Briefing

Will final talks produce a robust vehicle approval system?

November 29, 2017

Almost two years since the type approval reform was proposed, the European Parliament, member states and the European Commission are entering the final negotiations to agree the post-Dieselgate rules for approving cars. The third meeting is scheduled for 23 November.

This briefing summarises the key elements of a robust regulation that need to emerge from the discussions:

  1. Strong powers for the European Commission to check cars on the road perform in the same way as those that were approved; and review national regulators to ensure a consistent and appropriate interpretation of Type Approval requirements
  2. Agreeing a minimum level of checking by national market surveillance authorities to ensure vehicles meet all EU environment and safety requirements (no test cherry-picking)
  3. Independent members of the Forum to maintain its independence; and a public database with key type approval and vehicle data
  4. The powers for the Commission to continue to improve emission tests, in particular real- world and in-use CO2 tests

The time is running out to allow the Estonian Presidency to close the deal so the next trilogue needs to make substantial progress in negotiations. Member States should not stand in the way of the compromise but instead agree to a robust regulation.

Related Articles

View All
Letter

Joint letter in support of the Corporate Clean Vehicles Regulation

MEPs should hit the accelerator on fleet electrification, not the breaks

Press Release

‘Carspreading’ to wipe out up to 14% of on-street parking in European cities – study

A new study analyses the relentless growth of newly sold cars across all key dimensions.

Children make their way to school surrounded by SUVs in London, England. This photograph is part of a new collection of images highlighting the impact of 'carspreading' on the school run taken by photographer Crispin Huges for Clean Cities. Carspreading is taking over our cities. Cars are getting bigger — about 1cm wider every two years. The thing is, our streets aren’t. More than half of new cars in Europe are too wide for urban parking spaces, leaving our cities crowded and congested. And carspreading is damaging our planet too - petrol and diesel SUVs burn around 20% more fuel, and electric SUVs require more resources and critical battery minerals. Clean Cities is Europe’s largest network of organisations dedicated to active, shared and electric urban mobility.
Report

Ever-bigger? Car size at a crossroads

The impacts on safety, space and resource use if carspreading continues to go unchecked.