COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning type-approval requirements for the deployment of the eCall in-vehicle system and amending Directive 2007/46/EC
Date: 2015-03-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, data protection, emergency aid, intelligent transport system, motor vehicle, personal data, protection of privacy, road safety, telephone, vehicle parts

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 10.3.2015  
COM(2015) 126 final 

2013/0165 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council concerning type-approval requirements for the deployment of the eCall 
in-vehicle system and amending Directive 2007/46/EC 

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2013/0165 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council concerning type-approval requirements for the deployment of the eCall 
in-vehicle system and amending Directive 2007/46/EC 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council (document COM(2013)316 final –2013/0165 (COD): 

13 June 2013 

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

19 September 2013 

Date of the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor 

29 October 2013 

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

26 February 2014 

Date of adoption of the position of the Council: 

2 March 2015 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

The aim of the Commission proposal is to mandate the eCall in-vehicle system for new types 
of cars and vans in the framework of the motor vehicle type approval, requiring these vehicles 
to be constructed as to ensure that in the event of serious road accidents an emergency call to 
the  common  European  emergency  call  number  112  is  triggered  automatically.  This  will 
contribute significantly to reducing the number of casualties and fatalities in such accidents. 

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

3.1. 

General comments 

The  Commission  welcomes  the  political  agreement  on  a  compromise  text  reached  on  1 
December 2014 by the Council and the IMCO committee of the Parliament. The adoption of 
the  1st  reading  Council  position  and  the  plenary  vote  in  Parliament  in  April  or  May  2015 
should  lead  to  the  final  adoption  of  the  text.  From  the  perspective  of  the  Commission,  the 
compromise that was reached is reasonable and can be supported.  

3.2. 

Comments on the amendments adopted by the European Parliament 

3.2.1.  European  Parliament  amendments  included  in  full,  in  part  or  in  principle  in 

Council’s position at first reading 

The  Council’s  position  in  first  reading  encompasses  a  vast  majority  of  the  amendments 
introduced by the European Parliament, in particular, most of the proposed additional recitals, 
the explicit reference to the 112-based eCall in-vehicle system, the requirement for the eCall 

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system  to  be  permanently  installed  within  the  vehicle  and  to  provide  a  warning  to  the 
occupants of the vehicle in the event of a critical system failure.  

The Council also introduced additional requirements in the area of privacy and data protection 
regarding the non-use  of  personal  data for any other purposes and the non-retention of data 
beyond  what  is  strictly  necessary  for  the  operation  of  the  eCall  system.  The  provisions 
became  even  more  detailed  after  the  incorporation  of  large  part  of  the  amendments  of  the 
European  Parliament  in  this  respect  (e.g.  automatic  and  continuous  removal  of  data,  no 
transmission of the data outside the vehicle before the eCall is triggered, no exchange of data 
between  the  in-vehicle  systems,  etc.).  Furthermore,  on  the  basis  of  an  assessment  of  each 
individual  requirement,  a  reasonable  compromise  for  a  coherent  use  of  both,  delegated  and 
implementing acts, was found. This can be supported by the Commission.  

In addition, the Council limited the period of delegation to 5 years from the entry into force of 
the  Regulation  without  the  possibility  for  tacit  renewal.  Subsequently,  as  a  compromise,  it 
accepted  to  provide  for  such  tacit  extension.  Although,  the  Commission  would  prefer  an 
unlimited delegation period, this solution can be supported as part of the package.  

On the accessibility of the eCall system to independent operators for repair and maintenance 
purposes, the Council introduced a link to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 and 
the possibility for the manufacturers to charge a fee, while at the same time, it also agreed on 
the  additional  clarification,  proposed  by  the  European  Parliament,  that  such  a  fee  should  be 
reasonable and not exceed a nominal amount. Given that this solution does not deviate from 
the applicable EU rules on access to independent operators, the Commission can support it as 
part of the package.  

The  Council  accepted  the  amendment  of  the  European  Parliament  that  calls  on  the 
Commission to assess, following a study of the costs and benefits and broad consultation with 
stakeholders,  the  need  of  requirements  for  an  interoperable,  standardised,  secure  and  open-
access  platform  and,  if  appropriate,  to  adopt  a  legislative  initiative  based  on  those 
requirements.  This  issue  was  not  part  of  the  initial  Commission  proposal,  but  can  be 
supported as part of the package. 

The  Council  also  endorsed  the  amendment  of  the  European  Parliament  requiring  the 
Commission  to  explore  the  possibilities  to  extend  the  scope  of  the  Regulation  to  other 
categories  of  vehicles,  such  as  powered  two-wheelers,  heavy  goods  vehicles,  busses  and 
coaches, and agricultural tractors, and if appropriate, to present a proposal to that effect. This 
can be supported by the Commission.  

The  clarifications  brought  to  the  drafting  of  the  Commission  text  by  the  Council  and  the 
Parliament can also be supported.  

3.2.2.  European Parliament amendments not included in Council position at first reading 

The Council felt that the amendments of the European Parliament requiring Member States to 
report  on  the  readiness  of  the  eCall  infrastructure  and  the  Commission  to  take  appropriate 
actions to ensure this infrastructure will be deployed on time were not appropriate in an article 
of  a  Regulation  dealing  with  the  type-approval  requirements.  However,  the  Council 
recognised that it is essential to have ready in advance the coordinated upgrade in the public 
mobile wireless communications networks for conveying eCalls and PSAPs for receiving and 
handling  eCalls  and  included  appropriate  text  in  the  recitals.  This  is  supported  by  the 
Commission.  The  same  approach  was  implemented  as  regards  the  amendment  of  the 
European  Parliament  requiring  the  112-based  eCall  system  to  be  subject  to  periodical 
technical inspection. 

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3.3. 

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

The  Council  introduced  a  number  of  technical  amendments,  in  particular  to  clarify  the 
exemption from the scope of vehicles produced in small series, individually approved vehicles 
and  vehicles  which  for  technical  reasons  cannot  be  equipped  with  an  eCall  system.  It  also 
provided  empowerment  for  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  order  to  identify  the 
vehicles to be exempted. This can be supported. 

Furthermore, the Council added specific provisions addressing the co-existence of third party 
eCall services (TPS eCall) with the 112-based eCall system. These provisions ensure that all 
vehicles  are  equipped  with  the  112-based  eCall  system  on  mandatory  basis  and  that  this 
system will be automatically activated should the TPS eCall fail. The solution proposed by the 
Counil can herefore be supported by the Commission. 

In  addition,  the  Council  introduced  provisions  on  the  use  of  implementing  acts  and  on  the 
respective committee procedures for their adoption. As the application of these provisions is 
fairly limited and in the light of the compromise reached in the context of privacy and data 
protection  rules,  this  can  also  be  supported  by  the  Commission.  As  to  the  committee 
provisions,  the  Commission  regrets  the  recourse  to  the  ‘no  opinion  clause’,  given  that  the 
inclusion of such a provision constitutes an exception to Regulation 182/2011, but in the spirit 
of compromise will not oppose it. 

Finally,  the  Council  requested  more  lead  time  for  industry  to  comply  with  the  new 
requirements. The European Parliament, although not modifying the date of application in the 
Commission’s proposal, showed openness towards a postponement and finally accepted that 
the Regulation will start to apply from 31 March 2018. The Comission agrees that sufficient 
lead  time  is  required  and  can  support  the  compromise  date  of  application  given  that  it  is  in 
compliance  with  the  timeline  for  the  deployment  of  the  overall  eCall  infrastructure  as 
provided in Decision No 585/2014/EU.    

4. 

CONCLUSION 

Although the Commission regrets for practical reasons the decision of the Counil restricting the 
delegation to the Commission to a fixed period of five years and the inclusion of the ‘no opinion 
clause’ in the committee procedure for the adoption of implementing acts, the Commission will 
refrain from opposing. 

The Council acted by a qualified majority. 

In conclusion, the Commission  supports, in a spirit of compromise, the position adopted by 
the Council.  

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