Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

F1 Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 14 September 2016

on requirements relating to gaseous and particulate pollutant emission limits and type-approval for internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery, amending Regulations (EU) No 1024/2012 and (EU) No 167/2013, and amending and repealing Directive 97/68/EC

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(1),

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure(2),

Whereas:

(1) The internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital has to be ensured. To that end, measures for the reduction of air pollution by engines to be installed in non-road mobile machinery were established by Directive 97/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(3). It is appropriate to pursue efforts in the development and operation of the internal market of the Union.

(2) The internal market should be based on transparent, simple and consistent rules which provide legal certainty and clarity from which businesses and consumers alike can benefit.

(3) A new regulatory approach has been introduced in respect of Union engine type-approval legislation, with the aim of simplifying and accelerating the adoption of such legislation. Pursuant to that approach, the legislator sets out the fundamental rules and principles and empowers the Commission to adopt delegated and implementing acts concerning further technical details. Therefore, with regard to substantive requirements, this Regulation should lay down only essential provisions on the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants and type-approval for internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery, and should empower the Commission to lay down the technical specifications in delegated and implementing acts.

(4) Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4) established a regulatory framework for the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles. Given the similarity of the fields and the positive experience in applying Regulation (EU) No 167/2013, many of the rights and obligations established by that Regulation should be taken into consideration in respect of non-road mobile machinery. However, it is essential that a distinct set of rules be adopted to fully take into account the specific requirements of engines for non-road mobile machinery.

(5) Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(5) lays down the essential health and safety requirements in relation to design and manufacture in order to improve the safety of machinery placed on the market. However, that Directive does not lay down gaseous and particulate pollutant emission requirements for engines for non-road mobile machinery. Certain specific obligations for non-road mobile machinery manufacturers should therefore be laid down in order to ensure that the installation of engines in such machinery is carried out in a manner that does not adversely affect engine performance with regard to gaseous and particulate pollutant emissions. Certain obligations relating to aspects of the emission limits for gaseous and particulate pollutants from engines for non-road mobile machinery are also necessary, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the emission limits for engines laid down in this Regulation.

(6) This Regulation should contain substantive requirements relating to emission limits and EU type-approval procedures for engines for non-road mobile machinery. The main elements of the relevant requirements of this Regulation are based on the results of the impact assessment of 20 November 2013 carried out by the Commission and in which the different options were analysed by listing potential advantages and disadvantages in terms of economic, environmental, safety and societal aspects and in terms of health effects. Both qualitative and quantitative aspects were included in that analysis.

(7) With a view to ensuring the functioning of the internal market, this Regulation should lay down harmonised rules for the EU type-approval of engines for non-road mobile machinery. For that purpose, new emission limits should be established and applied to engines for non-road mobile machinery as well as for agricultural and forestry machinery, to reflect technological progress and to ensure convergence with Union policies in the on-road sector. Those new emission limits should be established with a view to achieving Union air quality targets and reducing the emissions from non-road mobile machinery and agricultural and forestry vehicles, thus decreasing the share of non-road mobile machinery emissions in relation to road vehicle emissions. Accordingly, the scope of Union legislation in this field should be broadened, with a view to improving market harmonisation at Union and international level and minimising the risk of market distortions and adverse health effects.

(8) In addition to broadening the scope of Union legislation in the field of market harmonisation, while minimising the risk of market distortions, this Regulation aims to simplify the current legal framework, including by providing for measures for the simplification of administrative procedures, and to improve the general conditions for enforcement of such legislation, in particular by strengthening the rules on market surveillance.

(9) The Commission White Paper of 28 March 2011, entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’, highlights the particular role to be played by railways and inland waterways in achieving climate targets. Given that the progress of those modes of transport compares unfavourably with that of other sectors in relation to improving air quality, the Commission and Member States' authorities, within their respective remits, should provide different ways of supporting innovation in emission technology so that the continuing increase in the volume of freight shifted to rail and inland waterways goes hand-in-hand with an improvement in air quality in Europe.

(10) The requirements in respect of engines for non-road mobile machinery should follow the principles laid down in the Commission Communication of 5 June 2002 entitled ‘Action plan “Simplifying and improving the regulatory environment”’.

(11) The Seventh General Union Environment Action Programme as adopted by Decision No 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(6) recalls that the Union has agreed to achieve levels of air quality that do not give rise to significant negative impacts on, and risks to, human health and the environment. Union legislation has established appropriate emission limits for ambient air quality for the protection of human health and sensitive individuals in particular, as well as for national emission ceilings(7). Following its Communication of 4 May 2001, which established the Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) Programme, on 21 September 2005 the Commission adopted another Communication entitled ‘Thematic Strategy on air pollution’. One of the conclusions of that thematic strategy is that further reductions in emissions from the transport sector (air, maritime and land transport), from households and from the energy, agricultural and industrial sectors are needed to achieve Union air quality objectives. In that context, the task of reducing emissions from engines for non-road mobile machinery should be approached as part of an overall strategy. The new emissions limits, referred to as ‘Stage V’, are one of the measures designed to reduce the current in-use emissions of air pollutants, such as particulate pollutants, as well as ozone precursors such as nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and hydrocarbons.

(12) On 12 June 2012, the World Health Organisation, through its International Agency for Research on Cancer, reclassified diesel engine exhaust emissions as ‘carcinogenic to humans’ (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer.

(13) In order to bring about an improvement in the Union's air quality and reach its objectives on air protection in a sustainable manner between now and 2020, and beyond, continuous efforts are required to reduce emissions from various types of engines. For that reason, manufacturers should be provided in advance with clear and comprehensive information on future emission limit values, and should be afforded an appropriate period of time in which to comply with them and pursue the requisite technical developments.

(14) In setting emission limits, it is important to take into account the implications for the competitiveness of markets and manufacturers, the direct and indirect costs imposed on business and the benefits that accrue in terms of stimulating innovation, improving air quality, reducing health costs and increasing life expectancy.

(15) The reduction of emissions from engines in a sustainable manner requires the constant intensification of direct cooperation between manufacturers and related businesses, on the one hand, and well-established scientific research institutions, on the other. Such cooperation plays a significant role in the development of new products and technologies that positively contribute to improving air quality.

(16) Emissions from engines for non-road mobile machinery constitute a significant proportion of the total man-made emissions of certain noxious atmospheric pollutants. Engines responsible for a considerable share of air pollution by NO_x and particulate matter should be subject to the new emission limits.

(17) In order to guarantee an optimum level of protection for persons working in the vicinity of machinery, and to keep the cumulative exposure of persons working in the vicinity of several different items of mobile machinery and equipment as low as possible, technology that is currently available should be used to minimise emissions.

(18) The Commission should keep under review emissions which are, as yet, unregulated and which arise as a consequence of the wider use of new fuel formulations, engine technologies and emission control systems. Where necessary, the Commission should submit a proposal to the European Parliament and to the Council with a view to regulating such emissions.

(19) It is necessary to encourage the introduction of alternative fuel engines which can have low NO_x and particulate pollutant emissions. Therefore, limit values for total hydrocarbons should be adapted in order to take into account non-methane hydrocarbons and methane emissions.

(20) This Regulation is without prejudice to the entitlement of Member States to lay down, in compliance with the Treaties, such requirements as they may deem necessary to ensure that the public and workers are protected whenever non-road mobile machinery referred to in this Regulation is in use, provided that such requirements do not affect the placing on the market of engines for such machinery.

(21) In order to ensure that emissions of ultrafine particulate pollutants (of size 0,1 μm and below) are regulated, the Commission should be empowered to adopt a number-based approach to emissions of particulate pollutants, in addition to the mass-based approach which is currently used. The number-based approach should draw on the results of the Particulate Measurement Programme of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and should be consistent with the existing ambitious objectives for the environment.

(22) In order to achieve those environmental objectives, it is appropriate that the particle number limits laid down in this Regulation are likely to reflect the highest levels of performance currently achieved with particle filters by using the best available technology.

(23) Given the long lifetime of non-road mobile machinery, it is appropriate to consider the retrofitting of engines already in service. Such retrofitting should, in particular, target densely populated urban areas as a means of helping Member States to comply with Union air quality legislation. To ensure a comparable and ambitious level of retrofitting, Member States should take into account the principles of UNECE Regulation No. 132.

(24) Where appropriate and where technologies are interlinked, synergies should be sought between the reduction of gaseous and particulate pollutant emissions from engines for non-road mobile machinery, and emission limits as applied to heavy-duty vehicles. Such action could help to improve economies of scale and improve air quality.

(25) The Commission should adopt worldwide harmonised test cycles in the test procedures that form the basis of EU type-approval emissions regulations. The application of portable emissions measurement systems for monitoring actual in-use emissions should also be considered.

(26) In order to address actual in-use emissions and to prepare the in-service conformity process, a testing methodology for monitoring compliance with emission performance requirements based on the use of portable emission measurement systems should be adopted within an appropriate timeframe.

(27) The proper functioning of the exhaust after-treatment system, specifically in the case of NO_x, is essential for complying with the established limits for pollutant emissions. In this context, measures aimed at ensuring the proper operation of exhaust after-treatment systems that rely on the use of any consumable or non-recoverable reagent should be introduced.

(28) Portable fire-fighting pumps are essential in certain emergency situations in which a channelled water supply is unavailable. The installation of exhaust after-treatment systems in engines for such machinery would, however, increase their weight and operating temperatures to the extent that it would become dangerous for the operator and they would be impossible to carry by hand. Portable fire-fighting pumps should, therefore, be excluded from the scope of this Regulation.

(29) Modifications to an engine such as the inactivation of its exhaust after-treatment system, or the increase in its power, could have serious consequences for the engine's emissions performance and durability. Legal persons carrying out such modifications should therefore be responsible for ensuring that the applicable emission limits are respected.

(30) Engines which are covered by, and comply with, the new rules on emission limits and EU type-approval procedures laid down by this Regulation should be permitted to be placed on the market in the Member States. Such engines should not be subject to any other national emission requirements in respect of their being placed on the market. This should be without prejudice to the right of Member States to encourage or restrict the use of engines that have already been placed on the market, provided that the criteria applied are not discriminatory and are objectively justified. Member States granting EU type-approvals should take verification measures in order to ensure that engines produced under EU type-approval procedures can be identified.

(31) Engines for export and for use by the armed forces should not be subject to the emission limits laid down in this Regulation. However, in order to distinguish such engines from engines which are subject to those emission limits, markings should be required in certain cases.

(32) In order to take account of logistic supply constraints and to allow for ‘just in time’ production flow, and to avoid unnecessary costs and administrative burden, a manufacturer should, with the consent of the original equipment manufacturer (‘OEM’), be allowed to deliver an engine separately from its exhaust after-treatment system.

(33) Some non-road mobile machinery operates under conditions of an extreme nature involving risks to life or health, or is subject to very challenging technical requirements. In view of those particular circumstances, and given the relatively small number of engines for such non-road mobile machinery, certain exemptions to the emission limit requirements laid down in this Regulation should be provided for in respect of engines to be used in potentially explosive atmospheres and in lifeboat launch vehicles.

(34) In order to allow for the field-testing activities carried out by manufacturers, which are inherent in the engine development process, the temporary placing on the market of engines that have not been EU type-approved at that stage should be allowed. Exemptions allowing the temporary placing on the market of engines for the purpose of field-testing prototypes should also be permissible.

(35) In order to take account of long term projects in the railway sector requiring heavy investments, an exemption should be provided, in accordance with Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(8), for engines included in projects which were launched before the date of application of this Regulation and which are at an advanced stage of development.

(36) It is essential not to hamper technical innovation as regards the emission performance of engines for non-road mobile machinery with requirements that are not currently provided for by existing administrative procedures for type-approval. It is therefore necessary to provide for certain exemptions and rules in respect of engines that incorporate new technologies or new concepts.

(37) OEMs that produce a limited number of units per year face severe challenges when re-designing their fleet within the standard transition period. Those manufacturers are typically small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’) that have limited engineering capacity and often obtain information regarding future stage engines later than other OEMs. This is the case, in particular, of agricultural machinery manufacturers producing a limited number of units per year that would face a serious structural challenge when undertaking the transition to Stage V emission limits. It is therefore necessary to provide for specific rules in respect of such cases.

(38) The placing on the market of engines intended to replace engines that are already installed in non-road mobile machinery, and which comply with less stringent emission limits than those laid down in this Regulation, should be permitted in order to allow manufacturers to fulfil their warranty obligations and to ensure sufficient availability of such engines on the market.

(39) According to current estimates, a number of broad gauge line locomotives will need to be replaced between 2016 and 2025. High-power engine locomotives suitable for the 1 520 mm railway network are not available on the Union market. Custom-built solutions would significantly increase the cost of a new locomotive and would deter railway operators from renewing their fleets. The technical and economic constraints of the 1 520 mm railway network should be considered in the EU type-approval procedures. In order to facilitate and speed up the greening of the railway sector in the Member States affected and to promote the use of the best technology currently available on the market, a temporary exemption in respect of certain requirements should be granted for those locomotives on the railway network. Such an exemption could allow the impact of rail traffic on the environment to be reduced.

(40) Cotton production within the Union is limited to very few Member States. Due to the high costs of new cotton harvesting machinery, and in order to avoid placing an additional financial burden on the cotton production sector, which would further threaten its economic viability, operators should be granted access to a wide range of second-hand cotton harvesting machinery. Therefore, Member States should have the possibility of applying, for a limited period of time, national law to engines installed in such machinery.

(41) In relation to market surveillance, this Regulation should impose obligations on national authorities which are more specific than the corresponding obligations laid down in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council(9).

(42) In order to ensure that the procedure for monitoring conformity of production, which is one of the cornerstones of the EU type-approval system, has been correctly implemented and functions properly, manufacturers should be regularly checked by the appointed competent authority or by an appropriately qualified technical service designated for that purpose.

(43) The Union is a contracting party to the UNECE Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be fitted to and/or used on Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions for Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals Granted on the Basis of these Prescriptions (‘Revised 1958 Agreement’). As a consequence, approvals granted under UNECE regulations, and the amendments thereto, which the Union has voted in favour of or to which the Union has acceded, in application of Council Decision 97/836/EC(10), should be recognised as equivalent to EU type-approvals granted under this Regulation. Accordingly, in order to ensure consistency and alignment between Union and UNECE legislation, the Commission should be empowered to adopt delegated acts in order to determine which UNECE regulations are to apply to EU type-approvals.

(44) In order to supplement this Regulation with further technical details, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the monitoring of in-service emission performance, technical tests and measurement procedures, conformity of production, separate delivery of engine exhaust after-treatment systems, engines for field-testing, engines for use in explosive atmospheres, equivalence of engine EU type-approvals, information for OEMs and end-users, and standards and assessment of technical services. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making(11). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(45) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council(12).

(46) Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and ensure that they are implemented. Those penalties should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

(47) With a view to taking into account on-going technical progress and the latest findings in the fields of research and innovation, the further pollutant emission reduction potential of engines already installed in non-road mobile machinery should be identified. The focus of such assessment should be on the engine categories that fall for the first time within the scope of this Regulation, and on those in respect of which emission limit values remain unaltered under this Regulation.

(48) The specific limit values, test procedures and requirements for pollutant emissions laid down in this Regulation should also apply to engines for agricultural and forestry tractors covered by Regulation (EU) No 167/2013. Given the combined effect of the Stage IV postponement for agricultural tractors of categories T2, T4.1 and C2 and the Stage V application dates, Stage IV would, in respect of the power range 56-130 kW, have a very short duration. In order to avoid inefficiencies and an unnecessary burden, the Stage IV compulsory EU type-approval date should be delayed by one year and the flexibility quantity increased appropriately. Furthermore, the transition clauses in this Regulation in respect of the Stage V application requirements should also apply to Stage III B engines. Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/96(13) should, therefore, be amended accordingly.

(49) In the interests of clarity, predictability, rationality and simplification, and in order to reduce the burden on engine and non-road mobile machinery manufacturers, this Regulation should only contain a limited number of implementation stages for the introduction of new emission levels and EU type-approval procedures. The timely definition of requirements is essential for ensuring sufficient lead-time for manufacturers to develop, test and implement technical solutions for engines produced in series, and for manufacturers and approval authorities to put in place the necessary administrative systems.

(50) Directive 97/68/EC has been substantially amended several times. In the interests of clarity predictability, rationality and simplification, that Directive should be repealed and replaced by a regulation and a limited number of delegated and implementing acts. The adoption of a regulation ensures that its provisions are directly applicable, in particular, to manufacturers, approval authorities and technical services, and that they can be amended much more quickly and efficiently to take better account of technical progress.

(51) Directive 97/68/EC should therefore be repealed with effect from a date which would allow industry sufficient time to adapt to this Regulation and to the technical specifications and administrative provisions to be laid down in the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto.

(52) Directive 97/68/EC does not provide a derogation for engines for non-road mobile machinery to be used in potentially explosive atmospheres. In order to take account of the strict technical requirements that are essential for the operational safety of such engines, Directive 97/68/EC should be amended in order to allow derogations for such engines to be applied until that Directive is repealed.

(53) The exchange of data and information related to EU type-approvals needs to be improved so that this Regulation can be applied effectively and swiftly. Therefore, the national authorities should be required to cooperate efficiently with each other and with the Commission, and to exchange data and information relating to EU type-approvals by means of the Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council(14). In order to facilitate the implementation of this Regulation, a module of IMI specifically customised for non-road mobile machinery should be established. It should also be possible for manufacturers and technical services to use IMI for the exchange of data and information on engines for non-road mobile machinery.

(54) Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to lay down harmonised rules on the administrative and technical requirements relating to emission limits and EU type-approval procedures for engines for non-road mobile machinery, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of their scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Textual Amendments

F1 Regulation excluded (temp.) by S.I. 2018/764, reg. 10A(1) (as inserted by S.I. 2019/648, reg. 7(2)) (as substituted by virtue of The Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1393), regs. 1(2), 2(5) (with reg. 2(12))

(1)

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 18 February 2015 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(2)

Position of the European Parliament of 5 July 2016 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 18 July 2016.

(3)

Directive 97/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1997 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from internal combustion engines to be installed in non-road mobile machinery (OJ L 59, 27.2.1998, p. 1).

(4)

Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles (OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 1).

(5)

Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on machinery, and amending Directive 95/16/EC (OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 24).

(6)

Decision No 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’ (OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p. 171).

(7)

Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 July 2002 laying down the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme (OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1); Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (OJ L 152, 11.6.2008, p. 1).

(8)

Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community (OJ L 191, 18.7.2008, p. 1).

(9)

Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30).

(10)

Council Decision 97/836/EC of 27 November 1997 with a view to accession by the European Community to 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 to and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (‘Revised 1958 Agreement’) (OJ L 346, 17.12.1997, p. 78).

(11)

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.

(12)

Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).

(13)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/96 of 1 October 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards environmental and propulsion unit performance requirements of agricultural and forestry vehicles (OJ L 16, 23.1.2015, p. 1).

(14)

Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC (‘the IMI Regulation’) (OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 1).