Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2004)774 - Amendment of Decisions 2001/507/EC and 2001/509/EC with a view to making UN/ECE Regulations 109 and 108 on retreaded tyres compulsory - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2004)774 - Amendment of Decisions 2001/507/EC and 2001/509/EC with a view to making UN/ECE Regulations 109 and 108 on retreaded tyres ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2004)774  |
| date | 08-12-2004 |
THE PURPOSE OF THIS DECISION IS TO MAKE compulsory in the Community the provisions on the approval of the production of retreaded pneumatic tyres intended for passenger cars and commercial vehicles included respectively in United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) Regulations N° 108 (Uniform provisions concerning the approval for the production of retreaded pneumatic tyres for motor vehicles and their trailers) i and 109 (Uniform provisions concerning the approval for the production of retreaded pneumatic tyres for commercial vehicles and their trailers) i, as amended.
As a consequence, Member States shall permit retreaded tyres to be placed on the market in the Community only if they have been manufactured in accordance with the requirements laid down in the two Regulations.
At present, there are no compulsory uniform provisions for the manufacturing of retreaded tyres intended for sale and entering into service in the Community. It is necessary to prevent the existence of different requirements for the manufacturing of retreaded tyres in the different Member States as such divergences make the commercialisation of these products more difficult, leading to internal trade barriers.
Retreaded tyres constitute an important part of the after-sales market within the motor vehicle sector in the Community. Retreaded tyres are intended to increase the period of use of tyres and to extend the mileage of tyres. Some of their known advantages are that they provide the same mileage as comparable new tyres, while maintaining high levels of performance and safety. In addition, this product is environmentally friendly and provides energy savings as compared with the production of new tyres, while its price is lower than that of new tyres.
The compulsory application of the requirements included in the UN/ECE Regulations for the manufacturing of retreaded tyres will contribute towards ensuring the quality, integrity and performance of this product.
2. THE UN/ECE SYSTEM AND ITS LEGISLATION ON RETREADED TYRES
The “Revised 1958 Agreement”[3], concluded under the auspices of the UN/ECE, establishes the procedures for the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions regarding new motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to be fitted to or used in motor vehicles. The Agreement provides for the obligation of its Contracting Parties to issue approvals at the manufacturer’s request in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations annexed to it and accepted by the Contracting Parties and for the reciprocal acceptance i of approvals issued under these Regulations. A total of 115 Regulations have been adopted under the Agreement up to now i.
The European Community became a Contracting Party to the Revised 1958 Agreement on 24 March 1998, through Council Decision 97/836/EC i.
By acceding to the Agreement, the Community acceded immediately to a list of 78 UN/ECE Regulations. The Community has since acceded to 20 more Regulations and is examining accession to additional ones. As a result of the EC’s accession to these Regulations, Member States, at the manufacturer request, must grant and accept type-approvals based on these Regulations as alternatives to the corresponding EC directives and national law.
The UN/ECE has adopted two Regulations in the field of retreaded tyres under the 1958 Agreement, namely Regulations 108 and 109. Both of these Regulations entered into force among the Contracting Parties on 23 June 1998. The Community acceded to both of them on 28 October 2001, by virtue of Council Decisions 2001/509/EC i and 2001/507/EC i, respectively.
The Regulations provide measures concerning the technical performance and the ongoing manufacturing capability for the production of retreaded tyres. The provisions cover the methods used by a manufacturer to produce the tyre and refer to the approval of the retreading production unit rather than to the approval of the retreaded tyre itself.
As a result of the Community’s accession to the Regulations, Member States, if requested by a manufacturer, have to issue an approval for the manufacturing of retreaded tyres which complies with the relevant Regulation. At the same time, they are required to accept within their territory retreaded tyres manufactured under the conditions provided by these Regulations and coming from other Contracting Parties, inside or outside the Community. For instance, retreaded tyres manufactured by a company in Russia according to the provisions of the Regulations have to be admitted in the Community, as both Russia and the Community are Contracting Parties to the 1958 Agreement and have accepted the application of both Regulations.
However, UN/ECE Regulations 108 and 109 are not automatically compulsory in the Contracting Parties and therefore, in EC Member States. Some Member States have made compulsory at national level the compliance with the requirements of the Regulations, like France or Spain. However, Member States are free to have in place parallel national rules alternative to the provisions included in the Regulations and differing from one Member State to another. As a result of this, there are no common compulsory rules on safety and on the requirements for the manufacturing of retreaded tyres for the sale and entry into service in the Community.
3. COMMISSION PROPOSAL FOR A DECISION
The Council, in its decisions of 26 June 2001 by which the European Community acceded to UN/ECE Regulations 108 and 109, announced the intention to later regulate, through a Community directive, the uniform application of both Regulations in the Community i. In view of the limited scope of the needed regulatory action, it is appropriate to introduce such a provision by amending Council Decisions 2001/509/EC and 2001/507/EC.
The proposed Decision will not be integrated in the EC system for the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers established by Directive 70/156/CEE i, as established in Recital 3 of Council Decisions 2001/509/EC and 2001/507/EC, respectively. There are no types of retreaded tyres as they are products remanufactured from used tyres. In addition, they are not new products as such, as they are re-manufactured products and, therefore, they are not put into circulation on the market for the first time.