Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251 (2) (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position regarding the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to heating systems for motor vehicles and their trailers, amending Council Directive 1970/156/EEC and repealing Council Directive 1978/548/EEC - amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2001-06-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, approximation of laws, heating, motor vehicle, vehicle parts

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 12.6.2001
COM(2001) 312 final

1998/0277 (COD)

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION

pursuant to Article 251 (2) (c) of the EC Treaty,
on the European Parliament's amendments
to the Council's common position regarding the
proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL

relating to heating systems for motor vehicles and their trailers, amending Council
Directive 1970/156/EEC and repealing Council Directive 1978/548/EEC

AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION
pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty

1998/0277 (COD)

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION

pursuant to Article 251 (2) (c) of the EC Treaty,
on the European Parliament's amendments
to the Council's common position regarding the
proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
relating to heating systems for motor vehicles and their trailers, amending Council
Directive 1970/156/EEC and repealing Council Directive 1978/548/EEC

1.

PROCEDURE

The proposal COM(1998) 526 final / 1998/0277 (COD) has been submitted to the Council
and the Parliament on 28 September 1998, in accordance with Article 95 of the Treaty (OJ
C 326 of 24.10.1998, p. 4).

The Economic and Social Committee has given its opinion on 27 January 1999 (OJ C 101 of
12.4.1999, p. 15).

In the framework of the co-decision procedure, the European Parliament has given its opinion
in first reading on 13 April 1999 (OJ C 219 of 30.7.1999, p. 58). The European Parliament
accepted 11 amendments, which were all editorial or of a technical nature. The Commission
submitted a modified proposal on 13 August 1999 in which it adopted 9 of the European
Parliament's amendments to its initial proposal (OJ C 116 E of 26.4.2000, p. 2).

The Common Position of the Council has been adopted unanimously on 17 November 2000
(OJ C 36 of 2.2.2001, p. 1). The Commission has approved the Common Position.

On 14 March 2001; the European Parliament has adopted in its second reading 2 amendments
to the Common Position of the Council.

In accordance with Article 251, second paragraph, of the Treaty, the Commission expresses
its opinion on the 2 amendments of the European Parliament.

2.

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL

The objective of the proposal is to extend the scope of Council Directive 1978/548/EEC to
include not only passenger cars (M1 vehicles) but all vehicle categories M, N, O (vehicles for
the carriage of passengers, goods, and trailers). Additionally, new harmonised provisions for
combustion heaters, which work independently of the propulsion engine, are introduced,
thereby replacing national legislation in this field. The requirements assure that these devices
comply with a high safety and environmental standard, consistent with current technology.
Finally, the proposal aligns the administrative provisions of this Directive to those of the
framework Directive establishing the type-approval procedure for motor vehicles and trailers
(Council Directive 1970/156/EEC, as amended).

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3.

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE AMENDMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT

Both amendments are highly technical
requirements. The two amendments are acceptable to the Commission.

in nature and do not

interfere with the safety

The first amendment
limits the requirement that the combustion chamber and the heat
exchanger should be capable of withstanding a prescribed pressure to heaters using water as a
transfer medium. For heaters using air as a transfer medium, the corresponding test is the
leakage test described in Annex IV, paragraph 2.2.

The second amendment adds a requirement that the supply of fuel should be stopped when the
engine is switched off (part 1) and gives an exemption from this requirement for manually
operated heaters (part 2). As LPG fuelled heaters are currently not covered by this Directive,
the second part of the amendment is acceptable.

The Commission proposal shall therefore be amended as follows:

• Annex VII, paragraph 1.3:

The combustion chamber and the heat exchanger of heaters using water as a transfer
medium shall be capable of withstanding a pressure of twice the normal operating pressure
or 2 bar (gauge), whichever is greater. The test pressure shall be noted in the information
document.

• Annex VII, paragraph 2.8:

The heating system must be switched off automatically and the supply of fuel must be
stopped within 5 seconds when the vehicle's engine stops running. If a manual device is
already activated, the heating system can stay in operation.

4.

CONCLUSIONS

Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission is amending its proposal in
accordance with the above.

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