Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2018)296 - Labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2018)296 - Labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2018)296  |
| date | 17-05-2018 |
1. CONTEXTOFTHEPROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
Improving the labelling of tyres will give consumers more information on fuel efficiency, safety and noise, allowing them to obtain accurate, relevant and comparable information on those aspects when purchasing tyres. This will help improve the effectiveness of the tyre labelling scheme so as to ensure cleaner, safer and quieter vehicles and to maximise the scheme’s contribution to the decarbonisation of the transport sector.
This proposal repeals and replaces Regulation (EC) No 1222/20091 on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters (the Tyre Labelling Regulation, TLR).
The TLR was amended twice before it entered into application, first to include a new testing method for the wet grip of C1 tyres (cars), and then to reflect the fact that a suitable international testing method of wet grip had also been developed also for C2 (vans) and C3 (heavy duty vehicles) tyres2 and to include a laboratory alignment procedure for the measurement of rolling resistance. This proposal incorporates those amendments.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
In 2009, the EU adopted two sets of rules relating to tyres:
– The TLR, which set out Union requirements harmonising the information on tyre
– The Regulation on type-approval requirements3 for the general safety of motor
vehicles (the General Safety Regulation, GSR), which put in place harmonised technical requirements that tyres must satisfy before they can be placed on the Union market.
The GSR puts in place minimum requirements inter alia for tyres as regards:
(i) rolling resistance;
(ii) wet grip performance; and
(iii) external rolling noise of tyres.
These requirements became applicable from 1 November 2012, with a second stage of more stringent requirements for the rolling resistance starting to apply on 1 November 2016 (with further adjustments coming into application in 2018 and 2020).
on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters, OJ L 342 of
22.12.2009, p.46
of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the wet grip testing method for C1 tyres
and Commission Regulation (EU) No 1235/2011 of 29 November 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No
1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the wet grip grading of tyres,
the measurement of rolling resistance and the verification procedure.
concerning type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles, their trailers and
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Like any other products placed on the Union market, tyres must be checked by national market surveillance authorities for compliance with the applicable requirements. Regulation (EC) No 765/20084 establishes the framework for market surveillance by Member States and ensures efficient cross-border market surveillance.
The general energy labelling framework was updated in 2017 with the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2017/13695. This repealed and replaced Directive 2010/30/EU and introduced a number of new elements, such as a product registration database and new rules on visual advertising and on distance and internet sales.
Tyre labelling forms part of Union legislation on the energy efficiency of products. This includes ecodesign regulations, which set minimum requirements that energy-related products must satisfy before they can be placed on the Union market, and energy labelling regulations, which provide consumers with information on the energy consumption and other essential aspects of products, helping them to take informed, cost-effective and environment-friendly purchasing decisions that are both good for the environment and save money.
This initiative is in line with the Union's energy policy as it updates and improves the effectiveness of the existing acquis on tyre labelling.
• Consistency with other Union policies
The review of the tyre labelling scheme contributes to EU efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution caused by the transport sector.
This initiative is part of the Third 'Europe on the Move' Package, which delivers on the new industrial policy strategy of September 2017, and is designed to complete the process of enabling Europe to reap the full benefits of the modernisation and decarbonisation of mobility. It is essential that tomorrow's mobility system is safe, clean and efficient for all EU citizens. The aim is to make European mobility safer and more accessible, European industry more competitive, European jobs more secure, and to be cleaner and better adapted to the imperative of tackling climate change. This will require the full commitment of the EU, Member States and stakeholders, not least in strengthening efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
The Commission's Communication 'A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy' refers to the need to study ways of reducing the unintentional release of microplastics from tyres.
2. LEGALBASIS, SUBSIDIARITYAND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 is based on Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, now Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It is appropriate to have an internal market legal base as the Regulation is linked to type approval requirements for tyres to be placed on the Union market, but as it also covers fuel efficiency, it is appropriate to add also an energy legal base, i.e. Article 194 TFEU.
OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30–47. See Commission proposal COM(2017)795 for a Regulation laying down rules and procedures for compliance with and enforcement of Union harmonisation legislation on products which will replace Regulation 765/2008.
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• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
The instruments on energy and fuel efficiency adopted at EU level reflect the growing importance of energy as a political and economic challenge and its close links to the policy areas of security of energy supply, climate change, sustainability, environment, internal market, and economic development. To date, Member States acting alone have been unable sufficiently to achieve energy efficiency objectives and action at Union level is needed to facilitate and support the uptake of activities at national level.
It is essential to ensure a level playing field for manufacturers and dealers in terms of the information supplied to customers in respect of tyres for sale across the EU internal market. For this reason, EU - wide legally binding rules are necessary.
Market surveillance is carried out by the authorities of the Member States. In order to be effective, it must be uniform across the Union otherwise the internal market is undermined and there is a disincentive to businesses that invest resources in designing, making and selling energy- efficient products. The inclusion of tyres in a product database will help make market surveillance more effective.
• Proportionality
In accordance with the principle of proportionality, the proposed amendments to the existing legislative framework do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives set. They will improve its clarity and workability.
The proposed amendments will make it possible to display information about snow/ice tyres on the label, strengthen the requirement to show the label in situations where consumers do not see the tyre(s) they are considering buying (because the tyres are stocked elsewhere, or with distance or internet selling) and include tyres in the product registration database established under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 in order to improve market surveillance and information for consumers.
Suppliers will be required to enter information in the new product database. This is information that they currently have to provide to national market surveillance authorities on request, so any additional burden is considered minimal and proportionate to the enforcement and transparency benefits that the product database is expected to bring.
An impact assessment SWD(2018)189 accompanies the proposal and reference should be made to the parts that discuss proportionality.
• Choice of the instrument
The current TLR is a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council, and it is appropriate to replace it with an instrument of the same type, as it contains directly applicable obligations for economic operators.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER
Contents
- CONSULTATIONS
- parameters to be provided to end-users allowing them to make informed purchasing choices; and
- Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 228/2011 of 7 March 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009
- Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009
- make them more likely to use the label information when purchasing tyres), and
- consumers were
- Product database
- Alignment with GSR
- per
- Requirin
- Improvin
ANDIMPACTASSESSMENTS
Ex-post evaluations/fitness
checks of existing legislation
The Commission carried out an ex-post evaluation of the TLR, which can be found in Annex 5 to the impact assessment report.
The evaluation concluded that the effectiveness and efficiency of the TLR can be further improved, in particular by:
(i) increasing consumers’ awareness of and confidence in the label (which will
(ii) improving market surveillance to ultimately achieve in full the three objectives of the TLR.
• Stakeholder consultations
A stakeholder meeting was held in November 2015 with over 40 stakeholders.
A public consultation ran from 10 October 2017 to 8 January 2018 on the Commission's consultation web page6. 70 responses were received and a detailed summary of the respondents and responses can be found at Annex 2 of the impact assessment report.
• Collection and use of expertise
As part of a specific and wide-ranging study commissioned to prepare the review7, 6000 questioned in six Member States.
Impact
assessment
An impact assessment accompanies this proposal and is published on the Commission's Europa website together with the favourable opinion of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (Ares(2018) 1626237) adopted on 23 March 2018.
The impact assessment identified a number of issues with the current Regulation, of which the two most important were:
– reduced effectiveness of the tyre label due to poor visibility;
– non-compliance due to weak enforcement.
The policy options examined were:
1.
non- regulatory measures, including information campaigns, joint enforcement actions and revision of testing methods.
2. targeted legislative amendments, to allow for:
• the labelling at a ll times of tyres delivered with vehicles;
• online labelling;
• the inclusion on the label of snow and ice performance information;
• extending the scope of the labelling requirement to C3 tyres;
• strengthening the requirements relating to technical documentation;
• amendments to the annexes on testing methods and extending the type approval process to include the label declaration;
https://ec.europa.eu/info/consultations/public-consultation-evaluation-and-review-eu-tyres-labelling-schem e_en
https://ec.europa.e u/energ y/sites/ener/fil es/docum ents/Study %20 i n%20support%20of%20the%
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• the future inclusion of mileage and abrasion as a performance parameters;
• re-adjustment of the label classes; and
• the inclusion of tyres in the product registration database established under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369.
Sub-options were also considered in which some of the targeted legislative amendments mentioned above were excluded.
3. a combination of policy options 1 and 2.
The preferred option was options 3. Study of this option found the following estimated im pacts (section 6 of the impact assessment report):
• increased turnover for business of EUR 9 billion per year by 2030;
• 129 PJ annual fuel savings by 2030;
• 10 Mt annual CO2-eq savings by 2030;
• decreased noise emission from tyres and resultant health benefits; and
• greater safety and fewer accidents.
This proposal implements the legislative part of the preferred option. Further non-legislative action to implement the option is outlined in the impact assessment.
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
As this proposal revises existing legislation, it has explored how to simplify and improve that legislation. The text has been updated to ensure maximum consistency with other updated legislation in the field, in particular the new Energy Labelling Framework Regulation.
Three main possibilities for simplifying the legislation and reducing administrative burden were identified and included in the proposal:
• product registrati on database;
• al ignment with GSR testing methods; and
• wider use of delegated acts. T he estimated REFIT cost savings of these three possibilities are as following:
REFIT cost savings – preferred option(s)
Description
Amount
Comments
registration
EUR 80 000 year
Recurrent cost savings for Member State market surveillance authorities, manufacturers and retailers. Possible cost savings for manufacturers as well.
Initial marginal costs for the Commission to include tyres in the database for energy-related products.
EUR 420 000
per year
Could require more expensive tests for
manufacturers in approved testing laboratories but in return, they will not have to carry out further testing. Reduced market surveillance costs (recurrent
savings).
| TLR / delegated acts. | EUR 110 000 | Will reduce the administrative costs in the EU law- |
| per delegated | making Institutions and Member States. | |
| act |
To ensure fair competition in the single market and coherent and consistent information for consumers the same rules should apply to all economic operators. All retailers should therefore be subject to the same rules, as tyre labels are useful for consumers only if all products are labelled in all retail outlets. As such, the proposal does not exempt SMEs or micro-enterprises. However, there are no European SME or micro tyre manufacturers, and any potential costs are not expected to be insignificant and are mainly related to the obligation on manufacturers and retailers to show the label when tyres are offered for sale online.
The proposal is internet ready as it includes tyre labelling in the online product registration database established under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, which will simplify, accelerate and enhance the transmission of product information between manufacturers, retailers, market surveillance authorities and the consumer. Like other products, tyres use QR codes that give consumers electronic access to detailed information. These will be part of the new label.
• Fundamental rights
The proposal is not considered to have impacts on fundamental rights.
4.
BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
This proposal replaces an existing Regulation on the labelling of tyres, and the administrative impact and costs are therefore estimated to be moderate, as most of the necessary structures and rules are in place.
This expenditure will be supported within the resources already foreseen in the official financial programming. No additional resources will be required from the EU budget. Moreover, this initiative does not intend to prejudge the Commission's proposal on the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
5.
OTHERELEMENTS
Implementation
plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
The impact of the new Regulation will be monitored and evaluated in an evaluation study to be carried out six years after its entry into force. The evaluation will determine whether the objectives of the initiative have been reached.
Reporting by Member States to the Expert Group on Tyres Labelling - Market Surveillance Administrative Cooperation will provide data on market surveillance activities and compliance rates. Further data will come from the ongoing MSTyre15 joint surveillance action and any follow-up projects.
The proposed mandatory product registration database will also be a source of data on the basis of which to monitor and evaluate progress towards meeting the objectives of the Regulation. It will provide data on the distribution of tyres across the different performance classes. It will also support market surveillance, which is essential for enforcement of the Regulation. Enforcement will also be aided by requiring Member States to inform the Commission of the penalties and enforcement mechanisms applicable to infringements of the Regulation.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
The proposal retains the objectives and main principles of the current TLR but clarifies, strengthens and extends its scope by:
• updating the tyre label and allowing for its revision;
• improving the visibility of the label to consumers by requiring that it be shown in all situations where tyres are sold; and setting requirements in relation to internet and distance selling and as other situations where the tyres are not physically seen by the consumer;
• requiring that information on the snow and ice performance of tyres be included on the label;
• allowing for the future inclusion of mileage and abrasion, if appropriate, as a parameter for the label;
• allowing for the future inclusion of re-treaded tyres, if appropriate;
• requiring that the label be shown in visual advertisements and in technical promotional material;
• extending to C3 tyres the requirement for the label to be shown;
• extension of the type approval process to include the label declaration;
• improving enforcement by creating an obligation to register tyres in the product database established under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369;
• Adjusting the grading of tyre param eters in Annex I;
• Updating the label in Annex II (in particular to show a “snow” icon);
• Adding Annexes on information requirements; 8 For more information, see www.mstyr15.eu/index.php/en/">www.mstyr15.eu/index.php/en/
• Replacing the annex on the testing method for measuring the wet grip index
(G) of C1 tyres with a reference to the relevant measurement methods.
Updating the tyre label and allowing for its revision:
The label covers three parameters: rolling resistance, wet grip and external rolling noise. The classes for these para meters need to be adj usted, to take account of technological progress and the fact the GSR requirements mean that the bottom classes are in fact empty because such tyres can no longer be sold on the Union market.
Article 11 of the current Regulation empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts to amend non-essential elements and suppl em ent the Regulation, and to adapt the annexes in the light of technical progress. The scope of the article is expanded to include changes to the label itself so that the possible future inclusion of ice, mileage and abrasion parameters and future re-adjustment of the label classes can be achieved via delegated acts.
Improving the visibility of the label to consumers:
All tyres placed on the market must be accompanied by a label, whether in the form of a separate document or of a sticker. This obligation will apply to C3 tyres for which a full label is currently not required but only a reference to the performance parameters in promotional material. The full label will have to be shown when tyres are sold on the internet and in paper-based distance selling. It will also be shown when tyres are sold with a new vehicle and when vehicles are leased or are part of a fleet.
Requiring that information on the snow and ice performance of tyres be included on the label:
This will give consumers a fuller picture of the performance of tyres in winter conditions, in particular regarding wet grip. A suitable test and logo already exists for snow performance, and this will be included in the label. A test for ice performance is being developed, and it is proposed to use delegated powers to include this param eter in the future once the test sta ndard is finalised.
Allowing for the future inclusion of mileage and abrasion , if appropriate, as a parameter for the label:
The mileage of tyres is related to their durability and life expectancy. Tyre abrasion is a major source of microp la stics released into the environment. No test has yet been developed that would allow the mileage or abrasion rate of tyres to be measured reliably. It is therefore proposed to consider using delegated powers to include these parameters in the future, once an appropriate test sta ndard is finalised.
Tyre re-treading is a process used to extend the life of used tyres. It is particularly relevant for C3 tyres, which make up about 30% of the market share of re-treaded tyres in Europe, corresponding to around 5 million tyres. Including re-treading tyres would have significant energy saving potential and would contribute to circular economy objectives such as waste reduction. However, as no suitable testing method exists it is therefore proposed to consider using delegated powers to include re-treaded tyres in the future, once an appropriate test standard is finalised.
that the label be shown in visual advertisements and technical promotional
material:
In line with obligations on suppliers of energy-related products under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, suppliers of tyres will have to provide information on the performance of their tyres in advertisements and technical promotional material. However, the whole label will have to be shown, not just the energy class and the range of classes available (as for the energy label).
Extending to C3 tyres the requirement for the label to be shown:
Under the current Regulation, a full label is not required for C3 tyres but only a reference to the performance parameters in promotional material. C3 tyres will now be covered by the same label requirements as C1 and C2 tyres.
Extension of the type approval process to include the label declaration:
Tyre manufacturers will be required to subject the label declaration to the type approval process thus providing an additional guarantee of the correctness of the label.
enforcement by creating an obligation to register tyres in the product database
established under
Regulation (EU) 2017/1369:
The database for products covered by energy labelling regulations will be operational as of 1 January 2019. From that date on tyre suppliers will be obliged to enter into the database the information set out in Annex 1 to Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 (supplier identification, model of tyre, label, parameter classes and product information sheet).
Amendments to the Annexes:
The grading of the parameters in Annex I has been adjusted by redefining the boundaries between the current A-G classes to make them more accurate and to reflect the fact that the bottom class (G) is now empty because of GSR requirements.
In Annex II the label has been amended to remove the bottom class for rolling resistance, to add an icon for snow and a QR code. Also, the appearance of the label has been aligned to a degree with the labels under the Energy Labelling Framework Regulation.
To improve and standardise information available to end users, and to align with the requirements under the Energy Labelling Framework Regulation, a new Annex III lists the minimum information required in technical documentation. A new Annex IV lists the information required in the product information sheet that must accompany tyres placed on the market and a new Annex V sets out the information to be provided in technical promotional material.