Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on EC type-approval of agricultural and forestry tractors, their trailers and interchangeable towed equipment, together with their systems, components and separate technical units" (COM(2002) 6 final — 2002/0017 (COD))
Date: 2002-05-29
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: agricultural equipment, approval, commercial vehicle, tool industry, tractor

17.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 221/5

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council on EC type-approval of agricultural and forestry tractors, their
trailers and interchangeable towed equipment, together with their systems, components and
separate technical units’

(COM(2002) 6 final — 2002/0017 (COD))

(2002/C 221/02)

On 12 February 2002 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under
Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 8 May 2002. The rapporteur was Mr
Levaux.

At its 391st plenary session (meeting of 29 May 2002), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the
following opinion unanimously.

1. Objectives of the proposal

1.1.
In connection with the harmonisation of approval
procedures, it has become essential to bring the provisions of
Council Directive 74/150/EEC of 4 March 1974 on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating
to the type-approval of wheeled agricultural or forestry
tractors into line with those 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, and with those of Council Directive 92/61/
EEC of 30 June 1992 relating to the type-approval of two- or
three-wheel motor vehicles.

1.7.
The Directive will also allow manufacturers to elimin-
ate the technical variants that are currently necessary to meet
diverging national requirements, and to submit new types of
vehicles to a single Community type-approval procedure in a
single Member State.

2. General comments

The proposal for a Directive concerns an important
the estimated turnover of which is

2.1.
sector of activity,
Euro 16 billion.

1.2.
The proposal makes up the second stage of rewriting
Directive 74/150/EEC, and mainly involves extending its scope
to cover more specific types of tractors, their trailers and
interchangeable towed equipment.

2.2.
This sector directly employs 140 000 people in
5 000 companies and, indirectly, a further 150 000 in distri-
bution and sales.

The Commission stresses that,

in the interests of
1.3.
effectiveness and greater transparency, it has prepared this
proposal with a view to eliminating excess regulation and
simplifying the implementation of legislation.

The trend seems to be towards gradual growth in
2.3.
production over the long term, with increased trade both
within the Community and with external partners (mainly
towards the USA and Central Europe).

1.4.
In proposing to replace national type-approval with
EC type-approval, the Commission is advocating total, Com-
munity-wide harmonisation.

2.4.
The Committee welcomes the fact that the Commission
has provided for sufficiently long deadlines for the implemen-
tation of the proposed Directive to allow manufacturers to
adjust to the new harmonised procedures.

1.5.
The proposal also takes account of certain international
regulations, for example, those of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe and of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development.

3. Specific comments

1.6.
Finally, the Commission feels that the proposed direc-
tive will help to expedite the administrative tasks which
manufacturers must complete in order to be able to market
their products.

3.1.
The Committee notes that the scope of Directive 74/
150/EEC was limited to wheeled agricultural and forestry
tractors. The scope of the proposed Directive is wider as it will
cover both wheeled and track-laying tractors, their trailers and
interchangeable towed equipment.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

17.9.2002

3.2.
The Committee notes that interchangeable vehicle-
mounted equipment is not mentioned in the proposed Direc-
tive. In the interests of clarity, the Committee believes it would
be very useful to point out in the ‘whereas clauses’ of this
Directive that such equipment is regulated by another directive.

3.9.
As a result, the Committee believes that, despite efforts
to clarify the mechanism, it is still rather complex and the
proposal is unlikely significantly to expedite the administrative
tasks facing manufacturers.

3.3.
The Committee therefore proposes adding the follow-
ing new point 2(a) to the whereas clauses of the proposal:
‘Interchangeable vehicle-mounted equipment for agricultural
and forestry use is regulated by Directive 98/37/EC on
“machinery” (1), in view of the occupational safety aspects.’

The Committee has taken note of the impact assess-
3.4.
ment drawn up by the Commission and reiterates that the
proposal for a Directive affects both large companies, which
manufacture tractors, and small and medium-sized enterprises
on the equipment side, which are distributed equally through-
out the EU. Single type-approval will make it easier for these
companies to export their products.

3.5. While the harmonisation of procedures and EC type-
approval is clearly important for making the internal market
more dynamic, it must also be an opportunity to boost exports
outside the Community, in particular beyond the countries of
central Europe, many of which are already applicant states.

The Committee welcomes the Commission’s efforts to
3.6.
harmonise procedures and establish a single EC type-approval
that,
in time, will allow manufacturers to operate under
transparent and balanced conditions of competition by provid-
ing them with common rules, in particular concerning occu-
pational safety, for the use of agricultural and forestry tractors
and their equipment.

3.7.
The Committee agrees with the objectives of the
Commission, which states the following in the conclusion to
its explanatory memorandum: ‘... the proposed directive will
help to simplify and expedite the administrative tasks which
manufacturers must complete in order to be able to market
their products.’

3.8.
However, having examined the procedures, exemp-
tions, special provisions for particular types of vehicle and
annexes to the proposed Directive, the Committee believes
that the mechanism is rather complex, given that it refers to
over 43 separate directives to date, as listed in Annex II,
Chapter B, Part 1 (List of separate directives).

( 1) OJ L 207, 23.7.1998.

Article 21 states that the Commission will be assisted
3.10.
by a specialised committee on adaptation to technical progress,
composed of representatives of
the Member States. This
committee could look into classification problems in each
category of new vehicle, in particular the ‘Quads’ that have
recently emerged on the market.

3.11.
The Committee regrets that this committee will only
be concerned with the issue of adapting to technical progress
and cannot take on the task of assessing the real impact of
the new procedures in terms of simplifying and expediting
administrative tasks. Given that this is a main objective stated
by the Commission to stress the importance of the proposed
Directive, the Committee believes that efforts must be made to
avoid a proliferation of committees or observatories and
that, after three years of implementation, this ‘adaptation
committee’ should assess improvements intended to simplify
and expedite administrative tasks, which are sometimes linked
to technical progress.

Article 23 of the proposed Directive states that the
3.12.
Member States must bring their provisions into line with this
Directive by 31 December 2004 and that these new provisions
will apply from 1 January 2005.

Article 24 states that national type-approval is to be
3.13.
replaced by EC type-approval,
the proposed
Directive, by category of vehicle once all the corresponding
separate directives are adapted. The table found in Annex II,
Chapter B, Part 1 (List of separate directives) of the proposed
Directive demonstrates that, for many types of vehicle, the
corresponding separate directives apply as they stand.

the aim of

For these types of vehicle, EC type-approval will therefore
apply as soon as the new provisions are implemented on
1 January 2005, as laid down in Article 23.

3.14.
For categories of vehicle covered by existing separate
directives that must be amended or separate directives that are
yet to be published, the Commission envisages postponing the
implementation of EC type-approval until:

— three years after the date of entry into force of the last
separate directive which must still be adopted for new
types of vehicles;

— six years after the date of entry into force of the last
separate directive which must still be adopted for all
vehicles.

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3.15.
As no indication is given of the deadline for pub-
lishing the last separate directives to be adopted, the Committee
wonders when the proposed Directive will actually be fully
implemented and when it will finally be able to have the
positive impact expected.

The Committee believes it is necessary that enough
3.16.
time is allowed for manufacturers to adjust and Member States
to make their arrangements. However, given how urgent and
important it
is for manufacturers to have a single type-
approval procedure to facilitate exports, the Committee hopes
that the aforementioned deadlines of three and six years will
be reduced to two and four years respectively.

4. Conclusions

The Committee supports the Commission in its efforts
4.1.
to harmonise EC type-approval of agricultural and forestry
tractors, and approves the proposed Directive.

Brussels, 29 May 2002.

4.2.
The Committee hopes that the adoption of the Direc-
tive will provide an opportunity to give new impetus to
exports in this innovative and competitive sector. It therefore
suggests that the Commission conduct a forward economic
study into the new possibilities that will be open to European
manufacturers once
this EC type-approval has been
implemented by the Member States.

4.3.
The Committee hopes that the Commission will set a
specific deadline for publishing the remaining separate direc-
tives and shorten the deadline for implementing EC type-
approval once they have been adopted,
in order to give
manufacturers a clear picture so they can develop their market
more effectively.

4.4.
The Committee regrets that the proposed Directive,
which aims to simplify and expedite administrative tasks, does
not provide for an assessment of the impact of new provisions
in this area. To lighten the Commission’s workload without
setting up a new body, this task of assessing the impact of the
new procedures should be assigned to the committee on
adaptation to technical progress provided for in Article 21,
for which Member States are free to appoint appropriate
representatives.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS