Tyre industry achieves objectives with tyre labelling rules

ERJ staff report (DS)

Brussels -- The tyre industry has won almost all its objectives with the new tyre labelling rules agreed yesterday in Brussels.

An original draft published in April this year was modified in July, with the main change, which was to convert the legislation from a Directive -- which would need specific legislation in each member State -- to a Regulation which enters directly into force throughout the Community.

The industry also ensured a label which combines information on rolling resistance and wet grip and which expresses noise in a numerical value.

The industry also ensured that the rules apply only to tyre manufactured after July 2012, so that existing stocks are not affected. The main change in the current text is that a new clause has been inserted which places a clear duty on member States to enforce the legislation. This reads, "(21a) Member States should strive, in implementing the relevant provisions of this Regulation, to refrain from measures that impose unjustified, bureaucratic and unwieldy obligations on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)."

Other changes are largely technical, though tyre makers are no longer required to put the information on Radio, TV, print media and billboard advertising

As proposed in July, the EU is absolved from responsibility to set up a website comparing tyre data. Tyre companies still have to set up fuel-saver calculators on their web sites.

Fazilet Cinarallp, Secretary-General of the ETRMA said, "the changes introduced during the legislative process have improved the enforceability and have secured a balanced consumer information (both in content and in tools used)."

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Text of legislation from EU