Tuesday 25 October 2011

Tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers ***I

P7_TA(2011)0448

European Parliament legislative resolution of 25 October 2011 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers and to their fitting (codified text) (COM(2011)0120 – C7-0071/2011 – 2011/0053(COD))

2013/C 131 E/19

(Ordinary legislative procedure – codification)

The European Parliament,

having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2011)0120),

having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C7-0071/2011),

having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 15 June 2011 (1) ,

having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 20 December 1994 – Accelerated working method for official codification of legislative texts (2) ,

having regard to Rules 86 and 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A7-0349/2011),

whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the proposal in question contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts without any change in their substance,

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(1) OJ C 248, 25.8.2011, p. 153.

(2) OJ C 102, 4.4.1996, p. 2.

Tuesday 25 October 2011

P7_TC1-COD(2011)0053

Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 25 October 2011 with a view to the adoption of Directive 2011/…/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers and to their fitting (Codification)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),

Whereas:

(1) Council Directive 92/23/EEC of 31 March 1992 relating to tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers and to their fitting (3) has been substantially amended several times (4). In the interests of clarity and rationality the said Directive should be codified.

(2) Directive 92/23/EEC is one of the separate Directives of the EC type-approval system provided for in Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (Framework Directive) (5), and lays down technical prescriptions which motor vehicles and their trailers must satisfy relating to, inter alia, pneumatic tyres. Those technical prescriptions concern the approximation of the laws of the Member States to enable the EC type-approval procedure provided for in Directive 2007/46/EC to be applied in respect of each type of motor vehicle and trailer. Consequently, the provisions laid down in Directive 2007/46/EC relating to motor vehicles and their trailers, and to systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, apply to this Directive.

(3) Rules on tyres should lay down common requirements concerning not only their characteristics but also the requirements for the equipment of vehicles and their trailers with regard to their tyres.

(4) It is desirable to take into account the technical requirements adopted by the UN Economic Commission for Europe in its Regulation No 30 (‘Uniform provisions concerning the approval of pneumatic tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers’), as amended (6), in its Regulation No 54 (‘Uniform provisions concerning the approval of pneumatic tyres for commercial vehicles and their trailers’) (7), in its Regulation No 64 (‘Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles equipped with temporary-use spare wheels/tyres’), as amended (8), and in its Regulation No 117 (‧Uniform Provisions Concerning the Approval Of Tyres With Regard To Rolling Sound Emissions And To Adhesion On Wet Surfaces‧), as amended (9), which are annexed to the Agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (Revised 1958 Agreement) (10).

(5) This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law and application of the Directives set out in Annex VII, Part B,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘tyre’ means any new pneumatic tyre including a winter tyre with holes for studs, in the form of original equipment or of a replacement, intended to be fitted to vehicles to which Directive 2007/46/EC applies. This definition does not cover winter tyres with studs;

(b) ‘vehicle’ means any vehicle to which Directive 2007/46/EC applies;

(c) ‘manufacturer’ means the holder of the trade name or mark of vehicles or tyres.

Article 2

1. The requirements set out in Annex V shall apply to tyres intended to be fitted to vehicles first used on or after 1 October 1980.

2. The requirements set out in Annex V shall not apply to:

(a) tyres whose speed rating is less than 80 km/h;

(b) tyres whose nominal rim diameter does not exceed 254 mm (or code 10) or is 635 mm or more (code 25);

(c) T-type temporary-use spare tyres as defined in point 2.3.6 of Annex II;

(d) tyres designed only to be fitted to vehicles registered for the first time before 1 October 1980.

Article 3

1. Member States shall grant EC type-approval, under the conditions laid down in Annex I, to all types of tyres meeting the requirements of Annex II, and shall allocate to them an approval number as specified in Annex I.

2. Member States shall grant EC type-approval, under the conditions laid down in Annex I, to all types of tyres meeting the requirements of Annex V, and shall allocate to them an approval number as specified in Annex I.

3. Member States shall grant EC type-approval to all vehicles in respect of their tyres under the conditions laid down in Annex III, where those tyres (including spare tyres, where appropriate) meet the requirements of Annex II and the requirements concerning vehicles laid down in Annex IV, and shall allocate to any such vehicle an approval number as specified in Annex III.

Article 4

The approval authority of a Member State shall, within one month of issuing or refusing an EC type-approval for a component (tyre) or vehicle, send a copy of the relevant certificate, models of which are given in the Appendices to Annex I and Annex III, to the other Member States and, if requested, send the test report on any type of tyre approved.

Article 5

No Member State may prohibit or restrict the placing on the market of tyres bearing the EC type-approval mark.

Article 6

No Member State may refuse to grant EC type-approval or national type-approval to a vehicle on grounds relating to its tyres if those tyres bear the EC type-approval mark and are fitted in accordance with the requirements laid down in Annex IV.

Article 7

No Member State may prohibit the use of a vehicle on grounds relating to its tyres if those tyres bear the EC type-approval mark and are fitted in accordance with the requirements laid down in Annex IV.

Article 8

1. If, on the basis of a substantiated justification, a Member State considers that a tyre type or a vehicle type is dangerous although complying with the requirements of this Directive, it may, within its territory, provisionally prohibit the marketing of that product or subject it to special conditions. It shall immediately inform the other Member States and the Commission thereof, stating the grounds for its decision.

2. The Commission shall, within six weeks, consult the Member States concerned, following which it shall deliver its opinion without delay and take the appropriate steps.

3. If the Commission is of the opinion that technical adaptations to this Directive are necessary, such adaptations shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 11. In that event, the Member State which has adopted safeguard measures may maintain them until the entry into force of the adaptations.

Article 9

1. The Member State which has granted the EC type-approval for a component (tyre) or vehicle shall take the measures required in order to verify that production models conform to the approved type in so far as this is necessary and if need be in cooperation with the approval authorities in the other Member States. For this purpose, that Member State may at any time check the conformity of the tyres or vehicles to the requirements of this Directive. Such verification shall be limited to spot checks.

2. If the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 finds that a number of tyres or vehicles with the same approval marking do not conform to the approved type, it shall take the necessary measures to ensure that production models so conform. Where there is a consistent failure to conform, those measures may extend to a withdrawal of EC type-approval. The authorities shall take the same measure if they are informed by the approval authorities of another Member State of such failure to conform.

3. The approval authorities of the Member States shall within one month notify each other, using the relevant form shown in the Appendices to Annex I and Annex III, of any withdrawal of EC type-approval and of the reasons for such a measure.

Article 10

Any decision taken pursuant to the provisions adopted in implementation of this Directive to refuse or withdraw EC type-approval for a tyre or for a vehicle with regard to the fitting of its tyres implying a prohibition of marketing or of use shall set out in detail the reasons on which it is based. Every such decision shall be notified to the party concerned, who shall at the same time be informed of the remedies available to him under the laws in force in the Member States and of the time-limits allowed for the exercise of such remedies.

Article 11

Any amendments necessary to adapt the requirements of Annexes I to VI to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 40(2) of Directive 2007/46/EC.

Article 12

1. Member States may not:

(a) refuse to grant EC type-approval or national approval for a type of vehicle or type of tyre, or

(b) refuse the registration or prohibit the sale or entry into service of vehicles, and the sale or entry into service or use of tyres,

for reasons relating to the tyres and their fitting to new vehicles, if those vehicles or tyres comply with the requirements laid down in this Directive.

2. Member States may not grant EC type-approval, and shall refuse to grant national type-approval, for those types of tyre which fall within the scope of this Directive and which do not meet the requirements of this Directive.

3. Member States may not grant EC type-approval or national approval for a type of vehicle, for reasons relating to its tyres or their fitting, if the requirements of this Directive are not met.

4. Member States shall:

(a) consider certificates of conformity accompanying new vehicles in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2007/46/EC as not being valid for the purposes of Article 26(1) of that Directive, if the requirements of this Directive are not met; and

(b) refuse the registration or prohibit the sale or entry into service of new vehicles which do not meet the requirements of this Directive.

5. The provisions of this Directive shall apply for the purposes of Article 28 of Directive 2007/46/EC to all tyres which fall within the scope of this Directive, with the exception of tyres of class C1e, to which they shall apply as from 1 October 2011.

Article 13

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 14

Directive 92/23/EEC, as amended by the acts listed in Annex VII, Part A, is repealed, without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for transposition into national law and application of the Directives set out in Annex VII, Part B.

References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex VIII.

Article 15

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 16

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at For the European Parliament The President For the Council The President

(1) OJ C 248, 25.8.2011, p. 153.

(2) Position of the European Parliament of 25 October 2011.

(3) OJ L 129, 14.5.1992, p. 95.

(4) See Annex VII, Part A.

(5) OJ L 263, 9.10.2007, p. 1.

(6) Economic Commission for Europe document E/ECE/324(E3/ECE/TRANS/505) REV 1 — ADD 29, 1.4.1975 and its amendments 01, 02 and supplements.

(7) Economic Commission for Europe document E/ECE/324(E/ECE/TRANS/505) REV 1 — ADD 53 and supplements.

(8) Economic Commission for Europe document E/ECE/324(E/ECE/TRANS/505) REV 1 — ADD 63 and supplements.

(9) Economic Commission for Europe document E/ECE/324(E/ECE/TRANS/505) REV 2— ADD 116 and its amendment 01 and supplements.

(10) Published as Annex I to Council Decision 97/836/EC (OJ L 346, 17.12.1997, p. 78).