BRUSSELS, Belgium (April 6) — The European Council of Ministers has approved new standards for the retreading process and the quality of retreaded tires, making them equivalent to the standards for new tires.
From now on, all retreaded tires sold in the European Union have to meet the requirements of UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) regulations. These regulations introduce similar standards of safety and quality control for retreaded tires as for new tires.
"This is an elegant way of keeping EU legislation slim while regulating effectively on safety in the automotive sector. More such initiatives will follow," said Commission Vice President Guenther Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry policy.
The council´s decision is the first one to make regulations of the UNECE mandatory within the EU. Up to now, technical prescriptions of UNECE regulations have been recognized only as alternatives to those contained in EU directives.
By making UNECE Regulation 108 and 109 compulsory for retreaded car and commercial vehicle tires respectively, the EU said it avoids the necessity to develop its own prescriptions for retreaded tires, while at the same time ensuring that its tire manufacturers can benefit from a wide market that extends far beyond the EU borders.