Press Release: Far-reaching simplification of European car legislation and EU-wide approval for trucks and buses

Manufacturers of trucks, vans, buses, and trailers will no longer need to get approval for the same vehicle in 27 different countries, before placing it on the market. This is one important feature of the fundamental recast of the key legal instrument for the single market in motor vehicles, the Framework Directive on Car Type-Approval. On 10 May 2007, the European Parliament, following a report by MEP Malcolm Harbour, voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposal to extend the scope of the directive to trucks, vans, buses, and trailers. Up to now the Community type-approval was restricted to passenger cars, motorbikes, mopeds and agricultural tractors. The new procedures will reduce the administrative burden on EU manufacturers and improve their competitiveness. It will also improve vehicle safety and open a new possibility, which is of particular interest to for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), to access the internal market by creating a European small series type-approval system. The new Framework Directive will now be examined by Member States.