Today, EU institutions agreed on the Type approval, a provisional deal covering new rules for how vehicles are approved for sale across Europe.
The aim is to set more stringent national testing systems to avoid another emission scandal, guaranteeing compliance with environmental and conformity requirements for vehicles before they enter Europe, making vehicle testing more independent and increasing surveillance of cars already in circulation. Under the agreed rules, these are the provisions which will take place:
- One in every 40,000 newly registered vehicles should be checked to make sure it complies with the rules. The manufacturer makes available a limited set of pre-production cars (equal to the final product) to be tested for compliance with EU safety rules. If all relevant requirements are met, the national authority delivers an EU vehicle type approval to the manufacturer authorising the sale of the vehicle type in the EU. Every vehicle produced is then accompanied by a certificate of conformity in which the manufacturer certifies that the vehicle corresponds to the approved type. This allows the vehicle to be registered anywhere in Europe.
- The European Commission will be allowed to carry out checks on national authorities every five years.
The European Parliament and countries still need to endorse the deal.
Detailed information is provided in the European Commission’s website.
Photo: United Nations via Flickr.
