ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(74)158
Vol.1974/0023

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(74)158final
Brussels,11February197
PROPOSAL FORA
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
ontheapproximation ofthelawsoftheMemberStates
relatingtothesulphurcontentofcertainliquidfuels
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission)
C0M(74)158final

EXPLANATORY MMJRAEDUM
ŒDNERAL
Inthelightofthecomparativestudyonthelaws,regulations
andadministrative provisionseitherinforceor"beingdrafted
intheMemberStateswithregardtothemaximumpermissible
sulphurcontentofliquidfuels,ithasemergedthatdifferences
existnotonlyinrespectofthoprovisionsonthelimitation
ofthemaximumsulphurcontent "butalsointheactualstructure
ofthelawsandthesolutionsadoptedtoreducenoxiousemissions
duetothevariouscategoriesoffuel.Inviewofthissituation
theoilindustryisbeingcompelledtoadjustitsproductionin
ordertocomplywiththedifferentprovisionsinforceinthe
variouscountrieswhichitsupplies.
Accordingly ,theapproximation oftheselawswouldappeartobe
themostappropriate wayofeliminatingthenegativeEffectsof
thedisparities whichhavebeenfoundtoexistamongthese
provisions .
Forthisreason"petroleumoilsusedforheatingorforthe
propulsionofmotorvehicles"havebeenincorporated inthe
additionof21fey1973totheGeneralProgrammeof28fey19S9>
withaviewtoeliminatingtechnicalbarrierstotradein
industrialproductscausedbydisparities betweenthelaws,
regulations andadministrative provisionsapplicableinthe
MemberStates..
Theapproximation oflawsinthissectorshouldalsobeseenin
thecontextofthemeasuresadoptedintheCommunityProgrammefor
theEnvironment of20July1973.Underthe:provisionsofthepresent
proposalforaDirectivetheapprordmrvtionoflawswouldleadto
aconsiderable reductioninatmosphericpollutionbysulphur
dioxidoandwouldthusmakeadirectcontribution totheimprovement
oftheenvironment .
TheaimofthisDirectiveistoeliminatedifferencesthroughthe
approximation oflawsonthebasisofArticle100oftheTreaty
ofSome.
AnumberofMemberStateshavorecentlyintroducedoraugmented
nationalmeasuresinthisarea.

On2May1973theNetherlands GovernmentforwardedtotheCommission
adraftdecreedealingmainlywiththefixingandgradualreduotionof
thesulphurcontentoffuels.
On18June1973theFrenchGovernmentinformedtheCommissionof
proposedmeasuresforthegradualreductionofthesulphurcontent
ofgasoils.
On5July1973theItalianGovernmentforwardedtotheCommissiona
draftdecreeamendingLawNo.615of13July1966onmeasurestocombat
atmosphericpollution..Themainaimoftheprovisionsinquestionisto
determinetheareasto"bodesignatedasprotectedzonesandtoensure
thegradualreductionofthesulphurcontentingasoils.
TheGovernmentoftheFederalRepublicofGermanyinformedtheCommission
"byletterof18Ootober1973ofdraftlegislationintroducingaprogressive
limitationonthesulphurcontentoflightfuelsanddies'elmotorfuels.
II.HARMONIZATION SOLUTION
TheprovisionsofthisproposalforaDirectivehavebeendrafted ,
withaviewtototalharmonization ,wherebytheCommunityprovisions
willreplacetherelevantnationallawscurrentlyinforce.
III.COMMENTS ONTHEPROPOSEDDIRECTIVE
TheaimofthisproposedDirectiveistolaydownCommunityrequirements
forthelimitationofthesulphuroontentofgasoilsandwillbe
followedshortlybyanotherproposal,themainobjectofwhichwillbe
tolimitthesulphurcontentofheavyfueloils.Thelastmentioned
proposalwillbeputforwardassoonastheadditionalresearch,
currentlybeingundertaken ,hasbeencompleted.
Asfarasthefirstmeasureisconcerned,thiswillhavetheeffect
ofensuringamarkedreductioninatmosphericpollutioncausedby
sulphurcompoundsresultingfromgasoilcombustion.

Having regard tothesulphur content ofgasoils ,only twogrades of
such oilwill hepermitted ontheCommunity domestic market asfrom
1October 1976 .
With aview toensuring ,over theyears tocome andinspite ofasharp
andcontinuing increase inconsumption ,the attainment oftheobjectives
(reduction intheexisting level ofpollution ,orincertain areas ,
maintenance ofexisting levels where these aredeemed acceptable ),
successive reductions insulphur content areenvisaged forthetwo
grades ofgasoil .
Asfrom 1October 1976 themaximum basic type sulphur content will be
restricted toO.j/oandwill subsequently bereduced to0.3$,commencing
1October 1980 .
Asfrom 1October 1976 themaximum content forsulphur ofthesecond ,type
(type B)will belimited to0.8$ andthis figure ,inturn ,will bereduced
to0.5%asfrom 1October I98O . '
Thus ,onandafter this last mentioned date ,there will betwogrades of
gasoilonthemarket with amaximum sulphur content of0.3$ and0,5$
respectively .
IntheCommission 'sview itseemed advisable inthepresent situation to
leave totheMember States thetask ofdefining the lowatmospheric
pollution regions andalso anyregiQh where th&contribution made bygas
oils toatmospheric pollution waslow (inthese regions itwill bepossible
tousetype Bgasoil).
This possibility offers acertain flexibility ,particularly intheMember
States which have industrial regions where competitive conditions arenot
favourable ,butwhere thequestion ofairpollution isnot apre-eminent
consideration .
TheCommission believes that theobligation ofMember .States tonotify it
ofthecriteria which they have established fordetermining these regions ,
constitutes aserious curb totheexcessive useofthis type ofgasoil .

Nevertheless ,theCommissionwillre-examinetheappropriateprovisions
ofArticles2and5inthelightofprogressaccomplishedindefining
criteriafortheharmfulpropertiesofpollutantsandtargetsforair
quality.Itwillalsoconsidernewdataforthelevelsofsulphurdioxide
and,ifnecessary,putforwardappropriateproposalsforArticles2and5
before1OctoberI98O,
ThismeansthattheCommissionwill"beabletoverifyif.thechoiceof
criteria,andoftheirapplication ,insuresaprotectionoftheenviron­
mentintheseregionscompatiblewiththeCommission'sprogrammeonthe
subject.
Inaddition,soasnottoimpedethenationalprogrammesaimedatreducing
atmosphericpollutioncausedbysulphurcompounds,MemberStateswillbe
1
abletobringforwardtheproposeddatesforthereductionofthemaximum
sulphurcontentofgasoilsandfortheintroduction ofthisDirective.
Theproposeddatestakeaccountoftheconditionsprevailinginthegasoil
marketandtheintervalcftimerequiredfortheinstallati»n ofthe
desulphurisation plantandequipment. ■■■
Furthermore ,theDirectivestipulatesthatrandomchecksbecarriedout
toensurethatthegasoilscomplywiththerequirementslaiddowninthe
Directive.Astandardmethodofanalysisshouldbeadoptedforthedeter­
minationofthesulphurcontent.
toeproductionofgasoilsconformingtotheproposedrestrictions ,
particularlytothoseforeseenforI98O1willhenceforthenecessitatea
verylargequantityofcrudeoilbeingtreatedinthede-sulferising plants,
whichwillcallfsrsupplementary investmenttoincreasethecapacityof
theseplants.Toabsorbthisandtheresultanthigherproductioncosts
willcallforanincreaseinthepriceofgasoil.TheCommissionhasmade
studies,andconsultedtheexpertsoftheMemberStatesonthedifferent
aspectsoftheproblem,particularly ontheeconomioaspectsofaneventual
reductionofatmosphericemissions«fsulphurresultingfromtheburning
ofoilproducts.Thisworkhasbeenthesubjectofareport.Itisdifficult
toestablish,inthepresentstateoftheoilsector,preciseestimatesof

theincreaseincosts,"butthepercentageislikelyto"belessthan5%»
ifthetrendtowardsconsiderably highercrudeoilpricescontinuesupto
thedateofapplication oftheproposedmeasures.
Theincreaseintheamountofcrudeoilto"betreatedsimilarlyleadsto
agreaterconsumptionofenergy "bythede-sulferising plants,thereby
increasingtheirneedforcrudeoil.Inthisregardalso,littledatais
available,buttheestimatesareindicativeofavaluelessthan0.5$.
TheCommissionis,however,oftheopinionthattheforecastincreases,
bothofthepriceofgasoilandoftheuseofcrudeoil,arelargely
justifiedbythebasicaimsoftheproposeddirective.
Inviewoftheurgentneedfortheapproximation ofthelaws,andtaking
intoaccountthetechnicalrequirements whichwillhavetobesetatshort
noticeinordertoreducethesulphurcontentingasoils,thefinal
deadlinewithinwhichtheDirectivemustbeincorporated inthenational
lawsoftheMemberStateshasbeenfixedatsixmonthsfromthedateof
itsnotification ,
IV.CONSULTATION WITHTHEEUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ANDTHEECONOMIC ANDSOCIAL
COMMITTEE
InaccordancewiththeprovisionsofArticle100(2)oftheEECTreaty,
theopinionofeachofthesebodiesisrequired,sincetheimplementation
oftheproposedterms.oftheDirectivewillinevitablyentailamendments
tothelegalprovisionsofalloftheMemberStates.

PROPOSAL FORACOUNCILDIR3CTIY3
ontheapproximation ofthelawsoftheMember
Statesrelatingtothesulphurcontentofcertain
liquidfuels
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomicComnunity,
andinparticularArticle100thereof;
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission ;
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEuropeanParliament ;
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee;
Whereasthelaws,regulationsoradministrative provisionseitherin
forceintheMemberStateslaydownlimitswithrespecttothesulphur
contentofliquidfuels;whereastheserequirements differfromone
MemberStatetoanother;
Whereastheselegaldifferences compeltheCommunityoilcompaniesto
adapttheirproductionwithregardtosulphurcontent,dependingon
whichMemberStateisbeingsupplied;whereastheaforementioned
differencesthusconstitutea"barriertotradeintheseproductsandso
haveadirectinfluenceontheestablishment andfunctioningofthe
commonmarket;
WhereascertainMemberStateshavenotifiedtheCommissionofproposals
dealingmainlywiththefixingandgradualreductionofthesulphur
contentoffuelsasameansofreducingsulphurdioxideemissions;
Whereasbyreasonoftheconsiderable influenceofthesulphurcontent
ofcertainliquidfuelsuponpublichealthandtheenvironment and
inconjunction withtheaforementioned proposalsitwillbenecessary
atCommunityleveltoreduceprogressively andappreciablythesulphur
contentofgasoils;

Whereasthereductionandlimitationofthesulphurcontentofheavy-
fueloilsrequireinfactfurtherresearchaimedatfindinga
satisfactory solution,notonlywithregardtoenvironmental protection
"butalsoasregardsthesupplyofcrudeoilandotherenergy ■-
requirements totheMemberStates;whereastheCommunityprovisions
to"belaiddowninthisareawillformthesubjectofspecific
directives ;whereasthisDirectiveisintendedasafirststep
towardsthereductionofthesulphurcontentofliquidfuelsand
appliesonlytogasoils;
Whereas,inordertotakeaccountofthetechnicalandeconomic
consequencesresultingfromthereductionandlimitationofthesulphur
contentofgasoilsandalsothelocalcircumstances prevailinginthe
MemberStates,itwillhenecessaryasfrom1October1976"todefine
twotypesofgasoil;onetypeforgeneraluseandtheotherfor
restricteduseinregionstobedeterminedbytheMemberStates;
Whereasrandomchecksshouldbecarriedouttodeterminethesulphur
contentofgasoilsplacedonthemarket;whereasauniformmethod
shouldbeadoptedforthedetermination ofthesulphurcontent;
HISADOPTEDTHISDIRECTIVE

ProposalforaCouncilDirective
onthesulphurcontentofcertainliquidfuels
Article1
ForthepurposeofthisDirective.
1."GASOIL"
meansanyoilproductwhich,"byvirtueofitsdistillation
limits,fallsintothecategoryofmediumdistillatesintended
foruseasfuelsandwhichhastheadditionalpropertywherehy
atleast85$ofitsmasswilldistilatatemperatureof350°C
2."TYP5AGA5OIL"
meansanygasoilwithalowsulphurcontentwhichisnot
subjecttorestrictions withintheMemberStatesasregards
itsuse;-
3."TYPE'BGAoOTL"
meansanygasoilintendedforuseinregionsandzones:
–wheretherecordedlevelsof'sulphurdioxideatmospheric
pollutionaresufficiently low,
-wherethepartplayedbygasoilinsulphurdioxide
atEOsphericpollutionisnotsignificant .

Article 2 ' .
TheMember States shall take allreasonable steps toensure that :
-t.ype Agasoils shall bemade available forsale intheCommunity only
iftheir sulphur compound content ,calculated assulphur ,does not
exceed 0.5$ inweight asfrom 1October 1976 and0.3$ inweight as
from 1October 1980$
-type Bgasoils shall bemade available forsale intheCommunity only
iftheir sulphur compound content ,calculated assulphur ,does not
exceed 0.8$ inweight asfrom 1October 1976 and0.5$ inweight asfrom
1October 1980 .
TheMember States maybring into effect theprovisions ofArticle .2
earlier than "therein provided .
/
Article A
Asfrom thedates ofapplication laid down inArticle 2,inconjunction
with theprovisions ofArticle 3»theMember States maynot ,onthegrounds
ofsulphur content ,prohibit ,restrict orimpede themarketing ofgasoils ,
provided that thelatter comply with therequirements ofthis Directive .
TheMember States shall determine those regions andzones inwhich theuse
oftype Bgasoilistobepermitted andshall inform theCommission of
their decisions aswell asthecriteria employed inselection .

Article6
effectsofthe
TheCommissionissupervisingthe/applicationofthepresentDirective,
particularly ofArticles2and5tanddependingonthenewinformation ,
becomingavailableconcerningtheunifiedmeasuresofatmosphericpollution
duetosulphurdioxide,alsooftheprogressaccomplishedindetermining
theobjectivesofpureairintheCommunity,drawinguptheappropriate
proposalsandpointsarisingtherefrom,notlaterth?,n1October1930,
Article7
TheMemberStatesshalltakethenecessarymeasurestoensurethatrandom
checksandinspections arecarriedoutonthesulphurcontentofgasoils
placedOnthemarketinaccordancewiththeanalysismethodlaiddownin
EuropeanStandard(CEff)Ho.316of
Article8
1.MemberStatesshallputintoforcethelaws,regulations andadministrative
provisionsneededinordertocomplywiththisDirectivewithinsixmonths
ofitsnotification andshallforthwithinformtheCommissionthereof.
2.MemberStatesshallensurethatthetextoftheprovisionsofnational
lawwhichtheyadoptinthefieldcoveredbythisDirectivearecommuni­
catedtotheCommission.
ThisDirectiveisaddressedtotheMemberStates