THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 72/306/EEC of 2 August 1972 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emission of pollutants from diesel engines for use in vehicles, and in particular Article 4 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Directive 72/306/EEC is one of the separate directives under the type-approval procedure laid down by Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers.
(2)
Consequently the provisions laid down in Directive 70/156/EEC relating to vehicle systems, components and separate technical units apply to Directive 72/306/EEC.
(3)
Article 9(2) of Directive 70/156/EEC, as amended by Directive 92/53/EEC, provides for the equivalence between the separate Directives and the corresponding Regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE). It is therefore necessary to align the technical requirements relating to the light source of the opacimeter used for the measurement of the opacity of the exhaust with UN-ECE Regulation 24 and international standards. It is also appropriate to align the fuel used for measuring the opacity of the exhaust with the fuel permitted for the measurement of emissions, as given in Council Directive 88/77/EEC.
(4)
The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Adaptation to Technical Progress established by Directive 70/156/EEC,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: