COMMON POSITION (EC) No 65/98 adopted by the Council on 3 November 1998 with a view to adopting Council Directive 98/ /EC of ... on the registration documents for vehicles
Date: 1998-11-03
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: approximation of laws, commercial vehicle, motor vehicle, vehicle registration

C 388/12

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

14.12.98

COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  65/98

adopted  by  the  Council  on  3  November  1998

with a view to adopting Council Directive 98/

/EC  of  . . .  on  the  registration  documents  for

vehicles

(98/C 388/04)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  75(1)(d)  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189c  of  the  Treaty (3),

(1) Whereas  the  Community  has  adopted  a  certain
number  of  measures  that  are  intended  to  create  an
internal  market  consisting  of  an  area  without
frontiers within which the free movement of goods,
persons,  services  and  capitals  is  guaranteed  in
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty;

(2) Whereas all of the Member States require the driver
of  a  vehicle  registered  in  another  Member  State  to
hold  the  certificate  of  registration  corresponding  to
that  vehicle,  in  order  for  it  to  be  permitted  to  use
the  roads  on  their  territory;

registration 

(3) Whereas harmonisation of the form and content of
its
the 
comprehension  and  thus  help  towards  the  free
movement,  on  the  roads  in  the  territory  of  the
other  Member  States,  of  vehicles  registered  in  a
Member  State;

certificate  will 

facilitate 

(4) Whereas  the  content  of  the  registration  certificate
must  enable  it  to  be  checked  that  the  holder  of  a
driving  licence  issued  in  pursuance  of  Council

(1) OJ  C  202,  2.7.1997,  p.  13  and  OJ  C  301,  30.9.1998,  p.  8.
(2) OJ  C  19,  21.1.1998,  p.  17.
(3) Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  28  May  1998  (OJ
C  195,  22.6.1998,  p.  21),  Council  Common  Position  of
3  November  1998  and  Decision  of  the  European  Parliament
of  . . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

Directive  91/439/EEC  of  29  July  1991  on  driving
licences (4)  drives  solely  those  categories  of  vehicles
for  which  he  is  authorised;  whereas  such  checking
helps  to  improve  road  safety;

(5) Whereas,  as  a  prerequisite  for  registering  a  vehicle
in  another
that  has  previosly  been  registered 
Member  State,  all  of  the  Member  States  require  a
document  certifying 
the
technical  characteristics  of  the  vehicle;

that  registration  and 

(6) Whereas  harmonisation  of 

registration
certificate  will  facilitate  the  re-entry  into  service  of
vehicles  that  have  previously  been  registered  in
another  Member  State,  and  will  contribute  to  the
proper  functioning  of  the  internal  market;

the 

(7) Whereas  Member  States  use  a 

registration
certificate  consisting  either  of  one  single  part  or
two  separate  parts,  and  whereas  it  is  currently
appropriate  to  allow  both  systems  to  coexist;

concerning 

interpretation  of 

(8) Whereas  differences  remain  between  the  Member
States 
the
the 
particulars  contained  in  the  registration  certificate;
whereas,  in  the  interests  of  the  proper  functioning
of  the  internal  market  and  of  the  free  movement
and  checks  that  these  involve,  it  is  therefore
appropriate  to  specify 
in  which  capacity  the
persons named in the certificate may use the vehicle
for  which  it  was  issued;

(9) Whereas, 

to 

facilitate 

in  order 

those  checks
specifically intended to combat fraud and the illegal
trade in stolen vehicles, it is appropriate to establish
close  cooperation  between  Member  States,  based
on  an  effective  exchange  of  information;

(10) Whereas 

it 

is  appropriate 

for  a
simplified  procedure  for  adjusting  the  technical
aspects  contained  in  Annexes  I  and  II,

to  provide 

(4) OJ  L  237,  24.8.1991,  p.  1.  Directive  as  last  amended  by

Directive  97/26/EC  (OJ  L  150,  7.6.1997,  p.  41).

14.12.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C 388/13

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  DIRECTIVE:

Article  1

This Directive shall apply to the documents issued by the
Member  States  at  the  time  of  registration  of  vehicles.

It  shall  not  prejudice  the  right  of  Member  States  to  use,
for  the  temporary  registration  of  vehicles,  documents
which may not meet the requirements of this Directive in
every respect.

2. Where  a  new  registration  certificate  is  issued  for  a
vehicle  registered  prior  to  the  implementation  of  this
Directive,  Member  States  shall  use  a  certificate  model  as
defined  in  this  Directive  and  may  limit  the  particulars
shown  therein  to  those  for  which  the  required  data  are
available.

3.
The  data  given  in  the  registration  certificate,  in
accordance with Annexes I and II, shall be represented by
the  harmonised  Community  codes  shown 
in  those
Annexes.

Article  2

For  the  purposes  of  this  Directive:

(a)

(b)

‘vehicle’:  shall  mean  any  vehicle  as  defined  in
Article  2  of  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),  and  in  Article  1
of  Council  Directive  92/61/EEC  of  30  June  1992
relating  to  the  type-approval  of  two  or  three-wheel
motor  vehicles (2);

shall  mean 

‘registration’: 
administrative
authorisation for the entry into service in road traffic
of  a  vehicle,  involving  the  identification  of  the  latter
and the issuing to it of a serial number, to be known
as  the  registration  number;

the 

(c)

‘registration  certificate’:  shall  mean  the  document
which  certifies  that  the  vehicle  is  registered  in  a
Member  State;

(d)

‘holder of the registration  certificate’:  shall mean the
person  in  whose  name  a  vehicle  is  registered.

Article  3

1. Member  States  shall  issue  a  registration  certificate
for  vehicles  which  are  subject  to  registration  under  their
national  legislation.  The  certificate  shall  consist  of  either
a single part in accordance with Annex I or two parts in
accordance  with  Annexes  I  and  II.

Member States may authorise the services they appoint to
this  end,  in  particular  those  of  the  manufacturers,  to  fill
in  the  technical  parts  of  the  registration  certificate.

(1) OJ  L  42,  23.2.1970,  p.  1.  Directive  as  last  amended  by
Commission  Directive  98/14/EC  (OJ  L  91,  25.3.1998,  p.  1).
(2) OJ  L  225,  10.8.1992,  p.  72.  Directive  as  amended  by  the

1994  Act  of  Accession.

Article  4

For  the  purposes  of  this  Directive,  the  registration
certificate  issued  by  a  Member  State  shall  be  recognised
by  the  other  Member  States  for  the  identification  of  the
vehicle  in  international  traffic  or  for  its  re-registration  in
another  Member  State.

Article  5

1.
For  the  purposes  of  identifying  a  vehicle  in  road
traffic,  Member  States  may  require  that  the  driver  carry
part  I  of  the  registration  certificate.

2. With  a  view  to  re-registering  a  vehicle  previously
registered 
in  another  Member  State,  the  competent
authorities  shall  require  the  submission  of  part  I  of  the
previous  registration  certificate  in  every  case  and  the
submission  of  part  II  if  it  was  issued.  These  authorities
shall  withdraw  the  part(s)  of  the  previous  registration
certificate  submitted  and  shall  keep  the  latter  for  a
minimum  of  six  months.  They  shall,  within  two  months,
inform  the  authorities  of  the  Member  State  which
delivered  the  certificate  of  its  withdrawal.  They  shall
return the certificate which they have withdrawn to those
authorities  if  they  so  request  within  six  months  of  its
withdrawal.

Where  the  registration  certificate  consists  of  parts  I  and
II, and part II is missing, the competent authorities in the
Member  State  where  the  new  registration  has  been
requested  may  decide,  in  exceptional  cases,  to  re-register
the  vehicle,  but  only  after  having  obtained  confirmation,
in  writing  or  by  electronic  means,  from  the  competent
authorities  in  the  Member  State  where  the  vehicle  was
previosly  registered,  that  the  applicant  is  entitled  to
re-register  the  vehicle  in  another  Member  State.

C 388/14

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

14.12.98

Article  6

comply with this Directive by . . . (2). They shall notify the
Commission  thereof  immediately.

Any  amendments  necessary 
in  order  to  adapt  the
Annexes  to  this  Directive  to  technical  progress  shall  be
adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  7.

Article  7

1. Where  reference  is  made  to  the  procedure  provided
for  in  this  Article,  the  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by
the  Committee  established  by  Article  8  of  Council
Directive  96/96/EC  of  20  December  1996  on  the
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating
to  roadworthiness  tests  for  motor  vehicles  and  their
trailers (1),  hereinafter  referred  to  as  ‘the  Committee’,
which  shall  consist  of  representatives  of  the  Member
States  with  a  representative  of  the  Commission  in  the
chair.

2.
The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit
to  the  Committee  a  draft  of  the  measures  to  be  taken.
The  Committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft
within  a  time  limit  which  the  chairman  may  lay  down
according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall
be  delivered  by  the  majority  laid  down  in  Article  148(2)
of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is
required  to  adopt  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission.
The  votes  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States
within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set
out  in  that  Article.  The  chairman  shall  not  vote.

3. (a) The  Commission  shall  adopt 

the  measures
envisaged  if  they  are  in  accordance  with  the
opinion  of  the  Committee.

(b)

If  the  measures  envisaged  are  not  in  accordance
with  the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  or  if  no
opinion 
the  Commission  shall,
without  delay,  submit  to  the  Council  a  proposal
relating to the measures to be taken. The Council
shall  act  by  a  qualified  majority.

is  delivered, 

If,  within  three  months  of  the  submission  of  the
proposal  to  the  Council,  the  Council  has  not
acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by
the  Commission.

Article  8

1. Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,
regulations  or  administration  provisions  necessary  to

When  Member  States  adopt  these  provisions,  they  shall
contain  a  reference  to  this  Directive  or  be  accompanied
by such reference at the time of their official publication.
The methods of making such reference shall be laid down
by  Member  States.

States 

the
shall 
2. Member 
Commission  the  text  of  the  main  provisions  of  national
law  which  they  adopt  in  the  field  governed  by  this
Directive.

communicate 

to 

The  Commission  shall  communicate  to  the  Member
States  all  the  models  for  registration  certificates  used  by
the  national  administration.

Article  9

shall  assist  one  another 

the
Member  States 
implementation  of  this  Directive.  They  may  exchange
information  at  bilateral  or  multilateral  level  in  particular
so  as  to  check,  before  any  registration  of  a  vehicle,  the
latter’s legal status, where necessary in the Member State
in which it was previously registered. Such checking may
in  particular  involve  the  use  of  an  electronic  network.

in 

Article  10

This  Directive  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  of  its
publication  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European
Communities.

Article  11

This  Directive  is  addressed  to  the  Member  States.

Done  at  . . .

For  the  Council

The  President

(1) OJ  L  46,  17.2.1997,  p.  1.

(2) Five  years  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Directive.

14.12.98

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C 388/15

ANNEX  I

PART  I  OF  THE  REGISTRATION  CERTIFICATE (1)

I.

II.

The  overall  dimensions  of  the  registration  certificate  shall  not  be  greater  than  an  A4  format
(210 × 297  mm)  or  a  folder  of  A4  format.

The paper used for part I of the registration certificate shall be made secure against forgery by using at
least  two  of  the  following  techniques:

— graphics,

— watermark,

— fluorescent  fibres,  or

— fluorescent  imprints.

III.

Part  I  of  the  registration  certificate  may  consist  of  several  pages.  Members  States  shall  determine  the
number  of  pages  in  accordance  with  the  information  contained  in  the  document  and  its  layout.

IV. The  first  page  of  part  I  of  the  registration  certificate  shall  contain:

— the  name  of  the  Member  State  issuing  part  I  of  the  registration  certificate,

— the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Member  State  issuing  part  I  of  the  registration  certificate,  namely:

B

Belgium

DK Denmark

D

Germany

GR Greece

E

F

Spain

France

IRL

Ireland

I

Italy

L

Luxembourg

NL Netherlands

A

P

Austria

Portugal

FIN Finland

S

Sweden

UK

United  Kingdom

— the  name  of  the  competent  authority,

— the  words  ‘Part  I  of  the  Registration  certificate’  or,  if  the  certificate  consists  of  one  part  only,  the
words  ‘Registration  certificate’,  printed  in  large  type  in  the  language  or  languages  of  the  Member
States issuing the registration certificate; they shall also appear, after a suitable space, in small type
in  the  other  languages  of  the  European  Community,

— the  words  ‘European  Community’,  printed  in  the  language  or  languages  of  the  Member  State

issuing  part  I  of  the  registration  certificate,

— the  number  of  the  document.

V.

Part  I  of  the  registration  certificate  shall  also  contain  the  following  data,  preceded  by  the
corresponding  harmonised  Community  codes:

(A)

registration  number

(B)

date  of  first  registration  of  the  vehicle

(1) The certificate consisting of one part only will bear the words ‘Registration certificate’ and there will be no reference in

the  text  to  ‘part  I’.

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14.12.98

(C) personal  data

(C.1) holder  of  the  registration  certificate

(C.1.1)

surname  or  business  name

(C.1.2) other  name(s)  or  initial(s)  (where  appropriate)

(C.1.3) address  in  the  Member  State  of  registration  on  the  date  of  issue  of  the

document

(C.4) where  the  particulars  specified  in  VI,  code  C.2  are  not  included  in  the  registration

certificate,  reference  to  the  fact  that  the  holder  of  the  registration  certificate:

(a)

is  the  vehicle  owner

(b)

is  not  the  vehicle  owner

(c)

is  not  identified  by  the  registration  certificate  as  being  the  vehicle  owner

(D) vehicle

(D.1) make

(D.2)

type

— variant (if available)

— version  (if  available)

(D.3) commercial  description(s)

(E)

vehicle  identification  number

(F) mass

(F.1) maximum  technically  permissible  laden  mass,  except  for  motorcycles

(G) mass  of  the  vehicle  in  service  with  bodywork,  and  with  coupling  device  in  the  case  of  a  towing

vehicle  in  service  from  any  category  other  than  M1

(H) period  of  validity,  if  not  unlimited

(I)

date  of  the  registration  to  which  this  certificate  refers

(K)

type-approval  number  (if  available)

(P)

engine

(P.1) capacity  (in  cm3)

(P.2) maximum  net  power  (in  kW)  (if  available)

(P.3)

type  of  fuel  or  power  source

(Q) power/weight  ratio  (in  kW/kg)  (only  for  motorcycles)

(S)

seating capacity

(S.1) number  of  seats,  including  the  driver’s  seat

(S.2) number  of  standing  places  (where  appropriate)

VI.

Part  I  of  the  registration  certificate  may,  moreover,  contain  the  following  data,  preceded  by  the
corresponding  harmonised  Community  codes:

(C) personal  data

(C.2)

owner  of  the  vehicle

(C.2.1)

surname  or  business  name

(C.2.2) other  name(s)  or  initial(s)  (where  appropriate)

(C.2.3) address  in  the  Member  State  of  registration,  on  the  date  of

issue  of  the  document

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C 388/17

(C.3)

natural  or  legal  person  who  may  use  the  vehicle  by  virtue  of  a  legal
right  other  than  that  of  ownership

(C.3.1)

surname  or  business  name

(C.3.2) other  name(s)  or  initial(s)  (where  appropriate)

(C.3.3) address  in  the  Member  State  of  registration,  on  the  date  of

issue  of  the  document

(C.5),  (C.6),  (C.7),  (C.8) where  a  change  in  the  personal  data  given  in  point  V,  code  C.1,
point VI, code C.2 and/or point VI, code C.3 does not give rise to the
issue  of  a  new  registration  certificate,  the  new  personal  data
corresponding  to  these  points  may  be  included  under  codes  (C.5),
(C.6),  (C.7)  or  (C.8);  they  are  then  broken  down  in  accordance  with
the  references  in  point  V,  code  C.1,  point  VI,  code  C.2,  point  VI,
code  C.3  and  point  V,  code  C.4

(F) mass

(F.2) maximum  permissible  laden  mass  of  the  vehicle  in  service  in  the  Member  State  of

registration

(F.3) maximum  permissible  laden  mass  of  the  whole  vehicle  in  service  in  the  Member  State  of

registration

(J)

vehicle category

(L)

number  of  axles

(M) wheelbase  (in  mm)

(N)

for  vehicles  with  a  total  mass  exceeding  3 500  kg,  distribution  of  the  technically  permissible
maximum  laden  mass  among  the  axles

(N.1) axle  1  (in  kg)

(N.2) axle  2  (in  kg),  where  appropriate

(N.3) axle  3  (in  kg),  where  appropriate

(N.4) axle  4  (in  kg),  where  appropriate

(N.5) axle  5  (in  kg),  where  appropriate

(O)

technically  permissible  maximum  towable  mass  of  the  trailer

(O.1) braked  (in  kg)

(O.2) unbraked  (in  kg)

(P)

engine

(P.4)

rated  speed  (in  min-1)

(P.5)

engine  identification  number

(R)

colour  of  the  vehicle

(T) maximum  speed  (in  km/h)

(U)

sound level:

(U.1)

stationary  (in  dB(A))

(U.2)

engine  speed  (in  min-1)

(U.3) drive-by  (in  dB(A))

(V)

exhaust  emissions

(V.1) CO  (in  g/km  or  g/kWh)

(V.2) HC  (in  g/km  or  g/kWh)

(V.3) NOx  (in  g/km  or  g/kWh)

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(V.4) HC + NOx  (in  g/km)

(V.5) particulates  for  diesel  (in  g/km  or  g/kWh)

(V.6)

corrected  absorption  coefficient  for  diesel  (in  m-1)

(V.7) CO2  (in  g/km)

(V.8)

combined  fuel  consumption  (in  l/100  km)

(V.9)

indication  of  the  environmental  category  of  EC  type-approval:  reference  to  the  version
applicable  pursuant  to  Directive  70/220/EEC (1)  or  Directive  88/77/EEC (2)

(W)

fuel  tank(s)  capacity  (in  litres)

VII. Member  States  may  include  additional  information  (in  part  I  of  the  registration  certificate);  in
particular,  they  may  add  between  brackets  to  the  identification  codes,  as  laid  down  under  V  and  VI,
additional  national  codes.

(1) Council  Directive  70/220/EEC  of  20  March  1970  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to
measures to be taken against air pollution by gases from positive-ignition engines of motor vehicles (OJ L 76, 6.4.1970,
p.  1);  Directive  as  last  amended  by  Directive  96/69/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  (OJ  L  282,
1.11.1996,  p.  64).

(2) 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  (OJ  L  36,
9.2.1988,  p.  33);  Directive  as  last  amended  by  Directive  96/1/EC  (OJ  L  40,  17.2.1996,  p.  1).

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C 388/19

ANNEX  II

PART  II  OF  THE  REGISTRATION  CERTIFICATE (1)

I.

II.

The dimensions of the registration certificate shall not be greater than an A4 format (210 × 297  mm)
or  a  folder  of  A4  format.

The paper used for part II of the registration certificate shall be made secure against forgery by using
at  least  two  of  the  following  techniques:

— graphics,

— watermark,

— fluorescent  fibres,  or

— fluorescent  imprints.

III.

Part  II  of  the  registration  certificate  may  consist  of  several  pages.  Member  States  shall  determine  the
number  of  pages  in  accordance  with  the  information  contained  in  the  document  and  its  layout.

IV. The  first  page  of  part  II  of  the  registration  certificate  shall  contain:

— the  name  of  the  Member  State  issuing  part  II  of  the  registration  certificate,

— the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Member  State  issuing  part  II  of  the  registration  certificate,

namely:

B

Belgium

DK Denmark

G

Germany

GR Greece

E

F

Spain

France

IRL

Ireland

I

Italy

L

Luxembourg

NL Netherlands

A

P

Austria

Portugal

FIN Finland

S

Sweden

UK

United  Kingdom

— the  name  of  the  competent  authority,

— the words ‘Part II of the Registration certificate’, printed in large type in the language or languages
of  the  Member  States  issuing  the  registration  certificate;  they  shall  also  appear,  after  a  suitable
space,  in  small  type,  in  the  other  languages  of  the  European  Community,

— the  words  ‘European  Community’,  printed  in  the  language  or  languages  of  the  Member  State

issuing  part  II  of  the  registration  certificate,

— the  number  of  the  document.

V.

Part  II  of  the  registration  certificate  shall  also  contain  the  following  data,  preceded  by  the
corresponding  harmonised  Community  codes:

(A)

registration  number

(B)

date  of  first  registration  of  the  vehicle

(1) This  Annex  is  concerned  only  with  registration  certificates  consisting  of  parts  I  and  II.

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(D) vehicle

(D.1) make

(D.2)

type

— variant (if available)

— version  (if  available)

(D.3) commercial  description(s)

(E)

vehicle  identification  number

(K)

type-approval  number  (if  available)

VI.

Part  II  of  the  registration  certificate  may,  moreover,  contain  the  following  data,  preceded  by  the
corresponding  harmonised  Community  codes:

(C) personal  data

(C.2)

owner  of  the  vehicle:

(C.2.1)

surname  or  business  name

(C.2.2) other  name(s)  or  initial(s)  (where  appropriate)

(C.2.3) address  in  the  Member  State  of  registration,  on  the  date  of  issue  of  the

document

(C.3)

natural  or  legal  person  who  may  use  the  vehicle  by  virtue  of  a  legal  right  other
than  that  of  ownership

(C.3.1)

surname  or  business  name

(C.3.2) other  name(s)  or  initial(s)  (where  appropriate)

(C.3.3) adress  in  the  Member  State  of  registration,  on  the  date  of  issue  of  the

document

(C.5),  (C.6) where  a  change  in  the  personal  data  given  in  point  VI,  code  C.2  and/or  point  VI,
code  C.3  does  not  give  rise  to  the  issue  of  a  new  part  II  of  the  registration
certificate,  the  new  personal  data  corresponding  to  these  points  may  be  included
under  codes  (C.5)  or  (C.6);  they  are  broken  down  in  accordance  with  point  VI,
code  C.2  and  point  VI,  code  C.3

(J)

vehicle category

VII. Member  States  may  include  additional  information  in  part  II  of  the  registration  certificate;  in
particular,  they  may  add  between  brackets  to  the  identification  codes,  as  laid  down  under  V  and  VI,
additional  national  codes.

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STATEMENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  REASONS

I.

INTRODUCTION

On  2  June  1997  the  Commission  submitted  to  the  Council  a  proposal  for  a  Council
Directive  on  the  registration  documents  for  vehicles (1).

The  proposal  is  based  on  Article  75(1)(d)  of  the  EC  Treaty.

The  European  Parliament  delivered  its  opinion  on  the  Commission  proposal  on  28  May
1998 (2) while the Economic and Social Committee had delivered its opinion on 29 October
1997 (3).

On  7  August  1998,  in  the  light  of  the  European  Parliament’s  opinion,  the  Commission
submitted  an  amended  proposal  to  the  Council (4).

On  3  November  1998  the  Council  adopted  a  Common  Position  in  accordance  with
Article  189c  of  the  EC  Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVES  OF  THE  PROPOSAL

The  aim  of  the  proposal  is  to  harmonise,  at  Community  level,  the  form  and  content  of
registration  certificates  for  motor  vehicles  in  order  to  facilitate  road  traffic  within  the
Community,  promote  road  safety  and  improve  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market.

At  present,  registration  documents  for  motor  vehicles  are  drawn  up  by  the  Member  States
and  differ  from  one  Member  State  to  another.  At  international  level,  the  only  existing
provisions  relating  to  such  documents  are  to  be  found  in  the  Vienna  Convention  on  road
traffic (5).

III. ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  COMMON  POSITION

The  Council’s  common  position  follows  the  amended  Commission  proposal  which
incorporates  two  of  the  six  amendments  put  forward  by  the  European  Parliament,  subject
to  the  modifications  indicated  below:

— Article  3  as  proposed  by  the  Commission  favours  issuing  registration  certificates
consisting of two separate parts, one to be kept inside the vehicle and reserved for road
journeys,  the  other  reserved  for  new  registrations  in  other  Member  States.  However,
under certain conditions, it still entitles Member States to issue certificates consisting of
one  single  part.

In  view  of  the  differing  situations  which  exist  in  Member  States,  Article  3  of  the  draft
common  position  does  not  retain  the  requirement  that  registration  documents  should
consist  of  two  parts,  but  enables  each  Member  State  to  issue  registration  certificates
consisting  of  either  two  parts  or  simply  one  part,

(1) OJ  C  202,  2.7.1997,  p.  13.
(2) OJ  C  195,  22.6.1998,  p.  21.
(3) OJ  C  19,  21.1.1998,  p.  17.
(4) OJ  C  301,  30.9.1998,  p.  8.
(5) Convention  on  Road  Traffic,  signed  in  Vienna  on  8  November  1968  within  the  framework  of  the

United  Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe.

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— Article  3(3)  as  proposed  by  the  Commission  provides  that  where  a  vehicle  previously
registered in one Member State is re-registered in another Member State, the competent
authorities in that Member State shall return the (two-part) registration certificate to the
authorities  in  the  Member  State  in  which  it  was  issued,

— Article 5(2) of the draft common position provides that the authorities re-registering the
vehicle must keep the previous certificate for a minimum of six months (part I in every
case and part II if it was issued) and must, within two months, inform the authorities of
the  Member  State  which  delivered  the  certificate  of  its  withdrawal.  They  are  to  return
the  certificate  which  they  have  withdrawn  to  those  authorities  if  they  so  request  within
six  months  of  its  withdrawal,

— Article 9 of the draft common position adds some clarification to Article 10 as proposed
by the Commission. It makes provision for the exchange of information, in particular by
means  of  an  electronic  network,  regarding  transfers  of  ownership  of  vehicles  so  as  to
give  additional  protection  against  illegal  trafficking  of  vehicles.

IV. EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AMENDMENTS

1. The  Council  has  followed  the  amended  Commission  proposal  and  has  adopted  the

following  European  Parliament  amendments:

— in  Article  8(2),  in  order  to  improve  the  exchange  of  information,  the  Common
Position  incorporates  amendment  4,  which  provides  that  the  Commission  is  to
communicate  to  all  the  Member  States  all  the  models  for  registration  certificates
used  by  the  national  administrations,

— in  Annex  I,  Part  VI,  the  common  position  takes  account  of  amendment  5,  which
aimed  to  add  the  engine  identification  number,  as  an  anti-fraud  measure,  to  the  list
of  data  appearing  on  the  registration  certificate.

2. European Parliament amendments not accepted by the Council and not included by the

Commission

In  accordance  with  the  Commission’s  amended  proposal,  the  Council  did  not  accept:

— amendment  1,  which  aimed  to  include  a  new  recital  in  the  Directive  expressing  the
hope  that  the  Directive  would  constitute  only  the  first  step  towards  more  complete
harmonisation.

The  Council  pointed  out  that  the  proposed  recital  did  not  correspond  to  any
particular  provision  in  the  Common  Position  and  did  not  think  it  was  advisable  to
make  provision  for  this  Directive  to  be  amended,  given  the  heavy  administrative
burden  and  the  costs  which  any  change  in  the  registration  certificate  would
involve,

— amendments  2  and  6,  which  aimed  to  include  in  Annex  I,  Part  I,  of  the  Directive  a
new  Section  VIIa  and  a  corresponding  recital  which  would  give  Member  States  the
possibility of indicating in Part I of the registration certificate the anti-fraud security
marking  or  codes  placed  on  the  vehicle  and  its  parts.

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The Council took the view that Member States should not be obliged to issue a new
certificate  whenever  the  vehicle  underwent  a  minor  modification,

— amendment 3, which aimed to postpone by six months the dates for transposing and

implementing  the  Directive.

The  Council  deemed  it  preferable  to  state  that  the  Directive  would  apply  five  years
after  its  entry  into  force.