Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending Council Directives 74/150/EEC, 74/151/EEC, 74/152/EEC, 74/346/EEC, 74/347/EEC, 75/321/EEC, 75/322/EEC, 76/432/EEC, 76/763/EEC, 77/311/EEC, 77/537/EEC, 78/764/EEC, 78/933/EEC, 79/532/EEC, 79/533/EEC, 80/720/EEC, 86/297/EEC, 86/415/EEC and 89/173/EEC relating to the maximum design speed of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors` () (97/C 56/14)

On 14 June 1996, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 100a of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 2 October 1996. The rapporteur was Mr Bagliano.

At its 339th Plenary Session (meeting of 31 October 1996), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following Opinion by 67 votes to three with five abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. The proposed Directive amends 'Framework Directive` 74/150/EEC and the many individual Directives for the approximation of Member State legislation on type-approval for the maximum design speed of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors.

1.2. The aim is to create a single type-approval system so that tractors can circulate freely within the Community.

1.3. Current Community type-approval is still optional, and applies to tractors which have a maximum design speed of 30 km/h. Since an increasing number of agricultural and forestry tractors are designed and built for greater maximum speeds, use of the single type-approval system has diminished considerably.

1.4. The proposed amendment - replacing '30 km/h` with '40 km/h` (a speed limit chosen by the Commission following consultation with Member State and industry experts) - is therefore necessary to achieve a 'Community type-approval system`.

2. Comments

2.1. The Commission proposal acknowledges the current situation in which Community legislation covers only 15 % of vehicles.

2.2. Only three countries (Belgium, France and Sweden) formally ban speeds over 30 km/h, although end-users do ask about the possibility of making post-delivery adjustments, in order to reach a speed of 40 km/h. Whilst a 30 km/h speed limit exists in the United Kingdom, all tractors sold are capable of 40 km/h, leaving it up to the end-user to decide. Another Member State (Germany) is already aiming for more than 40 km/h. Manufacturers, for their part, are already designing tractors to meet a variety of requests from users, with axles capable of taking speeds above 30 km/h.

2.2.1. Among performance requirements, tractor drivers have increasingly mentioned the need for speed. Nowadays, journeys and transport by tractor account for 40 % of total tractor usage, and this figure is expected to rise with the restructuring of farming activity and of farms; this will lead to an increase in average acreage, but without the individual components (fields) necessarily being adjacent. Consequently, increased tractor speed could improve profitability. A modern farm needs to move machines and produce more quickly within its whole area. The tractor is not just used for transporting agricultural machinery, but also for produce: for some crops (e.g. beetroot) transport is essential.

2.3. The current situation is very diverse, and manufacturers have to produce vehicles with different specifications (equipment) for each individual market within the European Union. The disparate type-approval criteria in the various Member States account for 30 % of investment costs. Harmonization more in keeping with the current situation is therefore required, as the cornerstone of an efficient Community type-approval system which would obviate the need for manufacturers to design custom versions of their tractors - with an obvious increase in costs - for different countries.

2.3.1. With tractors, the speed problem is connected with that of safety. Moreover, safety depends on the adequacy and efficiency of the braking system: an increase in the maximum speed limit must obviously be accompanied by amended technical provisions. To this end, the Committee calls on the Commission to adopt without delay the relevant Directive on adaptation to technical progress.

2.4. Moreover, in view of the continuous developments in tractor performance and application, the Committee would call on the Commission to take this into account in the next amendment to the Framework Directive, and make an unequivocal provision for tractors with maximum design speeds of over 40 km/h. This must of course be accompanied by adequate arrangements for safety and environmental protection. When the maximum design speed of tractors is being set, account must be taken of the fact that tractors are frequently driven by young people (from 16 years of age), who have not been taught to drive properly. The Committee calls on the Member States to adopt appropriate measures for the use of such vehicles, particularly as regards driving instruction.

2.5. As to codification of EU legislation regarding the construction characteristics of agricultural tractors, the Committee feels that the process should continue towards achieving a clear and complete, legislative framework which can be readily implemented.

3. Conclusions

3.1. Whilst the Committee endorses the proposed amendment to the maximum design speed for agricultural or forestry tractors, it would call on the Commission to implement the further recommendations made in paragraph 2.4.

3.2. The Committee also calls for the regulations to be consolidated, in the interests of greater transparency.

Brussels, 31 October 1996.

The President of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS

() OJ No C 186, 26. 6. 1996, p. 11.