The European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee (IMCO) adopted an opinion on the proposal for a revision of Directive 97/68 on exhaust emissions from non-road mobile machinery on June 23, 2015.
The European Materials Handling Federation (FEM), has welcomed the outcome of the vote and notably the extension of the transition period by six months, the introduction of a replacement engines provision and the specific treatment of mobile cranes.
“We feel IMCO has adequately addressed machine manufacturers’ technical and economic constraints without affecting the environmental objectives of the legislation, which we fully support”, said Olivier Janin, FEM secretary general.
The proposed extension of the transition period is particularly welcomed by materials handling equipment manufacturers, which do not produce their own engines and are therefore entirely dependent on the availability of engines from engine manufacturers to start redesigning their machines. An additional six months will decrease the risk of business disruption.
The introduction of a replacement engines provision which exists in the current directive is also welcomed by FEM as it will preserve a return on investment for users of machines with a failed engine.
The IMCO Committee also addressed the unique situation of mobile crane manufacturers. Additional transition time will enable them to cope better with the redesigning of some 170 models all in the same power category and with the extra constraints due to road homologation requirements.
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), which leads on the issue, is now due to adopt its report in mid-July.
“We hope the ENVI will follow the same line so that we can achieve a balanced outcome and look optimistically at an adoption by the end of the year,” added Janin.
For more information on Stage V proposals, click here.
June 25, 2015
