Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of Revision 3 of the Agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted and/or used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for the reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (‘Revised 1958 Agreement’)

At international level, the World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (WP29) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) develops harmonised requirements, intended to remove technical barriers to the trade in motor vehicles between the Contracting Parties to the Revised 1958 Agreement and to ensure that such vehicles offer a high level of safety and environmental protection. By Council Decision 97/836/EC, the Union acceded to the Revised 1958 Agreement.

WP29 agreed, at its 150th session in March 2010, to consider actions on the future direction for the harmonisation of vehicle regulations under the Revised 1958 Agreement, with the aim of fostering the participation of more countries and regional economic integration organisations in the activities of the World Forum and increasing the number of Contracting Parties to the Revised 1958 Agreement. This review should also aim at enhancing the functioning and reliability of the Revised 1958 Agreement, and at ensuring that it remains the key international framework for the harmonisation of technical regulations in the automotive sector.

The Commission obtained in July 2013 an authorisation from the Council to negotiate, on behalf of the Union, proposals for the revision of the Agreement. For that purpose it has steered the task force of the informal working group established by WP29 to develop proposals for revising the Agreement. The result of that work was presented to WP29 in March 2014 and WP29 decided to "freeze" the draft proposals to enable Contracting Parties to start their national procedures for assessing these proposals. In November 2014 a number of Contracting Parties jointly submitted a proposal to WP29 to increase the majority voting threshold, for establishing new UN Regulations and amendments to existing UN Regulations, from two-thirds to four-fifths.

In Commission Staff Working document SWD(2014)178 final of 28 May 2014, entitled 'Progress report on the 2013 activities of the World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations' it is anticipated that if the matter of raising the majority voting threshold finds a positive solution, the chances to attract as new contracting parties such important EU partners as India, China, the ASEAN countries and even Brazil would be much higher. Also the CARS 2020 Action Plan recognises that the acceptance of internationally harmonised vehicle regulations established under the 1958 Agreement by the EU’s trading partners is the best way to remove non-tariff barriers to trade, and that therefore the attractiveness of the 1958 Agreement needs to be enhanced.

Having assessed the proposals for revising the Agreement, including the request to increase of the majority voting threshold to four-fifths, in the light of the above, it can be concluded that they are meeting the objectives of making the Agreement more attractive for third countries and at the same time increasing its effectiveness and reliability.

Therefore, the European Union, as Contracting Party to the Agreement, should take the necessary steps towards the adoption of the proposed amendments to the 1958 Agreement in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 5(1) and Annex III, point 3 of Council Decision 97/836/EC. These procedures provide that the Council shall, on a proposal by the Commission, adopt a decision to conclude the revision of the Agreement and to submit, on behalf of the Union, the proposed amendments to the Agreement to the Contracting Parties.

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)535: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:535:FIN

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