Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles^f1, and in particular Article 17(5) thereof,

Whereas:

Recital (6) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/68^f2 anticipates that the Commission assesses the requirement to fit anti-lock braking systems (ABS) on tractors with maximum design speed between 40 km/h and 60 km/h as of 1 January 2020. Following an assessment of that requirement, the Commission concluded that removing the ABS requirement from the Delegated Regulation for those vehicles avoids disproportionate financial costs for the industry and the users, which would ultimately delay the effective use of state-of-the-art braking technology on the market. Therefore, the requirement to fit ABS on those vehicles should be deleted.

The conditions of operation of high pressure energy storage devices should allow for the state-of-the-art pressure range and provide for the corresponding test. The pressure limit values should therefore be adapted accordingly.

In order to allow for a smooth transition to the prohibition of hydraulic connections of the single-line type, for the Member States and the industry, when applying the braking requirements of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/68 to new tractors connected with trailers already in service, taking into consideration the renewal rate of the agricultural and forestry towed vehicles fleet, the application of the transitional requirements on the single-line type hydraulic connections of braking devices and trailer braking couplings should be extended until 31 December 2024.

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/68 should therefore be amended accordingly.

Considering that this Regulation contains a number of important amendments to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/68, necessary for its smooth application, it should enter into force as a matter of urgency,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: