Opinion of the Commission pursuant to Article 251 (2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty, on the European Parliament's amendments to the Council's common position regarding the proposals for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC amending the proposal of the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty
Date: 2005-12-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: air conditioning, drafting of EU law, greenhouse gas, motor vehicle, reduction of gas emissions

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.12.2005 
COM(2005) 713 final 

2003/0189A (COD) 
2003/0189B (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

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

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases  

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles and amending 
Council Directive 70/156/EEC 

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

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2003/0189A (COD) 
2003/0189B (COD) 

OPINION OF THE COMMISSION 

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

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases  

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND OF THE COUNCIL 

relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles and amending 
Council Directive 70/156/EEC 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Article 251(2), third subparagraph, point (c) of the EC Treaty provides that the Commission is 
to  deliver  an  opinion  on  the  amendments  proposed  by  the  European  Parliament  at  second 
reading.  The  Commission  sets  out  its  opinion  below  on  the  amendments  proposed  by 
Parliament.  

2. 

BACKGROUND 

The  proposal  COM  (2003)  492  final  was  transmitted  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council in accordance with the co-decision procedure of the EC Treaty on 11 August 2003. 

The European Economic and Social Committee gave its opinion on 28 January 2004. 

The European Parliament gave its opinion at first reading on 31 March 2004. 

Following the opinion of the European Parliament and pursuant to Article 251(2) of the EC 
Treaty,  the  Council  adopted  the  Common  Position  formally  on  21  June  2005.  The 
Commission’s Communication on the Common Position was adopted on 1 July 2005 and the 
European Parliament adopted its position at second reading on 26 October 2005.  

3. 

PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSALS 

The proposed Regulation and Directive put in place: 

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(i) 

a  legislative  framework  that  will  contribute  to  the  reduction  of  emissions  of 
fluorinated  greenhouse  gases  covered  by  the  Kyoto  Protocol  and  so  make  a 
contribution to meeting the EU’s and Member States’ Kyoto targets and beyond. 

(ii) 

a legal framework that also facilitates the internal market.  

4. 

OPINION  OF  THE  COMMISSION  ON  THE  AMENDMENTS  BY  THE  EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

On 26 October 2005, the European Parliament with respect to the Regulation adopted 26 of 
the 45 amendments that were tabled. Out of the 26 amendments adopted, the Commission can 
accept 4 amendments in full, 7 amendments in part and a further 8 amendments in principle. 7 
of the adopted amendments are not acceptable to the Commission. As regards the Directive 
the European Parliament adopted 1 amendment that the Commission cannot accept. 

4.1 

The Regulation 

4.1.1  Amendments accepted by the Commission 

4.1.1.1  Amendments Accepted in Full  

Amendment  10  introduces  the  element  of  “preventing”  emissions  as  well  as  reducing 
emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases which is already used in relation to leaks in Article 
3. Amendment 13 further develops the definition of hermetically sealed systems and improves 
clarity. Amendment 24 is just a reference to amendment 23 which the Commission accepts in 
principle.  Amendment  29  includes  energy  efficiency  as  an  element  to  take  into  account  in 
assessing whether new products and equipment containing these gases should be prohibited. 
The  Commission  considers  that  these  amendments  are  in  line  with  and  improve  the  current 
text  and  will  facilitate  the  implementation  and  contribute  to  the  effectiveness  of  the 
Regulation. The Commission can thus accept them. 

4.1.1.2.  Amendments Accepted in Part 

Amendment 2 (a recital) specifies that individual Member States because they have different 
targets under the burden sharing agreement under the Kyoto Protocol should be able to take 
individual  measures  to  meet  their  targets.  However,  it  is  not  indicated  that  such  measures 
must  be  compatible  with  the  Treaty  and  the  Regulation.  The  new  recital  3(a)  is  only 
acceptable if it reads as follows: 

“3(a) Annex II of Decision 2002/358/EC lays down different reduction targets for individual 
Member  States.  The  Member  States  are  therefore  required  to  take  measures  to  meet  their 
Kyoto targets provided that these are compatible with the Treaty.” 

Amendment  11  introduces  in  Article  1  (scope)  a  number  of  clarifications.  Most  of  these 
changes can be accepted but it would be preferable to preserve the word inspection rather than 
“control  on  use”  as  suggested.  A  text  related  to  this  last  issue  is  proposed  in  relation  to 
amendment 17. 

Amendment  16  changes  the  word  inspection  to  “checked”  and  substitutes  “circuits”  for 
equipment  in  relation  to  hermetically  sealed  systems.  The  second  part  is  acceptable  but  the 
Commission would wish to maintain “inspection” rather than “checked ”. The text proposed 
in relation to amendment 17 might provide a solution to this definition problem. 

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Amendment  17  changes  the  words  “inspected  for  leakage”  with  “checked  for  leakage”  and 
specifies language with respect to indirect methods. The Commission cannot accept the first 
element. As regards the second part it would be possible to accept with some redrafting and 
the text could possibly meet the concerns with regard to the use of the word “inspection”. 

“For  the  purposes  of  this  paragraph,  "inspected  for  leakage"  means  that  the  equipment  or 
system  is  examined  primarily  for  leakage  using  direct,  focusing  on  those  parts  of  the 
equipment  or  system  most  likely  to  leak  or  indirect  measuring  methods  focusing  on  the 
operating  parameters  that  indicate  fluorinated  greenhouse  gas  loss.  This  inspection  for 
leakage can be carried out by the operator subject to the provisions of Article 5.” 

Amendment 21 adds in the reporting provision “solvents and fire protection systems” to the 
main category of applications that will guide producers and importers in their reporting. The 
Commission could accept the inclusion of fire protection systems but not solvent users since 
there are many small users and producers and importers would have considerable difficulty in 
collecting data. 

Amendment  25  introduces  a  number  of  changes  with  respect  to  the  labelling  provisions, 
notably  indication  of  global  warming  potential.  Commission  could  accept  the  principle  but 
believes this could be best done in comitology. A text is suggested below: 

“The  Commission  shall  evaluate  how  best  to  label  equipment  and  products  containing 
fluorinated  greenhouse  gases  in  order  to  provide  full  environmental  disclosure,  including 
through life-cycle analysis, to consumers of such products and equipment. Two years after the 
entry into force of this Regulation, if appropriate the Commission shall establish labels to be 
used  on  such  products  and  equipment  in  accordance  with  procedure  referred  to  in  Article 
11(2)” 

In  Amendment  44,  paragraph  1  specifies  that  Member  States  should  promote  alternatives, 
taking into account gases with a high GWP and that the Commission should be notified by the 
Member States of bans. The Commission could accept the first part of paragraph 1with some 
rewording  but  does  not  believe  the  notification  is  necessary.  Listing  the  applications  which 
are covered in paragraph 2 is not necessary and should, therefore, be dropped. 

“Without  prejudice  to  the  Treaty  and  in  particular  Article  87  thereof,  Member  States  shall 
endeavour  to  promote  the  placing  on  the  market  of  equipment  containing  fluorinated 
greenhouse  gases  that  are  more  environmentally  friendly  taking  into  account  the  energy 
efficiency benefits of certain gases in certain applications.” 

4.1.1.3.  Amendments Accepted in Principle 

Amendment  3  is  a  new  recital  about  the  high  global  warming  potential  of  fluorinated 
greenhouse gases. This is in line with what is indicated in Annex I of the Regulation but some 
of the language needs correction and a text that would be appropriate is as follows: 

“3(b)  Some  fluorinated  greenhouse  gases,  controlled  under  the  Kyoto  Protocol  and  this 
Regulation, have high GWPs and long atmospheric lives.” 

Amendment  6  is  a  new  recital  that  specifies  that  application  and  enforcement  of  this 
Regulation should spur technological innovation. This amendment can be accepted with some 
slight redrafting of the text with the focus on technological innovation as below: 

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“(6a)  The  application  and  enforcement  of  this  Regulation  should  encourage  technological 
innovation  by  the  continued  development  of  alternative  technologies  that  are  more 
environmentally friendly.” 

Amendment  7  is  a  new  recital  that  specifies  that  the  regulation  should  not  prevent  Member 
States  from  maintaining  or  introducing  stricter  protective  measures.  This  amendment  is 
similar  to  amendment  2  and  the  text  proposed  for  this  amendment  would  be  acceptable  for 
amendment 7. 

Amendment 15 adds the term circuits to equipment. Circuit would cover all the elements in 
equipment where the fluorinated greenhouse gas is used and is the standard term in standards 
documents. In this context it might be useful to add “in particular” before circuits. 

Amendment 20 requires that companies and their personnel involved in the maintenance and 
the  installation  of  equipment  covered  by  the  Regulation  should  also  be  covered  by  the 
certification and training requirements. The Commission can agree in principle with the aim 
of covering “installation” but believes that this is disproportionate for the small plug in items. 
Maintenance  is  a  wide  concept  and  the  relevant  operations  would  be  covered  by  the  term 
“servicing”. A suggested text would be 

For both the companies and for the relevant personnel involved in installing the non-plug in 
equipment referred to in Articles 3 and 4 as well as for those involved in servicing or carrying 
out controls of this equipment for the ………….. 

Amendment  22  requires  each  owner  of  stationary  applications  referred  to  in  Article  3, 
paragraph 2 (b) and (c) to obtain a registration number from the relevant competent authority 
for each system installed. It would be useful to indicate that this number should be used in all 
the record keeping provided for under Article 3 (6). 

“Each owner of stationary applications referred to in Article 3(2) (b) and (c) shall obtain a 
registration  number  from  the  relevant  competent  authority  for  each  system  installed.  This 
number shall be used in the record keeping provided for under Article 3(6)” 

Amendment 23 requires the Member States’ competent authorities to review every 2 years a 
representative sample of the records referred to in Article 3. The Commission could accept if 
period is increased to three years. 

Amendment 43 provides for some delay in the fitting of leakage detectors to fire protection 
systems.  The  Commission  could  accept  this  with  a  delay  of  two  years  and  without  the 
inclusion of safety and insurance provisions since these are implicitly covered and it does not 
wish to see such factors delaying even further the implementation of the Regulation. 

4.1.2.  Amendments rejected by the Commission 

Amendment 12 provides another definition of “placing on the market” by replacing producer 
by manufacturer. The existing definition does not lack of clarity or ambiguity and so it could 
be maintained. 

Amendment 14 introduces a definition of "stationary" applications. The Commission believes 
that the wording of this amendment could lead to confusion and should be rejected.  

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Amendment 18  changes the word “inspections” to “control measures”. The rejection of this 
amendment is in line with the position taken on the same issue in amendments 16 and 17.  

Amendment  19  specifies  that  Member  States  shall  facilitate  the  cross-border  transport  of 
recovered  fluorinated  greenhouse  gases  for  destruction  or  reclamation.  This  amendment  is 
acceptable in principle but since the cross border shipment of F-Gases will be covered by the 
new  proposed  Regulation  on  “Waste  Shipment”.  The  Commission  believes  that  it  is  not 
necessary to include it in this Regulation. 

Amendment 27 requires the Commission to present legislative proposal by the 31 December 
2008 with respect to mobile air-conditioning systems (MACs) in vehicles other than cars and 
refrigeration systems in transport. The Commission cannot accept this since it would have to 
produce  proposals  by  a  certain  data  irrespective  of  what  emerges  from  its  technical  and 
economic evaluations and this could unduly restrict the Commission’s right of initiative. 

Amendment 42 aims to facilitate the Commission’s role and increase transparency in relation 
to  national  measures  on  F-Gases  and  also  ensure  timely  Member  State  notification  under 
Article  176.  The  Commission  cannot  accept  this  amendment,  there  is  already  a  system  of 
notification of national measures and this amendment will provide no added value. 

Amendment  45  says  that  the  Regulation  shall  not  prevent  Member  States  from  keeping  or 
taking stronger protective measures. Amendment 7 that introduces the same notion in a recital 
has  been  accepted  in  principle.  However,  this  amendment  refers  to  an  article  of  the 
Regulation. Some Member States may use it as a justification for any stricter measure even if 
they  are  detrimental  to  the  internal  market.  The  provisions  of  the  Treaty  are  directly 
applicable, hence this amendment is not acceptable. 

4.2 

The Directive 

4.2.1.  Amendments accepted by the Commission 

4.2.1.1.  Amendments Accepted in Full  

None 

4.2.1.2.  Amendments Accepted in Part  

None 

4.21.3  Amendments Accepted in Principle 

None 

4.2.2.  Amendments rejected by the Commission 

Amendment  1  would  allow  Member  States  to  promote  the  installation  of  air  conditioning 
systems using a gas that is efficient and which has a low global warming potential using fiscal 
or  other  incentives.  This  amendment  does  not  add  anything  to  the  proposal.  Member  States 
are already allowed to grant fiscal incentives provided that they comply with state aid rules, 
particularly  the  Guidelines  on  State  Aid  for  environmental  protection  as  well  as  on 
Commission  notice  on  the  application  of  the  State  aid  rules  to  measures  relating  to  direct 

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business  taxation.  Such  measures  have  to  be  notified  to  the  Commission  and  assessed  on  a 
case by case basis. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission amends its proposal as set out 
above. The Commission would like to underline that, in order to contribute positively to the 
conciliation phase, it is ready to look at ways of facilitating solutions to outstanding issues. 

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