Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2025)31 - EU position in the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations of the UNECE as regards the March 2025 proposals for UN regulations

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dossier COM(2025)31 - EU position in the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations of the UNECE as regards the March 2025 proposals for ...
source COM(2025)31 EN
date 04-02-2025


1. SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PROPOSAL

This proposal is for a decision establishing the position to be taken on the EU’s behalf in the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (WP.29) on the adoption of modifications to current United Nations (UN) regulations.

2. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

2.1.The Revised 1958 Agreement and the Parallel Agreement

Two agreements are in place to develop harmonised requirements to remove technical barriers to trade in motor vehicles between the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) contracting parties, and to ensure that motor vehicles offer a high level of safety and environmental protection. These are:

–the Agreement of the UNECE on the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted to and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (the ‘Revised 1958 Agreement’); and

–the Agreement concerning the establishing of global technical regulations for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted and/or be used on wheeled vehicles (the ‘Parallel Agreement’).

The agreements entered into force for the EU on 24 March 1998 and 15 February 2000 respectively. Work related to these agreements is overseen by WP.29.

2.2. The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

WP.29 provides a unique framework for globally harmonised regulations on vehicles. WP.29 is a permanent working party in the UN institutional framework with a specific mandate and specific rules of procedure. It works as a global forum enabling open discussions on motor vehicle regulations and on the implementation of the Revised 1958 Agreement and the Parallel Agreement. Any UN member and any regional economic integration organisation set up by UN members may fully participate in the activities of WP.29 and become a contracting party to the agreements on vehicles overseen by WP.29. The EU is a party to these agreements 1 .

WP.29 meets three times a year, in March, June and November. To reflect technical progress, at each meeting, WP.29 can adopt:

new UN regulations;

new UN resolutions;

new UN global technical regulations (UN GTRs);

Contents

1.

modifications to UN regulations and resolutions under the Revised 1958 Agreement; and


modifications to UN GTRs and resolutions under the Parallel Agreement.

Before each WP.29 meeting, dedicated subsidiary bodies of WP.29 discuss these modifications at technical level.

Subsequently, WP.29 can adopt proposals:

2.

by a qualified majority of the contracting parties present and voting for proposals under the Revised 1958 Agreement; or


by a consensus vote of the contracting parties present and voting for proposals under the Parallel Agreement.

Before each WP.29 meeting, a Council Decision under Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) establishes the position to be taken on behalf of the EU on:

3.

new UN regulations, UN GTRs and UN resolutions; and


amendments, supplements and corrigenda to UN regulations, UN GTRs and UN resolutions.

2.3. The envisaged act of WP.29

From 4 to 7 March 2025, during its 195th session, WP.29 may adopt:

proposals for modifications to UN regulation Nos 13, 39, 48, 49, 79, 83, 92, 96, 100, 105, 116, 124, 138, 148, 149, 152, 158, 161, 162, 163, 168, and 171;

4.

a proposal for a new UN regulation on the determination of system power of hybrid electric vehicles and of pure electric vehicles having more than one electric machine for propulsion; and


a proposal for an amendment to the consolidated resolution on the common specification of light source categories.


3. POSITION TO BE TAKEN ON THE EU'S BEHALF

The WP.29 system strengthens international harmonisation of vehicle standards. The Revised 1958 Agreement plays a key role in achieving this objective. EU manufacturers can use a common set of type approval regulations knowing that contracting parties will recognise their products as compliant with their national legislation.

This made it possible for Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 on the general safety of motor vehicles to repeal more than 50 EU directives and replace them with corresponding regulations developed under the Revised 1958 Agreement.

Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council 2 follows a similar approach. It lays down administrative provisions and technical requirements for type approval and placing on the market of all new vehicles, systems, components and separate technical units. This Regulation incorporates regulations adopted under the Revised 1958 Agreement in the EU type approval system, either as requirements for type approval or as alternatives to EU legislation.

Once WP.29 has adopted a proposal for a new UN regulation or for modifications to an existing UN regulation, UNECE’s Executive Secretary notifies the corresponding act to the contracting parties. Unless a blocking minority of contracting parties objects within 6 months, the act enters into force. Then, each contracting party can transpose the act into its applicable national rules. In the EU, the act’s publication in the Official Journal of the EU completes the transposition process.

The EU's position needs to be established on the following acts:

–proposals for modifications to UN regulation Nos 13, 39, 48, 49, 79, 83, 92, 96, 100, 105, 116, 124, 138, 148, 149, 152, 158, 161, 162, 163, 168, and 171 to update provisions on:

–heavy vehicle braking - the proposed amendments aim to amend the requirements in relation to endurance brake, covering the mass of the full vehicle combination (i.e. a towing vehicle and a trailer). The proposed amendments also aim to rectify the parking braking system requirements applicable to power-driven vehicles:

–speedometer and odometer equipment including its installation - the proposed amendments aim to update the existing requirements for odometers to include provisions on: (a) accuracy of the on-board odometer mileage values, (b) anti-tampering of the on-board odometer mileage values and (c) accuracy and anti-tampering of the odometer mileage values displayed to the driver;

–installation of lighting and light-signalling devices – the proposed amendments seek to align the requirements for the visibility of red light towards the front and/or white light toward the rear of the vehicle with 01 series of amendments to UN regulations Nos 148 and 149. The proposed amendments aim to clarify and align the requirements for off-road vehicles about the passing-beam vertical inclination depending on the mounting height of the headlamps. The proposed amendments also introduce a new pattern for predicted trajectory as a part of the driver assistance projections and improve failure detection and signalisation requirements to reflect technological progress in multiple light sources. The proposed amendments update the requirements regarding the total objective luminous flux of one or more light source(s) or light source module(s) for a dipped beam;

–emissions of compression ignition and positive ignition (LPG and CNG) engines - the proposed amendments seek to provide editorial corrections;

–steering equipment – the proposed amendments aim to exclude certain approval requirements for additional categories of automatically commanded steering functions, those already covered by UN regulation No 171;

–emissions of M1 and N1 vehicles - the proposed amendments seek to provide editorial corrections;

–replacement exhaust silencing systems for motorcycles - the proposed amendments intend to improve the requirements preventing tampering with non-original replacement exhaust silencing systems;

–approval of engines to be installed in agricultural and forestry tractors and in nonroad mobile machinery with regard to the emissions of pollutants by the engine - the proposed amendments seek to provide editorial corrections;

–electric power trained vehicles – the proposed amendments aim to introduce new provisions concerning the treatment of intellectual properties of manufacturers and improve the requirements on thermal propagation and the approval of electric powered vehicles;

–vehicles for the carriage of dangerous goods – the proposed amendments intend to align the text of UN regulation No 105 with the latest version of the Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR);

–anti-theft and alarm systems – the proposed amendments aim to align the text of UN regulation No 116 with the technical requirements of UN regulation No 10 in UN regulation No 157;

–replacement wheels for passenger cars - the proposed amendments seek to clarify some of the provisions of UN regulation No 124 with respect to testing of aluminium-alloy and magnesium-alloy wheels;

–quiet road transport vehicles – the proposed amendments intend to clarify the requirements regarding the maximum sound pressure requirement at the front plane of the vehicle for reversing;

–light-signalling devices - the proposed amendment aims to correct a wrong reference for the determination of the approval marking size of a single light signalling lamp;

–road illumination devices - the proposed amendments aim to correct certain photometric measurement requirements for the passing-beam headlamps including amending failure detection and signalisation requirements to reflect technological progress in multiple light sources. The proposed amendments also intend to rectify a certain number of maximum luminous intensity values in the conformity of production tables;

–advanced emergency braking system (AEBS) for M1/N1 - the proposed amendments seek to introduce, based on EU whole vehicle type approval, provisions for using virtual testing as an alternative to physical tests in UN regulation No 152;

–reversing motion – the proposed amendments aim to clarify the test conditions of rear-view camera and detection system;

–devices against unauthorized use - the proposed amendments aim to align the text of UN regulation No 161 with the technical requirements of UN regulation No 10 in UN regulation No 157;

–immobilizers - the proposed amendments aim to align the text of UN regulation No 162 with the technical requirements of UN regulation No 10 in UN regulation No 157;

–vehicle alarm systems - the proposed amendments aim to align the text of UN regulation No 163 with the technical requirements of UN regulation No 10 in UN regulation No 157;

–global real driving emissions (global RDE) - the proposed amendments seek to clarify the need for the use of a 3-phase and a 4-phase test data analysis, depending on the fuel type of the engine (diesel or petrol). The proposed requirements also intend to align the provisions of portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) concentration and emission correction with those in UN regulation No 49; and

–driver control assistance systems (DCAS) – the proposed requirements aim to introduce new provisions to enable regulating DCAS supporting system-initiated manoeuvres and/or allowing skipping “hands-on” requests; and

–a proposal for:

–a new UN regulation on the determination of system power of hybrid electric vehicles and of pure electric vehicles having more than one electric machine for propulsion - this proposal for a new regulation intends to transpose the requirements of UN GTR No 21.

WP.29 plans to vote on these proposals at its meeting of 4 to 7 March 2025.

In addition, the EU's position needs to be established on:

–a proposal for an amendment to the consolidated resolution on the common specification of light source categories - the proposed amendments aim to introduce new light emitting diode (LED) light source categories LW7A and LW7B.

The EU should support the above acts as they are in line with its internal market policy on the automotive industry regarding safety, automation, and emissions, as well as its geopolitics, transport, climate and energy policies.

All of these acts have a very positive impact on the competitiveness of the EU automotive sector and on international trade. A vote in favour of these acts would foster technological progress, provide economies of scale, prevent fragmentation of the internal market and ensure that automotive standards are applied uniformly across the EU.

External expertise is not relevant for this proposal. However, the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles has reviewed this proposal.

4. LEGAL BASIS

4.1. Procedural legal basis

5.

4.1.1. Principles


Article 218(9) TFEU states that the Council adopts decisions establishing ‘the positions to be adopted on the Union’s behalf in a body set up by an agreement, when that body is called upon to adopt acts having legal effects, with the exception of acts supplementing or amending the institutional framework of the agreement.’

The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ includes acts that have legal effects because of the rules of international law governing the body in question. The concept of ‘acts having legal effects’ also includes instruments that do not have a binding effect under international law, but that are ‘capable of decisively influencing the content of the legislation adopted by the EU legislature’ 3 .

6.

4.1.2. Application to the present case


WP.29 is a body in which the UNECE contracting parties discuss the implementation of the Revised 1958 Agreement and the Parallel Agreement.

The acts that WP.29 is called upon to adopt are acts that have legal effects.

The UN regulations set out in the envisaged act will be binding on the EU. Together with the UN resolution and UN GTRs, they will be able to decisively influence the content of EU legislation in the field of vehicle type approval.

The envisaged acts do not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Agreement.

Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU.

4.2. Substantive legal basis

7.

4.2.1. Principles


The substantive legal basis for a decision under Article 218(9) TFEU depends primarily on the objective and content of the envisaged act on which a position is taken on the EU's behalf.

An envisaged act can have two aims or components, one of which can be identified as the main one and the other as merely incidental. In this case, the decision under Article 218(9) TFEU must be founded on a single substantive legal basis, namely the one for the main or predominant aim or component.

8.

4.2.2. Application to the present case


The main objective and content of the envisaged act is the approximation of laws. Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is Article 114 TFEU.

4.3. Conclusion

The legal basis of the proposed decision should be Article 114 TFEU, read in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU.