The Council of European Energy Ministers adopted its position, on Monday, 4 March in Brussels, on the proposal on tyre labelling “in relation to fuel efficiency” (see EUROPE 12199).
The text of the general approach slightly modifies the Commission's initial proposal, and negotiations with the (new) European Parliament are expected to start next autumn. The European Parliament has yet to adopt its position in plenary.
The Council's negotiating position updates the tyre labelling system and provides for the inclusion of information on snow and ice grip.
New requirements on the display of the label, including for distance selling and sales on the internet, will improve its visibility to customers and ensure that they are fully informed when making purchasing decisions. The regulation will also improve enforcement by creating an obligation to register tyres in a product database.
The scope of the regulation is extended for the first time to tyres for trucks and buses (C3 tyres). Previously, only tyres for cars and vans were included in the rules.
The Council position also allows for the future inclusion of re-treaded tyres, once a suitable testing method to measure the performance of such tyres has been developed.
A review clause provides the possibility for a future inclusion of mileage and abrasion as a parameter for the label when suitable testing methods are available.
In a short debate in the Council, the Netherlands said that it would have liked a more ambitious reform of the rules on tyre labelling, in particular regarding the provisions on tyre mileage and abrasion. But the country supports the text of the Council's position, as did Denmark, which also criticised the fact that it had to wait for an evaluation by the Commission (and a normal legislative procedure) before having provisions on tyre mileage and abrasion. This country hopes for “a renewed ambition” during the trilogues with the Parliament on this issue of tyre abrasion.
Germany welcomed in particular the provisions governing tyre sales on the internet and stressed the need to find solutions to the problem of tyre abrasion.
The Commission representative recalled that the road transport sector accounted for 27% of final energy consumption and 22% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.
Watered-down proposal. In addition, the friction resistance of tyres represents 5 to 10% of the consumption of road vehicles. He noted that the ambition of the proposal had been mitigated in the Council's position in a number of areas: - the general approach does not change the level of performance and related categories compared to the 2009 regulation (lower category tyres can no longer be sold on the market); - in regards to tyre abrasion, which is a factor in the spread of microplastics, the Commission would like to find solutions through delegated acts (new rules) as soon as reliable test methods are available (the Council plans to submit a legislative proposal once the tests are available). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)