Air pollution: cold start emission limits for motor vehicles during warming-up (amend. Directive 70/220/EEC)

The committee adopted the report by Bernd Lange (PES, D) amending the Commission proposal under the codecision procedure (1st reading). The amendments focused on the following points: (1) The Member States should be given a time frame of nine months for the implementation of the directive after its entry into force. The deadline of 30 June 2001 set by the Commission was unrealistic; (2) The categorisation of cars and other vehicles should cover new types of vehicles in the different classes and the directive should be worded in such a way as to ensure that they would automatically be included in it; (3) The committee wanted the limit values for CO emissions to be stricter in two cases. For vehicles heavier than 1,305 kg up to and including 1,760 kg (Category N1, weight class II) the committee proposed 24 g/km rather than 27 g/km as proposed by the Commission. In the case of vehicles heavier than 1,760 kg (Category N1, weight class III), the committee recommended 30 g/km rather than the 34 g/km proposed by the Commission. Both the Commission and the committee expressed the wish to reach a compromise in the first reading, so that the legislative procedure could be completed without delay. �