WRITTEN QUESTION P-0123/03

by Bernd Lange (PSE) to the Commission

(21 January 2003)

Subject: Commission proposals still pending in connection with Directive 1999/96/EC

Directive 1999/96/EC(1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas for use in vehicles and amending Council Directive 88/77/EEC(2) was published in the Official Journal on 16 February 2000.

Some of the details included in the Euro IV level, such as the introduction of on-board diagnostic systems (OBDs), in-service monitoring and durability, were to be further specified by 31 December 2000. However, the corresponding Commission proposals are still pending.

Given that the Euro IV level is to come into effect on 1 October 2005, the time remaining is now extremely limited.

Why has no corresponding Commission proposal been submitted?

What further action will the Commission take in this connection?

How will the Commission guarantee that the Euro IV level can come into effect on 1 October 2005 as planned?

(1) OJ L 44, 16.2.2000, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 36, 9.2.1988, p. 33.

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(12 February 2003)

The proposal on the next stage of requirements related to Euro IV to apply to heavy-duty vehicles and engines will soon be dealt with by the Commission. This proposal to the European Parliament and the Council is being formulated in a new way, commonly known as a split-level approach.

The proposal now in preparation will be the first one in the field of automobile legislation with the specific aim of improving the efficiency of the decision making process while simplifying the legislation. As such, the proposal will require the legislators to consider only the fundamental elements of the legislation (e.g. limit values and other elements seen to be clearly of a political nature) under Article 95 of the EC Treaty while the implementing measures (i.e. the technical annexes) necessary to implement the fundamental elements will be adopted through a Commission Directive on the basis of a delegation of executive power to the Commission. This delegation is presently being addressed through the recasting of the type-approval framework Directive (Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers(1)).

When preparing these prescriptions concerning Euro IV the Commission has decided also to increase the legibility of Council Directive 88/77/EEC of 3 December 1987 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous pollutants from diesel engines for use in vehicles, by recasting it. Therefore, the existing annexes laid down in Directive 88/77/EEC and the amendments necessary to introduce the new fundamental elements are recast according to the Inter-Institutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 between the Parliament, Council and Commission on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts(2). However, the tools and procedures necessary to recast legislative acts have only recently become operational. Delays have therefore been unavoidable.

The technical prescriptions regarding on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems, durability, in-use conformity checking, test reference fuels and the accuracy and repeatability of the sampling and measuring system for particulate mass emissions are prepared. They have been discussed and developed with the various stakeholders, in particular the heavy-duty vehicle and engine industry.

The Commission will propose that these new measures apply from the dates laid down in Directive 1999/96/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999, i.e. 1 October 2005 for new types of engines and vehicles and from 1 October 2006 for all types of engines and vehicles. It is the Commission's aim that the dates laid down in Directive 1999/96/EC for application of these new measures be respected and it, therefore, trusts that the co-decision procedure can be carried out expeditiously to meet those aims.

(1) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970.

(2) OJ C 77, 28.3.2002.