Pending the opinion of the European Parliament, the Council held a policy debate on a proposal for a Regulation on type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions and on access to vehicle repair information.
The debate covered, in particular, the following issue: should the new (Euro 5) Regulation provide a longer-term perspective and therefore already include a second stage of significantly lower emission limits, in particular with regard to NOx?
A majority of delegations was in favour of including long term limits in the proposal. The Commission pointed out, however, that any further limits should be technologically and economically feasible, and might require a specific impact assessment. The outcome of the debate provides guidance for the Council's further work on this issue.