On 13 and 14 July 2020, the European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) voted on the report on the European Commission's proposal to amend the current vehicle type-approval system with regard to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) (for a detailed explanation of the issue, see the January-March 2020 newsletter).
In its proposal, the Commission had advocated the reintroduction of the conformity factors, which were annulled in a judgment of the General Court . 11 compromise amendments were negotiated, which provide for agreement on a lower value for the conformity factor and its gradual reduction through annual downward corrections based on assessments by the Joint Research Centre. The compromises also provide that the conformity factor should no longer apply until 30 September 2022.
A further amendment was introduced to mandate the European Commission to adopt delegated acts by 1 June 2021 at the latest taking due account of actual driving emissions under normal conditions of use.
The Committee also emphasised the issue of emission limit standards in the context of the forthcoming post Euro 6 proposal. Thus, the Commission should present a legislative proposal if appropriate. Conformity factors should not be used in the implementation of post-Euro 6 standards.
The report must win the support of the plenary in September before the trialogue negotiations with the European Council and the European Commission can begin.
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