The European Parliament decision to give a 12-month extension for certain categories of engines to be fitted in tractors and off-road vehicles has been welcomed by EU machinery manufacturers.
Due to the effect of Covid-19 on manufacturing, the commission has voted for a 12-month extension to be put in place for the Stage V (engine emissions regulations) transition.
Secretary general of CEMA – the association representing European machinery manufacturers – Jérôme Bandry said: “The parliaments vote was vital to prevent further economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to our manufacturing industries and to protect thousands of qualified jobs that depend on them.”
‘Significant disruptions to the sector’
The vote “paves the way” for the final adoption of the amended version of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628, the emission legislation for off-road engines.
According to Bandry, the amended legislation provides an “important measure to mitigate some of the most significant disruptions in the sector” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and “delivers long-awaited legal certainty on the most urgent deadlines of 2020”.
Following requests from members of the industry and MEPs, the commission tabled a proposal in June to postpone the June 30 and December 31, 2020, deadlines for the production and placing on the market of machinery fitted with 56-130kW transition engines.
Bandry continued: “Neutral from an environmental perspective, this measure will not soften the stringency of the European legislation.
Instead, it will give our industry the necessary time to install transition engines – already acquired – in machines, place them on the market and be compliant with ever more demanding requirements.
“Inaction would have led to an unnecessary waste of raw materials and resources, in addition to the financial costs.”
He concluded, saying that the sector “calls on the commission to continue to monitor the effect of Covid-19 on the industry” and undertake new legislative actions as appropriate.