On Thursday 9 November, the European Parliament adopted its position on the recasting of EU rules on the type-approval and market surveillance for motor vehicles (Euro 7), with 329 votes in favour, 230 against and 41 abstentions. Among other things, the new regulation aims to change the current limits for exhaust emissions and reduce tyre and brake emissions.
The vote confirms the report backed by Alexandr Vondra (ECR, Czech) and adopted by the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) on 12 October (see EUROPE 13270/5).
165 of the 173 amendments put forward by Mr Vondra were adopted.
MEPs adopted the pollutant levels proposed by the Commission for vehicles just over a year ago (see EUROPE 13061/14) and proposed a classification into three weight categories for light commercial vehicles.
In addition, the text adopted requires stricter emission limits for buses and heavy-duty vehicles (amendment 151).
Amendment 137, adopted by 537 votes in favour and 50 against, urges the Commission to finalise this secondary legislation within 12 months of the main legislation coming into force. Light and heavy-duty vehicles will have 24 and 48 months respectively to comply with amendments 105 and 106.
Amendment 149 sets a new deadline of 1 July 2031 for low-volume manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicles. Most significantly, the application of the standards was postponed with the adoption - despite the opposition of the S&D, The Left and the Greens/EFA - of amendments 146 and 147, which are central to the report, moving from 2025 and 2027 to 2030 for cars and 2031 for heavy-duty vehicles.
MEPs also want to harmonise the EU’s calculation methodologies and limits for brake particle emissions and tyre abrasion with the international standards currently being drawn up by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
Finally, stricter requirements for the durability of batteries for cars and vans are demanded.
Alexandr Vondra welcomed the adoption of this text which strikes a balance between environmental protection and economic and social realism, which would provide “a solid basis for future negotiations with the EU Council, whose position is already close”.
A number of S&D, The Left and Greens/EFA MEPs refused to support it, including Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, French), chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism, who put forth her views in a press release. In her view, this position fails to take account of past mistakes, such as Dieselgate, and could compromise efforts to combat air pollution. According to André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities, the network of major European cities, the text favours the car industry and makes the work of cities more difficult.
With the EU Council having adopted its negotiating mandate on 26 September (see EUROPE 13257/1), discussions on the final form of the legislation can begin.
The adopted text: https://aeur.eu/f/9i4 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)