The European Parliament adopted at second reading, in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, a legislative resolution on the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other parameters, amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009.

Following the recommendation for second reading by its Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Parliament approved the Council position at first reading without amendment.

The aim of the revision of the tyre labelling Regulation is to strengthen the information requirements on fuel efficiency, noise and safety aspects of tyres, and apply them to all tyres - whether for cars, vans or heavy-duty vehicles. New rules on tyre labelling will enable end users to make the best choice from a fuel efficiency and safety perspective and to gain financially.

The proposed Regulation amends the existing Regulation by:

improving tyre label visibility (label to be shown in all selling and advertising situations such as on the internet, distance selling, etc.) and raising awareness;

- improving enforcement and market surveillance (inclusion of tyre label in the product database established under Regulation 2017/1369);

- updating the label to optimise the information given to end users;

- including on the label information on the snow and ice performance of tyres;

- aligning the tyre label visually with the EU energy label;

- allowing for the future inclusion on the label of information on abrasion (microplastics), mileage and re-treaded tyres;

- requiring manufacturers to provide to the national authorities the values that they use to declare the classes on the label, to improve reliability of the label information.

The Commission supports the outcome of the inter-institutional negotiations, considering that the Council's position reflects the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council at the informal trilogue on 13 November 2019.

The Commission supports in particular:

the use of delegated rather than implementing acts to include retreaded tyres within the scope of the Regulation, once a suitable test method is available; the inclusion of information on mileage and abrasion within the scope of the Regulation through delegated acts, rather than through the ordinary legislative procedure, once a suitable test method is available; the Council's proposal to evaluate the Regulation by 1 June 2025 at the latest and to bring the Regulation into force on 1 May 2021; the Council's position that the full label must appear in visual advertisements, and that it should be possible to show the label through a nested display for online advertisements and sales; the proposal to align the text with that of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and product conformity, as regards the right of market surveillance authorities to recover costs from the supplier; the proposal to (i) align the label appearance of tyres with the recently published energy labels, which are widely recognised by consumers; (ii) add pictograms on the label to indicate whether a tyre is a ‘severe snow’ tyre, an ‘ice’ tyre, or both.

However, the Commission regrets certain aspects of the Council's political agreement at first reading, namely:

the conditions for authorisation for the inclusion of abrasion and mileage in the scope: the Commission regrets that the Council considered it necessary to make the empowerment conditional upon a thorough impact assessment and proper consultation, which are in any event necessary steps under the Commission’s Better Regulation process; the lack of empowerment to rescale the labelling classes: the Commission regrets that the Council decided not to rescale the current class limits and that it did not empower the Commission to update and rescale the classes through delegated acts.

While the Commission welcomes that the Council agreed to ‘clean up’ the classes for wet grip and rolling resistance, i.e. by deleting the classes left empty through the application of the General Safety Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, it considers it would have been more logical to also ‘clean up’ the noise classes in the same way.

The European Parliament adopted by 369 votes to 273 with 23 abstentions a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1222/200.

The position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure has amended the Commission proposal as follows:

Objective

The regulation should aim to promote fuel-efficient, safe, durable, low-noise tyres that could help to minimise the impact on the environment and health while improving the safety and economic efficiency of road transport. It would apply to C1, C2 and C3 tyres that are placed on the market.

Strengthened labelling regulations

Members believe that improving tyre labelling will allow consumers to obtain more relevant and comparable information on fuel efficiency, safety and noise, and to make cost-effective and environmentally friendly purchasing decisions when purchasing new tyres.

Suppliers shall ensure that C1, C2 and C3 tyres placed on the market are accompanied, free of charge, by a printed label in accordance with Annex II for each individual tyre.

For tyres advertised or sold on the Internet, suppliers should make the label available and ensure, in the event of purchase, that the label is displayed in a visible manner near the price and that the product information sheet is accessible.

The label could be displayed using a nested image, after a mouse click, mouse roll-over, tactile screen expansion or using similar techniques.

With effect nine months after the date of entry into force of the regulation, suppliers, before placing on the market a tyre produced after that date, should record in the product database the information set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 setting a framework for energy labelling.

Distributors should ensure that the label is affixed directly to the tyre and is fully legible, with no other information obstructing its view.

Inspections

Member States shall ensure that national market surveillance authorities set up a system of regular and punctual inspections of points of sale to ensure compliance with the regulation.

Re-treaded tyres

No later than two years after the entry into force of the regulation, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts by introducing new information requirements in the Annexes for re-treaded tyres, provided that a suitable and feasible method is available.

Grip on snow and ice

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts to complement the Regulation by (i) establishing parameters and information requirements for snow and ice-grip tyres; (ii) establishing a suitable testing method to measure snow and ice-grip tyre performances.

Report

By 1 January 2022 at the latest, the Commission shall have carried out an evaluation of the Regulation, accompanied by an impact assessment and a consumer survey and submitted a report to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee. This report shall be accompanied, if necessary, by a legislative proposal to amend the regulation.

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted the report from Michał BONI (EPP, PL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters and repealing Regulation (EC) no 1222/2009.

The committee recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission's proposal as follows:

Subject matter

The aim of this Regulation is to promote fuel-efficient, safe and sustainable tyres with low noise levels that could help to minimise the impact on the environment and health while improving safety and the economic efficiency of road transport. It shall apply to C1, C2 and C3 tyres that are placed on the market.

Strengthen labelling regulations

Members considered that improving the labelling of tyres will enable consumers to obtain more relevant and comparable information on fuel efficiency, safety and noise and to take cost-effective and environment-friendly purchasing decisions when purchasing new tyres.

Suppliers shall ensure that C1, C2 and C3 tyres placed on the market are accompanied, free of charge, by a printed label in accordance with Annex II for each individual tyre.

In relation to tyres advertised or sold on the internet, suppliers shall make the label available and ensure in purchasing situation that the label is visibly displayed in proximity to the price and that the product information sheet can be accessed. The label may be displayed using a nested image, after a mouse click, mouse roll-over, tactile screen expansion or using similar techniques.

Suppliers shall ensure that the label is affixed directly to the tyre and is legible in its entirety with nothing obstructing its visibility.

Member States’ obligations

Member States shall ensure that the national market surveillance authorities establish a system of routine and ad-hoc inspections of points of sale for the purposes of ensuring compliance with this Regulation.

Snow and ice grip

By 1 June 2020, the Commission shall adopt, delegated acts in order to supplement this Regulation by introducing parameters and information requirements for snow and ice-grip tyres, with the aim of reflecting the comparative performance of the tyres under snowy and icy circumstances and of displaying the up-dated labels both in shops and online six months after the date of entry into force of those delegated acts.

The Commission may also adopt delegated acts to establish a suitable testing method to measure tyre snow and ice-grip tyre performances.

Re-treaded tyres

By two years after the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts by introducing new information requirements to the Annexes for re-treaded tyres, provided that a suitable and feasible method is available.

PURPOSE: to increase the safety, health protection, and the economic and environmental efficiency of road transport by promoting fuel-efficient and safe tyres with low noise levels.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: road transport was responsible for about 22% of the Union’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. Tyres , mainly because of their rolling resistance, account for 5% to 10% of vehicles’ fuel consumption .

In 2009, the EU adopted two sets rules relating to tyres:

Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters (the Tyre Labelling Regulation, TLR). The TLR, which set out Union requirements harmonising the information on tyre parameters to be provided to end-users allowing them to make informed purchasing choices; Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles (the General Safety Regulation, GSR), which put in place harmonised technical requirements that tyres must satisfy before they can be placed on the Union market.

The Commission has reviewed the effectiveness of Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 and identified the need to update its provisions to improve its effectiveness by modifying and enhancing some of its provisions to clarify and update their content, taking into account the technological progress for tyres over recent years.

Improving the labelling of tyres will give consumers more information on fuel efficiency, safety and noise, allowing them to obtain accurate, relevant and comparable information on those aspects when purchasing tyres. This will help improve the effectiveness of the tyre labelling scheme so as to ensure cleaner, safer and quieter vehicles and to maximise the scheme’s contribution to the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

Tyre labelling forms part of Union legislation on the energy efficiency of products. This initiative is in line with the Union's energy policy.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the preferred option revealed the following estimated impacts: (i) increased turnover for business of EUR 9 billion per year by 2030; (ii) 129 PJ annual fuel savings by 2030; (iii) 10 Mt annual CO2-eq savings by 2030; (iv) decreased noise emission from tyres and resultant health benefits; and (v) greater safety and fewer accidents.

CONTENT: this proposal aims to repeal and replace Regulation (EC) No 1222/2009 on labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters. It establishes a framework for the provision of harmonised information on tyre parameters through labelling, allowing end-users to make an informed choice when purchasing tyres.

The proposal aims in particular to:

update the tyre label and allowing for its revision : the label covers three parameters: rolling resistance, wet grip and external rolling noise. The classes for these parameters need to be adjusted, to take account of technological progress. The Commission may adopt delegated acts to supplement the Regulation, and to adapt the annexes in the light of technical progress; improve the visibility of the label to consumers: all tyres placed on the market must be accompanied by a label, whether in the form of a separate document or of a sticker; the full label will have to be shown when tyres are sold on the internet and in paper-based distance selling; require that information on the snow and ice performance of tyres be included on the label; allow for the future inclusion of mileage and abrasion , if appropriate, as a parameter for the label. Tyre abrasion is a major source of microplastics released into the environment; require that the label be shown in visual advertisements and technical promotional material; extend to C3 tyres the requirement for the label to be shown; require tyre manufacturers to subject the label declaration to the type approval process thus providing an additional guarantee of the correctness of the label: improve enforcement by creating an obligation to register tyres in the product database established under Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 (supplier identification, model of tyre, label, parameter classes and product information sheet).