Directive 2004/3/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 amending Council Directives 70/156/EEC and 80/1268/EEC as regards the measurement of carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption of N1 vehicles (Text with EEA relevance)

Directive 2004/3/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 11 February 2004
amending Council Directives 70/156/EEC and 80/1268/EEC as regards the measurement of carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption of N1 vehicles
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),
Whereas:
(1) Council Directive 80/1268/EEC of 16 December 1980 relating to the carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption of motor vehicles(4) is one of the separate directives under the type-approval procedure laid down by 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(5).
(2) The communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council on "EU policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: towards a European Climate Change Programme (ECCP)", proposes an implementation strategy to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, including measures in the transport sector. The Green Paper "Towards a European strategy for the security of energy supply" likewise calls for efforts to improve fuel economy of motor vehicles.
(3) Under the Community strategy to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from passenger cars, as outlined in the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council entitled "A Community strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and improve fuel economy", the harmonised measurement methodology, as laid down in Directive 80/1268/EEC, has been used as a basic instrument. With a view to permitting subsequent measures to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the sector of light commercial vehicles, it is necessary to extend the scope of that Directive to include vehicles of category N1 as well.
(4) As referred to in Decision No 1753/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 2000 establishing a scheme to monitor the average specific emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars(6), the Commission has carried out a study to investigate the possibilities and implications of a harmonised procedure for measuring the specific CO2 emissions from vehicles of category N1. In this respect, it is considered technically acceptable and most cost-effective to apply the existing emissions test of Council Directive 70/220/EEC of 20 March 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles(7) also for the measurement of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for that category of vehicles.
(5) Many small-volume manufacturers buy from suppliers engines which are type-approved with respect to emissions according to Council Directive 88/77/EEC of 3 December 1987 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas for use in vehicles(8). A considerable number of those manufacturers do not have the necessary infrastructure or expertise to perform the exhaust or CO2 emissions testing. It is therefore necessary to grant an exemption for small-volume manufacturers, since the additional costs they would incur in order to comply with this Directive would be disproportionately high.
(6) Those measures also have an impact on the Annexes to Directive 70/156/EEC.
(7) Directives 70/156/EEC and 80/1268/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly,