meeting US standards independently of EU legislation. For those European manufacturers who are not operating on a global market and will not be doing so in the future, "longer implementation periods" - for example - are recommended.

2.2. Concerns regarding the new optional administrative provisions

The Commission proposal introduces new provisions for the certification of engines in Stage II. The standard EU approval procedure is to apply to stage II as well as stage I, but a system used successfully in the USA - the voluntary averaging and banking system - is to be offered to engine manufacturers as an alternative. Application of this system in the EU may be made more complicated by the existence of 15 Member States, but with careful planning should achieve its objectives. For example, an engine manufacturer wishing to use the voluntary averaging and banking system for his products on the Community market will have to deal with the authorities in only one Member State.

In return for the benefits which the manufacturers of more polluting engines may gain from this system, manufacturers using the standard procedures for the approval of their engines qualify for the exemption created for small engine families (niche products).

It is hoped that the studies to be carried out by the Commission in this field, as referred to in the footnote in Annex XII, will clarify the applicability of the system in the EU.

2.3. Technological distinction between two- and four-stroke engines

The Commission works on the principle that the division of class S engines (small engines with a power of no more than 19 kW) into "handheld engines" and "non-handheld engines" coincides with the natural split between two- and four-stroke engines. Hence it makes no reference to the two-stroke/four-stroke technological solution and merely subdivides the two categories - engines for handheld machinery and engines for non-handheld machinery - into different classes depending on engine size.

3. Specific comments

3.1. Given the different state of the art with regard to technological solutions for two- and four-stroke engines, given the fact that engine manufacturers tend to produce for the manufacturers of the machinery in which their engines are used, and given the fact that the manufacturers of these small engines generally manufacture engines for road machinery too, there are good grounds for interim assessments prior to the target dates so as to confirm the existence on the market of engines which can be used by the manufacturers of handheld machinery and which comply with the proposed rules.

3.2. This concern is heightened by the fact that the proposed rules will be underpinned by testing methods laid down both in this proposal for amending the Directive and in the Directive itself.

3.3. It is necessary to give some thought to the applicability of the "voluntary averaging and banking system" given the foreseeable bureaucracy and red tape.

4. Final considerations

4.1. Support should be given to the environmental concerns underlying the proposal, but it is also necessary to take account of the foreseeable technical difficulties for industry and the difficulties involved in applying and monitoring observance of the standards laid down.

4.2. Since neither handheld nor non-handheld machinery has to be registered, inspections depend on the type-approval procedure. Any register or system of records is likely to be complicated, especially where emission credits are used and where the engines and the machinery are not manufactured by the same firm.

4.3. Another difficulty in applying the voluntary averaging and banking system stems from the fact that an engine complying with the approval requirements when verification of conformity is requested by its manufacturer may no longer comply with them if the manufacturer of the machinery to which the engine is to be fitted adapts the air admission, fuel supply or exhaust system, thereby changing the way the engine operates and its original emission values.

5. Conclusions

5.1. The Committee welcomes the Commission proposal for reducing the pollution from non-road mobile machinery fitted with internal combustion engines.

5.2. The limits laid down for engine emissions and the dates from which they are to apply are sensible and merit the support of the Committee. The Committee also supports the new testing methods set out in the annexes because of their high technical standard.

5.3. In view of the questions raised by the voluntary averaging and banking system, such a system should not be used for a period of more than 10 years. After that, there will have to be clear and quantified emission limits for all machinery.

Brussels, 11 July 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke Frerichs