5. AC.2 met on 23 June 2025. It was chaired by Mr. Erario.

6. The WP.29 Secretary reported that:

1. AC.2 reviewed the list of Working Parties, Informal Working Groups and Chairs (WP.29-196-01) and suggested several corrections that would be reflected in a revised informal document and an annex to the WP.29 report;
2. AC.2 continued its discussions on promoting more global representation of WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies through the election of their officers, i.e. Chairs and Vice-Chairs from different regions. AC.2 encouraged all GRs to follow this principle, where possible, and invited Contracting Parties to nominate their representatives for the positions of Chairs and Vice-Chairs;
3. AC.2 was informed about the ongoing regular budget issues in UNECE and UNOG and the request of the UNOG Conference Services to reduce in 2025 by 10 per cent the official meeting days and documentation (number of documents and words), compared to the 2024 figures. In this context, AC.2 noted the calendar of reduced sessions for 2025 (WP.29-196-02). AC.2 noted that similar reductions in official meetings and documentation are not excluded in 2026 and exchanged ideas on how WP.29 and its GRs could mitigate the consequences of these service cuts, in order to deliver the programme of work;
4. AC.2 was informed about the results of the GRVA, WP.1 and the ESCAP Expert Group Meeting on Road Safety informal sessions on 2-5 June 2025 in Bangkok, including joint events, and requested the secretariat to publish the summaries as informal documents for WP.29;
5. AC.2 discussed a draft calendar of sessions for 2026 (WP.29-196-05) and noted that GRVA planned to have an informal session outside of Geneva in May 2026, hosted in Canada the week after the Enhanced Safety of Vehicle Conference. AC.2 also noted and generally supported the idea of holding a WP.29 session in November 2026 at the ECLAC premises in Santiago (Chile). AC.2 noted that a decision on this proposal should be taken by the ITC at its February 2026 meeting and that the ECE and ECLAC secretariats would have first to discuss the logistical arrangements for this event;
6. AC.2 reviewed the present WP.29 agenda and recommended to postpone to the next session consideration of WP.29-196-06 (agenda item 4.6.3) and agenda item 18.1.2. AC.2 also recommended AC.4 not to convene;
7. In accordance with Rule 1(d) of the WP.29 Rules of Procedure (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/690/Rev.2), AC.2 approved the participation of the US Tire Manufacturer’s Association (USTMA) in sessions of WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies in 2025-2027. Several other NGO applications were retained for further consideration;
8. AC.2 briefly addressed draft Terms of Reference for the IWG on AI and requested the secretariat to publish them as an informal document for WP.29;
9. AC.2 was informed about a proposal to establish a new IWG on swappable batteries and noted its cross-cutting nature between different GRs. AC.2 recommended WP.29, GRPE and GRSP to consider the proposal and to decide on reporting lines of the new IWG;
10. AC.2 was informed about the shortage of staff in the WP.29 secretariat and discussed possible ways how to assist the secretariat in preparing consolidated versions of UN Regulations and UN Global Technical Regulations. AC.2 also discussed the quality of the technical language used by the proponents of proposals when drafting the provisions of UN Regulations.

7. Referring to the budget issues and the requested reduction of official meetings and documentation, the representative of the United Kingdom, supported by the representative of Canada, stressed the importance of WP.29 activities for their countries and called for support of the World Forum work and its secretariat.