United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE): pedestrian safety and light emitting diode (LED) light sources. EU position

PURPOSE: to adopt, on behalf of the European Union, the Regulation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on pedestrian safety and to the draft Regulation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources together with its corrigenda.

NON LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2012/143/EU on the position of the European Union in relation to the draft Regulation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on pedestrian safety and to the draft Regulation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources

BACKGROUND : the standardised requirements of the draft Regulation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on uniform provisions concerning the approval of motor vehicles with regard to their pedestrian safety performance and the draft UNECE Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources for use in approved signalling lamp units on power-driven vehicles and their trailers are intended to remove technical barriers to the trade in motor vehicles between the Contracting Parties to the Revised 1958 Agreement and to ensure that such vehicles offer a high level of safety and protection.

It is now necessary to define the position of the European Union with regard to those draft Regulations and consequently to provide for the Union, represented by the Commission, to vote in favour of them and to incorporate the draft Regulations on pedestrian safety and on Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources into the EU type-approval system for motor vehicles.

This is the aim of this Decision.

CONTENT : this Decision approves the following :

·        the draft UNECE Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of motor vehicles with regard to their pedestrian safety performance, as contained in document ECE TRANS/WP.29/2010/127;

·        the draft UNECE Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources for use in approved signalling lamp units on power-driven vehicles and their trailers, as contained in document ECE TRANS/WP.29/2010/44 together with its corrigenda.

Vote: the Union, represented by the Commission, shall vote in favour of the draft UNECE Regulations referred to in Articles 1 and 2 at a forthcoming meeting of the Administrative Committee of the UNECE World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicles Regulations.

Uniform provisions concerning the approval of motor vehicles: in accordance with Articles 35 and 36 of Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, the equivalence of the requirements of the draft UNECE Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of motor vehicles with regard to their pedestrian safety performance and those set out in Annex I, paragraphs 3.1, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5, to Regulation (EC) No 78/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, shall be recognised.

The draft UNECE Regulations shall become part of the EU type-approval system for motor vehicles.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: the Decision enters into force on 10/03/2012.