World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations | Session 166 | 23-26 Jun 2015
Geneva
Agenda Item 4.4.
Consideration of amendments to the 1958 Agreement

54. The Chair of the informal group on IWVTA reported on the outcomes of the last meeting. He reported that OICA had made a formal proposal to revise paragraph 3 of the frozen text of the revision of the 1958 Agreement. After discussions, the group decided not to change the frozen text, but to address the concern of OICA in the revised guidance document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1044/Rev.1 currently under development. This issue would be revisited at the September meeting of Subgroup for the 1958 Agreement. The representative of OICA clarified he had withdrawn his proposals so as not to risk delaying the final decision on the revision of the 1958 Agreement in many Contracting Parties. The Chair of IWVTA also reported that the decision of the informal group not to amend the current frozen text was also in line with the request from the Russian Federation to keep the frozen text unchanged.

55. The World Forum noted that the only remaining issue for decision was whether the majority threshold should be increased from two-thirds to four-fifths. This discussion would take place at the November session of WP.29, provided that EU would be able to provide their final view on the matter. The EU representative pointed out that at the level of the Commission the tasks were completed, but that additional time was needed to consult with the Council and the Parliament. She requested countries that were considering becoming a contracting party to the 1958 Agreement to signal this which might be a possible justification for EU member States to agree with an increase of the voting threshold.

Documentation
WP.29-166-02 Revised guidelines on amendments to UN Regulations
WP.29-166-06 Position of the Russian Federation with regard to Article 3 – Paragraph 2 of the Draft Revised 1958 Agreement (Russia)
WP.29-166-11 1958 Agreement, adopted proposals and situation of their entry into force, 164th session (November 2014)
WP.29-166-12 Future document management for UN Regulations and GTRs to provide better services and higher quality
WP.29/1044/Rev.1 General Guidelines for UN regulatory procedures and transitional provisions in UN Regulations