Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a European Parliament and Council Directive establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (Framework Directive)
Date: 2006-12-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: approximation of laws, commercial vehicle, motor vehicle, technical regulations, technical standard

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.12.2006 
COM(2006) 809 final 

2003/0153 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a European Parliament and Council 
Directive establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers 
and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles  
(Framework Directive) 

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2003/0153 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a European Parliament and Council 
Directive establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers 
and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles  
(Framework Directive) 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
the Council (document COM(2003)418 final – 2003/0153 (COD): 

Date  of  the  opinion  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee: 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament at first reading: 

Date of transmission of the amended proposal: 

Date of adoption of the common position: 

14.7.2003.

28.1.2004.

11.2.2004.

3.11.2004.

11.12.2006.

2. 

a) 

b) 

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OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

This  proposal  modernises  framework  Directive  70/156/EEC1  on  the  approximation 
of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and 
their trailers. 

Directive  70/156/EEC  is  the  main  legal  instrument  available  to  the  European 
Community to implement the single market in the automobile sector. It harmonises 
the  technical  requirements  relating  to  the  construction  of  motor  vehicles  and  their 
components and also replaces national type-approval procedures with a compulsory 
single Community type-approval procedure. 

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  –  Official  Journal  No  L 42 of 
23/02/1970, p.1. 

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Since  the  adoption  of  directives  92/53/EEC2,  2002/24/EC3  and  2003/37/EC4,  all 
categories  of  vehicles  can  enjoy  the  benefits  of  Community  type-approval,  apart 
from  commercial  vehicles5  which  only  enjoy  some  of  the  benefits.  One  of  the 
objectives of this proposal is to extend the principles of Community type-approval to 
commercial vehicles. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION 

3.1. 

General comments on the common position 

The  Council  welcomed  the  Commission’s  proposal  to  recast  framework  Directive 
70/156/EEC.  It  also  welcomed  the  additions  and  improvements  made  to  Directive 
92/53/EEC which was, historically, the first recasting of Directive 70/156/EEC. 

The  Council  nevertheless  found  it  necessary  to  reword  several  Articles  in  order  to 
clarify their scope, or provide a clearer definition of their application conditions. 

Several new articles have been introduced by the Council with a view to the future 
development  of  new  initiatives  in  the  context  of  the  policy  of  simplifying 
Community legislation for the automobile sector. The inclusion of these new Articles 
is  entirely  in  line  with  the  recommendations  made  by  the  CARS  21  High  Level 
Group. 

Given the complexity of type-approval systems already in place since 1996 and the 
legal aspects concerned, the discussions within the Council managed to preserve the 
delicate  balance  between  the  requirements  of  road  safety,  environmental  protection 
and the needs of the industry. The common position is therefore first and foremost a 
compromise text compiled with a view to winning the backing of all Member States. 

The  Commission  was  involved  in  drawing  up  the  new  articles  and  the  various 
rewordings of existing articles. 

It endorses the text of the common position. It would nevertheless have preferred, as 
it  would  be  in  the  interest  of  users  themselves,  to  see  earlier  dates  for  the 
implementation  of  Community  type-approval  for  commercial  vehicles  in  order  to 
complete  the  internal  market  and  make  the  safety  requirements  for  such  vehicles 
compulsory as soon as possible. 

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3 

4 

5 

Council  Directive  No  92/53/EEC  of  18  June  1992  amending  Directive  70/156/EEC  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  the  type-approval  of  motor  vehicles  and 
their trailers – Official Journal No L 225 of 10/08/1992, p.1. 
Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2002 relating to the 
type-approval  of  two  or  three-wheel  motor  vehicles  and  repealing  Council  Directive  92/61/EEC  – 
Official Journal No L 124 of 09/05/2002, p.1. 
Directive 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on type-approval 
of  agricultural  or  forestry  tractors,  their  trailers  and  interchangeable  towed  machinery,  together  with 
their systems, components and separate technical units and repealing Directive 74/150/EEC - Official 
Journal No L 171 of 09/07/2003, p.1. 
Light duty vehicles (up to 3.5 tonnes), trucks, trailers, semi-trailers, buses and coaches. 

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3.2. 

Comments on the amendments adopted by the European Parliament 

The  Council  was  in  full  accordance  with  the  Commission’s  opinion  on  the 
amendments adopted by the European Parliament at first reading. 

All  the  amendments  which  would  have  introduced  provisions  into  the  framework 
directive which are incompatible with the  objectives of the proposal have  therefore 
been rejected, as have the amendments dealing with areas already covered by other 
Community legislation, in order to avoid creating legal uncertainty. 

The Council approved the amendments by the European Parliament, which had been 
re-worded by  the  Commission,  on type-approval itself as these  extend  the scope of 
the  provisions  originally  presented.  The  amendments  dealing  with  individual 
approval were accepted. 

The  Council  agreed  to  reconsider  the  limits  for  small  series  to  take  account  of  the 
enlargement of the European Union in May 2004. 

With  regard  to  the  dates  for  implementing  Community  type-approval,  the  Council 
completely rejected the Parliament’s proposal to defer all the dates proposed by the 
Commission, on the grounds that such a significant delay would damage the interests 
of manufacturers who are the primary beneficiaries of the harmonisation of technical 
and administrative provisions for the approval of motor vehicles. 

3.3. 

New provisions introduced by the Council and the Commission’s position 

Of  the  new  Articles,  Article  10a  specifies  how  to  perform  the  tests  required  for 
granting  type-approval.  This  will  simplify  the  test  methods  substantially  by 
permitting  the  use  of  virtual  methods  and  allowing  the  manufacturer  to  submit  the 
test reports himself. 

Article 38 (‘Notification and appointment of technical services) has been completely 
rewritten. It has been explained under which conditions the administrative authorities 
responsible for type-approval could replace the technical services appointed for this 
purpose and supervise themselves the tests carried out at the manufacturers’ plants. 
The Council has also determined the conditions pour assessing the competence of the 
various  actors  involved  in  the  type-approval  procedure  from  conducting  the  tests 
required  to  conformity  of  production  inspections  and  sample  checks  on  vehicles  or 
components on the market. 

Particular attention has been paid to parts and equipment available on the after-sales 
market so that those which could interfere with the operation of the vehicle can only 
be marketed with the approval of the type-approval authorities. A new Article (‘parts 
and equipment which pose a serious risk [..]’) has been inserted in order to introduce 
a simplified approval procedure modelled on type-approval. 

The Council has completely revised the timetable proposed by the Commission for 
the implementation of Community type-approval for commercial vehicles in order to 
give small and medium-sized enterprises more time to adapt to the new provisions. 
The new timetable takes account of the fact that the deadline for transposition of the 
directive by the Member States has been extended from 12 to 18 months. 

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The  Annexes  to  the  Directive  have  been  updated  to  take  account  of  the  changes 
arising  from  the  introduction  of  the  new  Articles  and  the  recent  entry  into  force  of 
new specific directives. 

The Commission fully endorses these changes. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

With its initial proposal of 14 July 2003, the Commission proposes to extend the benefits of 
type-approval  to  all  vehicles,  including  commercial  vehicles,  so  as  to  complete  the  internal 
market  in  the  automobile  sector.  Apart  from  the  advantages  in  terms  of  economy  of  scale 
which  this  secures  for  manufacturers,  this  also  helps  to  substantially improve  vehicle  safety 
by  making  compulsory  ipso  facto  all  the  technical  harmonisation  directives  drawn  up  since 
the adoption of Directive 70/156/EEC. 

For  European  citizens,  in  addition  to  the  advantages  of  an  open  and  competitive  single 
market, the major improvement in road safety is a vital factor at a time of rapid expansion in 
international commercial vehicle traffic. 

The Council has given its backing to the amended Commission proposal. It has nonetheless 
made a number of changes which will have a positive impact on approval procedures. Several 
articles have also been introduced in response to the recommendations made in the CARS 21 
report with a view to simplifying future Community legislation. 

The Council acted unanimously. 

In conclusion, the Commission supports the common position adopted by the Council. 

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