The committee adopted the recommendation for second reading (codecision
procedure) by Karl-Heinz FLORENZ (EPP/ED, D) amending the Council's common
position. The large number of amendments adopted by the committee included
the provision that 'cherished' vehicles, meaning any historic vehicle or
vehicle of value to collectors, should be exempted from the directive. An
age for such vehicles was not given, as national regulations differed within
the EU. The committee also proposed that the term 'dismantling manual'
should be replaced by 'dismantling information', which should be made
available in the form of manuals or by means of CD-ROM and online services.
Manufacturers should also facilitate dismantling by using common component
and material coding standards. One amendment stated that the Commission
should take the necessary steps to ensure that components from end-of-life
vehicles were reused only on condition that they did not give rise to any
safety or environmental hazard. Other amendments sought to impose tougher
regulations for heavy metals - for example, as from July 2000, the mercury
contained in vehicles should be prevented from being shredded, disposed of
as landfill or incinerated. The lead, cadmium and hexavalent chromium
contained in vehicles should also not be disposed of in landfill sites.
Lastly, the committee felt that the directive as applicable to new vehicles
should enter into force not from 1 January 2001, as proposed by the Council,
but 18 months after its publication in the Official Journal. It left the
date of 1 January 2006 as applicable to existing cars (which had not
necessarily been manufactured in a recycling-friendly way) unchanged.