Cleaner cars: Internal Market MEPs to debate changes to type-approval rules

MEPs’ plans to tighten up EU car “type approval” rules, in the wake of the VW scandal, will be outlined in 196 amendments to the EU Commission proposal to overhaul the current system, to be debated in the Internal Market Committee on Thursday at 11.00. These include stricter supervision of tests done before a car can be placed on the market and more stringent obligations on EU member states to check that those already on the road meet all EU safety, environmental and production requirements.

(ECR, UK), who is steering this legislation through Parliament, has tabled 196 amendments to the Commission’s draft regulation, including on the obligations of the national approval authorities, market surveillance authorities and car manufacturers, the designation of the technical services performing the tests, the duration of the type-approvals and on the access to the vehicle’s software and “engine management strategies”.

Other changes concern the role foreseen for the EU Commission in market surveillance, recalls and on the administrative fines to be imposed in the event of infringements. The provisions on a “national fee structure” for type-approvals and market surveillance costs are deleted.

“I aim to strengthen the system of car approvals, tackling weaknesses in testing procedures and supervision of testing services and critically, I place greater obligations on member states to undertake adequate market surveillance and examine each other's type approval and market surveillance regimes”, said Daniel Dalton ahead of the presentation of his draft report in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee.

“Ensuring proper market surveillance and effective sanctions for non-compliant vehicles is vital to deterring manufacturers from cheating consumers in future", he added.

The proposal on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles, presented by the EU Commission on 27 January 2016 in the aftermath of the Volkswagen scandal, aims to reinforce the independence and quality of testing that allows a car to be placed on the market, step up surveillance of cars already in circulation and provide for greater EU oversight.

The debate on the amendments will take place on Thursday, 29 September, at around 11.00. It will be webstreamed on EP Live.

Next steps

Other MEPs have until 13 October to table their amendments to the draft law. The vote in the Internal Market Committee is expected to take place at the end of November.

Note to editors

In September 2015, the Volkswagen (VW) case highlighted weaknesses in the implementation of type-approval rules for motor vehicles in the EU. In January 2016, as part of preparations from previous years but also in response to the VW case, the Commission proposed strengthening the type-approval system. Its goal is to ensure effective enforcement of rules, including through market surveillance, to strengthen the quality and independence of technical tests and to introduce EU oversight on the type-approval process.

The proposal in currently under discussion in Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, which is due to vote its position on the draft regulation at the end of November.

REF. : 20160928IPR44346