According to a proposal by the German Presidency of the Council of the EU, which was approved on Wednesday 4 November by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper), as part of the inter-institutional negotiations (‘trilogues’) on amending regulation (715/2007) on emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles, which began on 9 October, Council of the European Union negotiators are willing to accept some of the requests made by the European Parliament.
Conformity factor
The German proposal, a copy of which EUROPE has obtained, suggests accepting Parliament’s proposal to set the conformity factor for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions at 1.32 (see EUROPE 12562/19) rather than at 1.43. The factor is used to determine conformity with Euro 6 emission limits and takes into account the technical uncertainties associated with the use of portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS) under real driving conditions.
To justify this change of position, the Presidency points out that Parliament’s proposal “is in line with the JRC (Joint Research Centre) report which was not yet available in December 2019”, when the Council of the EU decided in favour of a factor of 1.43 (see EUROPE 12389/8).
The Council of the EU is also willing to make concessions regarding reviewing the conformity factor, according to the proposal.
Whereas the Commission initially proposed, on the basis of a report from the JRC, that it could revise the conformity factor annually by delegated act, the position adopted by Member States in December 2019 anticipated this review taking place every two years, and, most importantly, using the co-decision procedure.
However, Berlin believes that the Council of the EU “could also show flexibility with regard to an annual review of the error margin as suggested by the European Parliament”.
The Presidency therefore suggests that the Commission should carry out a “regular review” of the conformity factor and adjust it downwards “according to technical progress”, based on a Commission report presented to Parliament and the Council of the EU every year.
In a spirit of compromise, the German Presidency is also willing to accept that this should be done using delegated acts.
The German proposal explains that “it has to be seen in the overall context of grounding the error margin on scientific evidence and trust in the Commission to propose sound values”, and notes that the Council of the EU and Parliament are able to oppose delegated acts, if they believe it is necessary to do so.
The proposal suggests, on the other hand, that the Council of the EU should not accept Parliament’s proposal to abolish the conformity factor by 30 September 2022 at the latest. Instead, Berlin proposes that the Commission repeal it as soon as its use can no longer be justified by scientific evidence.
PEMS requirements
Another point on which the proposal suggests the Council of the EU is prepared to show flexibility involves PEMS requirements that can be used for testing in real driving conditions.
Parliament wants the Commission to be required to strengthen these requirements by June 2021 at the latest, while Berlin suggests that the institution should be “encouraged” to establish stricter requirements, “as soon as technically feasible”.
The second trilogue is scheduled for 10 November.
The German Presidency’s proposal can be found at: https://bit.ly/360t0zS (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)