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Document 52005AG0018
Common Position (EC) No 18/2005 of 24 January 2005 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 74/408/EEC relating to motor vehicles with regard to the seats, their anchorages and head restraints (Text with EEA relevance)
Common Position (EC) No 18/2005 of 24 January 2005 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 74/408/EEC relating to motor vehicles with regard to the seats, their anchorages and head restraints (Text with EEA relevance)
Common Position (EC) No 18/2005 of 24 January 2005 adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, with a view to adopting a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 74/408/EEC relating to motor vehicles with regard to the seats, their anchorages and head restraints (Text with EEA relevance)
OJ C 111E, 11.5.2005, p. 33–37
(ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, SK, SL, FI, SV)
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11.5.2005 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
CE 111/33 |
COMMON POSITION (EC) No 18/2005
adopted by the Council on 24 January 2005
with a view to adopting Directive 2005/…/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of … amending Council Directive 74/408/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to motor vehicles with regard to the seats, their anchorages and head restraints
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2005/C 111 E/05)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (2),
Whereas:
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(1) |
Research has shown that the use of safety belts and restraint systems can contribute to a substantial reduction in the number of fatalities and the severity of injury in the event of an accident, even due to rollover. Their fitting in all categories of vehicles will certainly constitute an important step forward in bringing about an increase in road safety and a consequent saving of lives. |
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(2) |
A substantial benefit to society can be attained if all vehicles are provided with safety belts. |
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(3) |
In its Resolution of 18 February 1986 on common measures to reduce road accidents, as part of the Community's programme for road safety (3), the European Parliament stressed the need for making the wearing of safety belts compulsory for all passengers, including children, except in public service vehicles. Therefore, a distinction has to be made between public service buses and other vehicles as regards the compulsory installation of safety belts and/or restraint systems. |
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(4) |
Pursuant to Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers (4), the Community type-approval system has only been implemented for all new vehicles of category M1 since 1 January 1998. Consequently, only these vehicles have to be fitted with seats, seat anchorages and head restraints fulfilling the provisions of Directive 74/408/EEC (5). |
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(5) |
Until the Community type-approval system is extended to all categories of vehicles, the installation of seats and seat anchorages, compatible with the installation of seat belt anchorages should be required, in the interests of road safety, in vehicles belonging to categories other than M1. |
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(6) |
Directive 74/408/EEC already provides for all technical and administrative provisions allowing the type-approval of vehicles of categories other than M1. Therefore, the Member States do not need to introduce further provisions. |
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(7) |
Since the entry into force of Commission Directive 96/37/EC of 17 June 1996 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 74/408/EEC (6), several Member States have already made compulsory the provisions contained therein in respect of certain categories of vehicles other than M1. Manufacturers and their suppliers have thus developed the appropriate technology. |
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(8) |
Research has shown that it is not possible to provide side-facing seats with safety belts ensuring the same level of safety to the occupants as front-facing seats. For safety reasons, it is necessary to ban those seats in certain categories of vehicles. |
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(9) |
Directive 74/408/EEC should be amended accordingly. |
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(10) |
Since the objective of this Directive, namely the improvement of road safety by the introduction of the compulsory fitting of safety belts in certain categories of vehicles, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale of the action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective, |
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
Amendments to Directive 74/408/EEC
Directive 74/408/EEC is hereby amended as follows:
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1. |
Article 1 shall be amended as follows:
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2. |
The following Article shall be inserted: ‘Article 3a 1. The installation of side-facing seats shall be prohibited on vehicles of categories M1, N1, M2 (of class III or B) and M3 (of class III or B). 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to ambulances or to vehicles listed in Article 8(1), first indent of Directive 70/156/EEC .’; |
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3. |
Annex II shall be amended as follows:
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4. |
In Annex III, point 2.5 shall be replaced by the following:
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5. |
Annex IV shall be amended as follows:
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Article 2
Implementation
1. As from … (8), with respect to the seats, their anchorages and head restraints which comply with the requirements set out in Directive 74/408/EEC as amended by this Directive, Member States shall not:
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(a) |
refuse to grant EC type-approval or national type-approval, in respect of a type of vehicle; |
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(b) |
prohibit the registration, sale or entry into service of new vehicles. |
2. As from … (9), with respect to the seats, their anchorages and head restraints which do not comply with the requirements set out in Directive 74/408/EEC as amended by this Directive, Member States shall, in respect of a new type of vehicle:
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(a) |
no longer grant EC type-approval; |
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(b) |
refuse to grant national type-approval. |
3. As from … (10), with respect to the seats, their anchorages and head restraints which do not comply with the requirements set out in Directive 74/408/EEC as amended by this Directive, Member States shall:
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(a) |
consider certificates of conformity which accompany new vehicles as no longer valid for the purpose of Article 7(1) of Directive 70/156/EEC; |
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(b) |
refuse the registration, sale or entry into service of new vehicles, except where the provisions of Article 8(2) of Directive 70/156/EEC are invoked. |
Article 3
Transposition
1. Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before … (11). They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. They shall apply these provisions from … (12).
3. When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.
4. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of the main provisions of national law, which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Article 4
Entry into force
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 5
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels,
For the European Parliament
The President
For the Council
The President
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 December 2003 (OJ C 91 E, 15.4.2004, p. 487), Council Common Position of 24 January 2004 and Position of the European Parliament of … (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ C 68, 24.3.1986, p. 35.
(4) OJ L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2004/78/EC (OJ L 153, 30.4.2004, p. 103).
(5) OJ L 221, 12.8.1974, p. 1. Directive as last amended by the 2003 Act of Accession.
(6) OJ L 186, 25.7.1996, p. 28.
(7) OJ L 42, 13.2.2002, p. 1.’;
(8) The date referred to in Article 3(2).
(9) Six months after the date referred to in paragraph 1.
(10) 18 months after the date referred to in paragraph 1.
(11) Six months after the date of entry into force of this Directive.
(12) Six months and one day after the date of entry into force of this Directive.
STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL REASONS
I. INTRODUCTION
The proposed directive, presented by the Commission on 20 June 2003 (1), is based on Article 95 of the EC Treaty.
The European Economic and Social Committee delivered an Opinion (2) on 10 December 2003.
The European Parliament completed its first reading and delivered an Opinion on 17 December 2003. (3)
On 24 January 2005 the Council adopted its Common Position as set out in doc. 11935/04.
II. OBJECTIVE
The proposed directive aims to amend Council Directive 74/408/EEC of 22 July 1974, as last amended by Commission Directive 96/37/EC, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to seats for motor vehicles in order to impose the fitting of safety belts in motor vehicles other than passenger cars.
The following two Directives concern as well the installation of safety belts in relation to vehicles:
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Council Directive 77/541/EEC of 28 June 1977, as last amended by Commission Directive 2003/3/EC, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to safety belts and restraint systems of motor vehicles, |
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Council Directive 76/115/EEC of 18 December 1975, as last amended by Commission Directive 96/38/EC, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to anchorages for motor-vehicles safety belts. |
With a view to the compulsory installation of safety belts in all vehicles, the Commission has proposed to amend the three Directives simultaneously, for technical reasons.
Taking into account that the final objective of the proposed action is to improve road safety, the Directives should be adopted at the same time and be implemented at the same date.
III. ANALYSIS OF THE COMMON POSITION
1. General
In the common position which was adopted unanimously, the Council:
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has modified Article 1, namely by including folding (tip-up) seats in the scope of the Directive and inserting definitions to categorise the various seat orientations; |
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has postponed various dates of entry into force in Article 2; |
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has rejected the three EP Amendments:
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2. New elements contained in the Common Position as compared with the Commission proposal
Article 1, point 1
Deletion of the reference to the non-application of the Directive to ‘folding (tip up) seats’.
Point 2
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The obligation of the Member States to prohibit the fitting of side-facing seats has been moved to Article 2 concerning the implementation, |
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the scope of the ban on side-facing seats has been clarified. |
Two new points (points 3 and 4) were inserted to define the various seat orientations: forward-facing seats, rearward-facing seats and side-facing seats.
Point 5 (ex-point 3)
A new paragraph specifies that the automatic locking system required on folding seats does not apply to folding seats fitted in the wheelchair spaces of vehicles of categories M2 or M3 of class I, II or A (urban buses).
Article 2
All the dates concerning the implementation of the Directive have been postponed and replaced by mobile dates depending on the date of adoption of this new Directive.
IV. CONCLUSION
The common position, broadly in line with the Commission proposal, has been unanimously adopted by the Council. The main changes to the Commission proposal concern the inclusion on one hand of the folding seats in the scope of the Directive and on the other hand of definitions of various seat orientations. In addition, the dates of transposition and of entry into force of this Directive have been adapted.
(1) Doc. 10888/03 ENT 115 CODEC 909.