Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending and correcting Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles
Date: 2018-05-16
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, agricultural vehicle, market supervision, tractor, transport safety, vehicle parts

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 16.5.2018 COM(2018) 289 final 2018/0142 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending and correcting Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles (Text with EEA relevance)  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

The  term  ‘agricultural  and  forestry  vehicles’  covers  a  wide  range  of  different  vehicle  types 
with  at  least  two  axles,  e.g.  narrow-track  tractors,  extra-wide  tractors,  track-laying  tractors, 
trailers and interchangeable towed equipment such as rollers, tillers, seed drills. 

Type-approval  requirements  applying  to  agricultural  and  forestry  vehicles  are  set  out  in 
Directive 2003/37/EC1 and its implementing Directives, which have been repealed with effect 
from 1 January 2016 and replaced by Regulation (EU) No 167/20132 and its four delegated 
acts and one implementing act. 

Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  sets  out  the  general  fundamental  provisions  on  functional 
safety, occupational safety and environmental performance. It empowers the Commission to 
lay down the corresponding detailed technical requirements, test procedures and limit values, 
where  applicable,  in  four  delegated  acts  on  (i)  occupational  safety  (vehicle  construction 
requirements);  (ii)  functional  safety;  (iii)  braking;  and  (iv)  environmental  and  propulsion 
performance. These four delegated acts were published in the OJEU between December 2014 
and February 2015. 

Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 limited the power of the Commission to adopt delegated acts to 
a  period  of  5  years,  which  will  expire  on  21 March  2018.  As  there  is  a  continuous  need  to 
update  elements  of  these  delegated  acts  to  technical  progress  or  to  introduce  other 
amendments  in  line  with  the  Commission  empowerment,  the  draft  proposal  also  amends 
Article  71(2)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  to  provide  for  the  power  to  adopt  delegated 
acts of another 5 years with the possibility for tacit extension. 

In  addition,  certain  terms  and  editorial  errors  in  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  need  to  be 
corrected as well as a limited number of points upgraded to technical progress following the 
first implementation period of these acts. 

Since  the  type-approval  requirements  in  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  have  already  been 
applicable on a mandatory basis since 1 January 2016, this act is proposed for adoption at the 
earliest possible date and, contrary to most type-approval acts, does not provide for a separate 
application date. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  legal  basis  of  this  act  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  act  to  be  amended,  Article  114  of  the 
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 

• 

Subsidiarity 

Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  lays  down  EU  type-approval  requirements  with  a  view  to 
achieving total harmonisation of provisions at EU level. Any corrections and amendments to 

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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 (OJ L 171, 
9.7.2003, p. 1.). 
Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the 
approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 1). 

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Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 can therefore only be done by the Union. This does not only 
prevent fragmentation of the internal market, but also ensures equal environmental and safety 
standards across the Union. It also offers advantages of economies of scale: products can be 
made  for  the  entire  Union  market,  instead  of  being  customised  to  obtain  national  type-
approval for every single Member State. 

This proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle. 

• 

Proportionality 

Regulation  (EU) No 167/2013,  which contains the EU type-approval requirements,  is  based 
on the principle of total harmonisation. The corrections and amendments to be included in the 
requirements  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  on  the  basis  of  the  findings  during  the  first 
implementation  period  are  therefore  considered  the  most  suitable  ones  to  achieve  the 
objective  outlined  in  recital  11  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013,  namely  to  set  out  the 
technical  requirements  for  achieving  a  high  level  of  vehicle  safety  and  environmental 
performance. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The  use  of  a  Regulation  is  considered  to  be  appropriate  because  it  amends  the  existing 
Regulation. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

The  Commission  wishes  to  upgrade  to  technical  progress  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  by 
updating  certain  requirements  and  correcting  certain  editorial  errors  following  feedback 
received  by  stakeholders  and  Member  States  in  the  first  implementation  period.  More 
precisely, this act introduces clarifications to two definitions of tractor categories and corrects 
certain  terms  important  for  the  uniform  application  of  the  Regulation  without  possible 
interpretations as well as the references to a repealed legislative act. 

It  also  extends  the  power  conferred  on  the  Commission  to  adopt  delegated  acts  for  5  more 
years and sets out its tacit renewal, unless the Council or the European Parliament expressly 
object  to  it.  The  Commission  has  already  received  requests  from  stakeholders  and  Member 
States to extend this power. 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

The  Commission  informed  the  participants  of  the  Working  Group  on  Agricultural  Tractors 
(WGAT) on 13 June 2017 about its intention to submit this proposal and briefly explained its 
content  and  context.  Although  there  was  no  possibility  for  feedback  due  to  the  ongoing 
political  validation  procedure  at  the  time  of  the  WGAT,  there  has  been  no  reaction  to  date 
from  industry  stakeholders,  approval  authorities,  technical  services  or  social  partners. 
However,  the  provisions  of  the  enclosed  act  are  based  on  corresponding  requests  made  by 
Member States and stakeholders. It is expected that they will therefore support the enclosed 
draft  document  in  the  planned  discussions  on  it  in  the  first  and  second  quarter  of  2018,  in 
parallel with the Interservice Consultation. 

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2018/0142 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending and correcting Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 on the approval and market 
surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 114 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  descriptions  of  T1  and  T2  category  vehicles  require  clarification  regarding  the 
position  of  the  axle  closest  to  the  driver  for  tractors  with  reversible  driving  position 
and regarding the method of calculating the height of the centre of gravity. In order to 
accurately and uniformly establish the height of the centre of gravity for T2 category 
vehicles,  reference  should  be  made  to  internationally  applicable  standards  which 
determine the centre of gravity of a tractor. 

Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts for a 
period  of  five  years,  which  will  expire  on  21 March  2018.  As  there  is  a  continuing 
need  to  update  various  elements  of  the  type-approval  process  as  laid  down  by 
Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  and  the  acts  adopted  pursuant  to  it,  in  particular  to 
adapt it to technical progress or to introduce corrections, the period for the exercise of 
the delegation of power laid down in that Regulation should be extended with also the 
possibility for further tacit extensions. 

(3) 

Recital  (28)  and  Article 76(1)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council3,  erroneously  refer  to  the  repeal  of  Council  Directive 
74/347/EEC4  rather  than  to  the  repeal  of  Directive  2008/2/EC5,  which  codified  the 

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Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the 
approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles (OJ L 060 2.3.2013, p. 1). 
Council Directive 74/347/EEC of 25 June 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States 
relating to the field of vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors (OJ L 
191 15.7.1974, p. 5). 
Directive 2008/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 on the field of 
vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors (Codified version) (OJ L 24, 
29.1.2008, p. 30). 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

former  Directive.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  correct  those  references  in  Regulation 
(EU) No 167/2013. 

In Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013, the term ‘interchangeable machinery’ 
should be replaced by the term ‘interchangeable towed equipment’ in order to ensure 
the correct and consistent use of terminology throughout that Regulation. 

 In Article 12(3) of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013, importers are erroneously required 
to  retain  a  copy  of  the  certificate  of  conformity  rather  than  that  of  a  type-approval 
certificate  in  respect  of  products  that  are  not  in  conformity  with  that  Regulation  or 
which present a serious risk. Article 12(3) should therefore be corrected to refer to the 
appropriate document. 

Article  25(1)  of  Regulation  EU)  No  167/2013  erroneously  requires  that an  EU  type-
approval  certificate  contains,  as  an  attachment,  the  test  results  rather  than  the  test 
results  sheet.  Consequently,  Article  25(1)  should  be  corrected  to  refer  to  the 
appropriate attachment. 

As  this  Regulation  modifies  Regulation  (EU)  No  167/2013  without  expanding  its 
regulatory  content,  and  since  the  objectives  of  this  Regulation  cannot  be  sufficiently 
achieved  by  the  Member  States  but  can  rather,  by  reason  of  its  scale  and  effects,  be 
better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the 
principle  of  subsidiarity  as  set  out  in  Article  5  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  In 
accordance  with  the  principle  of  proportionality  as  set  out  in  that  Article,  this 
Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives. 

(8) 

Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 should therefore be amended and corrected accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 

Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

 Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) in point (2), the following sentence is added: 

‘for  tractors  with  a  reversible  driving  position  (reversible  seat  and  steering  wheel), 
the closest axle to the driver is the one fitted with the largest diameter tyres;’; 

(b) in point (3), the words ‘measured in relation to the ground’ are replaced by the 
words  ‘determined  in  accordance  with  ISO  standard  789-6:1982  and  measured  in 
relation to the ground’; 

(2) 

in Article 71, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

‘2.  The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Article 17(5),  Article 18(4), 
Article 19(6), Article 20(8), Article 27(6), Article 28(6), Article 45(4), Article 49(3), 
Article 53(12), Article 61 and Article 70 shall be conferred on the Commission for a 
period  of  ten  years  from  22 March  2013.  The  delegation  of  power  shall  be  tacitly 
extended  for  further  periods  of  five  years,  unless  the  European  Parliament  or  the 
Council  opposes  such  extension  not  later  than  three  months  before  the end  of  each 
period. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power 

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not later than 22 June 2022 and nine months before the end of each subsequent five-
year period.’ 

Article 2 

Corrections to Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 

Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 is corrected as follows: 

(1) 

recital 28 is corrected as follows: 

(a) the second indent is deleted; 

(b) the following indent is inserted after the indent relating to Directive 2000/25/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council: 

‘ —Directive 2008/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 
2008 on the field of vision and windscreen wipers for wheeled agricultural or forestry 
tractors(*), 

___________________________________________________________________ 

(*) OJ L 24, 29.1.2008, p. 30.’; 

(2) 

(3) 

in Article 2(2), the word ‘machinery’ is replaced by the words ‘towed equipment’; 

in Article 12(3), the words ‘certificate of conformity’ are replaced by the words ‘type-
approval certificate’; 

(4) 

in Article 25(1), point (b) is replaced by the following: 

‘(b) the test results sheet;’; 

(5) 

Article 76(1) is corrected as follows: 

(a) the words ‘74/347/EEC,’ are deleted;  

(b) the words ‘2008/2/EC,’ are inserted after the words ‘2000/25/EC,’. 

Article 3 

Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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