78. The representative of CITA introduced informal document ITC (2015) No. 15, proposing the development of three additional rules to the 1997 Agreement: (i) requirements on the roadworthiness facilities and test equipment, (ii) requirements on the competence, training and certification of inspectors, and (iii) supervising bodies.

81. The representative of the Netherlands stated that his country agreed with the proposal from CITA and the secretariat to create an IWG. He expressed the willingness of his country to chair it.

82. The representative of Finland welcomed the initiatives and supported the proposal. He expressed the willingness of his country to participate in the work of the group.

83. The representative of Sweden stated that, as a Member State of the EU, his country was obliged to transpose EU directives. He stated that it would be interesting to learn more about the 1997 Agreement to assess if this would be a suitable platform to develop PTI Rules. He added that, as the 1968 Vienna Convention links the usage of vehicles with PTI, the 1997 Agreement could become a cooperation platform between WP.29 and WP.1. He expressed his support for the establishment of an IWG.

84. The representative of Romania supported the establishment of the IWG and expressed the hope that this proposal would address the challenges faced by WP.29 and AC.4.

89. The World Forum was informed by the secretariat of the Working Party on Road Safety (WP.1) about its work progress. She recalled her previous update on the status of proposal amendments related to Articles 8 and 39 of the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic. She added that the Secretary-General of the United Nations had issued a depositary notification on 23 September 2014 and that, if no objection was raised by the Contracting Parties, the proposed amendment would enter into force in the spring 2016. She reported that, at its upcoming seventieth session, WP.1 would resume consideration on amendment proposals related to lights and light-signalling (Chapter II of Annex 5 to 1968 Vienna Convention) and that as part of this discussion, WP.1 would also consider new proposals from IMMA and Laser Europe.

90. In response to questions, the secretariat of WP.1 clarified that Contracting Parties have 12 months to reject the amendments or propose a conference to discuss the issue. She added that if no more than 1/3 of the Contraction Parties object during the 12-month period, the amendment would come into force after a further six-month period. She noted that so far she was not aware of any objections, but that this information was with Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), who would report in due course. She also clarified that there was an item in the agenda of the next session of WP.1 to discuss steps to go even further in allowing automated driving (WP.1 Informal document No. 2).

12. The World Forum noted the revised programme of work and proposed documentation (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/1). The secretariat presented the list of informal working groups (based on WP.29-165-01) and the distribution of tasks in the vehicle regulations and transport innovations section (based on WP.29-165-02). The World Forum noted WP.29-165-01 on the informal working groups and chairmanships of WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies as well as WP.29-165-02 on the current organization of the secretariat.

12. The World Forum noted the revised programme of work and proposed documentation (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/1). The secretariat presented the list of informal working groups (based on WP.29-165-01) and the distribution of tasks in the vehicle regulations and transport innovations section (based on WP.29-165-02). The World Forum noted WP.29-165-01 on the informal working groups and chairmanships of WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies as well as WP.29-165-02 on the current organization of the secretariat.

79. The secretariat presented WP.29-165-03 and proposed to align the 1997 Agreement and its annexed rules with the new European legislation, thus including the testing of electronic safety systems into PTI. The secretariat also proposed introducing additional element to the Agreement in line with the decisions taken at the seventy-seventh ITC: (i) new Rule 3 on the equipment to be used for PTI, (ii) new Rule 4 on skills and training of staff performing PTI, and (iii) new Rule 5 on supervision and quality control of PTI centres. The secretariat also suggested that an IWG on PTI could be created to provide a platform for PTI discussions, which should result in consensus on possible amendments to existing Rules as well as the envisaged new rules. The secretariat pointed that the drafting of Rules by the IWG would smooth the decision-making process in WP.29 and AC.4.

80. The representative of the Russian Federation stated that, in principle, his country would support the creation of an IWG. He expressed the willingness of his country to participate in its work and addressed organizational questions related to the establishment of terms of reference and whether it should be a permanent group. He noted that items to be covered by Rules are prescribed by the Agreement (Article 1) and include elements such as vehicle categories, the equipment and/or parts to be inspected, test methods, and conditions for granting inspection certificate. The certificate shall cover date of its issue, the Rules to which the inspected vehicle shall comply and date of the subsequent inspection. He elaborated that elements proposed by the secretariat should be reflected directly in the text of the Agreement, specifically in the provisions for conformity of periodical technical inspection process.

81. The representative of the Netherlands stated that his country agreed with the proposal from CITA and the secretariat to create an IWG. He expressed the willingness of his country to chair it.

82. The representative of Finland welcomed the initiatives and supported the proposal. He expressed the willingness of his country to participate in the work of the group.

83. The representative of Sweden stated that, as a Member State of the EU, his country was obliged to transpose EU directives. He stated that it would be interesting to learn more about the 1997 Agreement to assess if this would be a suitable platform to develop PTI Rules. He added that, as the 1968 Vienna Convention links the usage of vehicles with PTI, the 1997 Agreement could become a cooperation platform between WP.29 and WP.1. He expressed his support for the establishment of an IWG.

84. The representative of Romania supported the establishment of the IWG and expressed the hope that this proposal would address the challenges faced by WP.29 and AC.4.

85. The World Forum agreed to establish an IWG on PTI under the chairmanship of the Netherlands and that CITA would act as secretariat to the group. The World Forum requested the group to draft its Terms of Reference and submit them to the November 2015 session of WP.29.

49. The representative of Japan gave an overview of the discussions of the IWG on IWVTA. He referred to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/40 and recalled the discussion of WP.29 at its previous session on the voting majority threshold. He introduced WP.29-165-04 superseding ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/41 aimed at amending Article 3 on special provisions. Noting that some critical comments had been received, he added that the IWG would resume discussions on this issue and report back to the June 2015 session of WP.29.

50. The representative of EU informed WP.29 that the EU Member States continue consultation on voting majority threshold and announced to provide more detailed information on a common position in the next sessions of WP.29. He raised concerns about the late submission of the amendments to Article 3 on special provisions and stressed the importance of freezing the text for the adoption process of the third Revision of the 1958 Agreement.

51. The World Forum agreed to defer discussion on this subject to its forthcoming session in June 2015. The secretariat was, thus, requested to circulate WP.29-165-04 with an official symbol.

86. The representative of the Russian Federation presented the informal documents that were prepared together with CITA. He proposed to include each of them in a separate Rule to be annexed to the 1997 Agreement.

87. The World Forum decided to refer both informal documents to the IWG on PTI and agreed that the proposals, once revised by the IWG, would be further considered at one of the next WP.29 meetings.

86. The representative of the Russian Federation presented the informal documents that were prepared together with CITA. He proposed to include each of them in a separate Rule to be annexed to the 1997 Agreement.

87. The World Forum decided to refer both informal documents to the IWG on PTI and agreed that the proposals, once revised by the IWG, would be further considered at one of the next WP.29 meetings.

83. The representative of the Russian Federation, Co-Chair of the IWG on PTI, updated the World Forum on the work of the group (WP.29-173-06). He reported to the World Forum on the eighth meeting of the IWG on PTI that was held on 24 October 2017 in Brussels. He explained that the IWG on PTI decided to propose amendments to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/134 under agenda item 7.4 as reproduced in WP.29-173-12. He recalled the proposal made by the representative of Finland and Sweden at the 172nd session of WP.29, that were similar to the earlier proposals presented by the Russian Federation (WP29-147-11 and WP29-165-07) aimed at including PTI relevant provisions in UN Regulations. He mentioned that the group had considerations related to the 1958 Agreement and the new concept “Whole Life Vehicle Compliance” was suggested. He reported on the considerations of the group as a follow-up on the presentation made by the representative of Switzerland on the tampering truck emissions tampering at the June 2017 session of WP.29 and possible benefits of PTI in this context.

87. The representative of the Russian Federation, Co-Chair of the IWG on PTI, presented ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/134 that proposes the establishment of a new Rule on Periodical Technical Inspections of motor vehicles using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and/or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in their propulsion system, that would be annexed to the 1997 Agreement. He also introduced informal document WP.29-173-12 amending the proposal by adding vehicles using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Some Contracting Parties indicated that they were still in the process of evaluating the proposal.

89. WP.29 recommended the submission of the two proposals to AC.4 for voting, noting that some European Contracting Parties would support, in principle, the proposals but felt not in the position to adopt these proposals due to possible inconsistencies with European Directives on PTI on these matters (not specifically addressing additional test items for gas fuelled vehicles and hybrid vehicles).

158. No further supplementary information was provided beyond agenda item 7.4. (see paras. 81-83 above).

77. The representative of the Russian Federation presented WP.29-165-07 and noted that the 1997 Agreement should not only increase safety but also eliminate the barriers for implementation of the international automobile carriages. He underlined the importance of international standards incorporating the best practices in the sphere of traffic safety. He noted that the 1958 Agreement and the 1997 Agreement were becoming more interlinked as several UN Regulations under the 1958 Agreement already contain provisions relevant for Periodic Technical Inspections (PTI). He, therefore, concluded that Contracting Parties to the 1958 agreement could become Contracting Parties to the 1997 Agreement.

101. Submitted for consideration and vote, the proposal for Amendment 2 to draft UN GTR on motorcycle braking (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/38, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/39, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/AC.3/37) was established in the UN Global Registry on 12 March 2015 by consensus vote of the following Contracting Parties present and voting: Australia, Canada, China, European Union (voting for Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), India, Japan, Norway, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, South Africa and United States of America.

102. AC.3 adopted ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/38 with the following typographical change by introducing a missing comma:

The amendments to page 5, para. 3.1.9, second line<§i>, correct to read:

73. The representatives of Malaysia informed the World Forum on the role of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) in coping road safety issues in the ASEAN region (WP.29-165-11 and WP.29-165-12-Rev.1). He added that MIROS had been appointed as the ASEAN Road Safety Centre (ARSC) to provide information and know-how among ASEAN member States, including the development of ASEAN NCAP with the support by Global NCAP (WP.29-165-10 and WP.29-165-13-Rev.1). In the view of the expansion of capacity-buildings activities of ARSC in the APEC region, the representative of Malaysia sought possible sponsorships from countries participating in WP.29 activities. The representative of the United States of America encouraged the initiative of Malaysia that could result in new countries’ accessions to the 1958 and 1998 Agreements. The representative of OICA also welcomed the creation of the ASEAN Road Safety Centre, stressing that improvements to road safety needed an integrated approach involving all stakeholders, including the driver and the infrastructure in general.

73. The representatives of Malaysia informed the World Forum on the role of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) in coping road safety issues in the ASEAN region (WP.29-165-11 and WP.29-165-12-Rev.1). He added that MIROS had been appointed as the ASEAN Road Safety Centre (ARSC) to provide information and know-how among ASEAN member States, including the development of ASEAN NCAP with the support by Global NCAP (WP.29-165-10 and WP.29-165-13-Rev.1). In the view of the expansion of capacity-buildings activities of ARSC in the APEC region, the representative of Malaysia sought possible sponsorships from countries participating in WP.29 activities. The representative of the United States of America encouraged the initiative of Malaysia that could result in new countries’ accessions to the 1958 and 1998 Agreements. The representative of OICA also welcomed the creation of the ASEAN Road Safety Centre, stressing that improvements to road safety needed an integrated approach involving all stakeholders, including the driver and the infrastructure in general.

73. The representatives of Malaysia informed the World Forum on the role of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) in coping road safety issues in the ASEAN region (WP.29-165-11 and WP.29-165-12-Rev.1). He added that MIROS had been appointed as the ASEAN Road Safety Centre (ARSC) to provide information and know-how among ASEAN member States, including the development of ASEAN NCAP with the support by Global NCAP (WP.29-165-10 and WP.29-165-13-Rev.1). In the view of the expansion of capacity-buildings activities of ARSC in the APEC region, the representative of Malaysia sought possible sponsorships from countries participating in WP.29 activities. The representative of the United States of America encouraged the initiative of Malaysia that could result in new countries’ accessions to the 1958 and 1998 Agreements. The representative of OICA also welcomed the creation of the ASEAN Road Safety Centre, stressing that improvements to road safety needed an integrated approach involving all stakeholders, including the driver and the infrastructure in general.

44. The representative of Japan, Chair of the IWG on IWVTA, reported on the meetings of the Group on the development of draft UN Regulation No. 0 (WP.29-165-14 and WP.29-165-15). He presented an outline of UN Regulation No. 0 (WP.29-165-15) and sought the advice of WP.29 on: (i) the number of months necessary for Contracting Parties to accept IWVTA pursuant to UN Regulation No. 0 after its entry into force, (ii) resolving the uncertainty in applying UN Regulation No. 116, and (iii) a common procedure for replacement spare parts for vehicles covered by an IWVTA. He presented two options for the spare parts: (a) Contracting Parties should accept original equipment spare parts covered by IWVTA; or (b) Contracting Parties should accept all spare parts having valid UN approvals for vehicles covered by IWVTA (original equipment and aftermarket spare parts). He underlined the possibility for Contracting Parties applying UN Regulation No. 0 to not to be bound by this clause.

45. The Chair of the IWG on IWVTA reported that the Group had nearly completed the draft UN Regulation No. 0 and that it would continue to work on remaining issues, such as the definition of vehicle type. He added that the subgroup on UN Regulation No. 0 would resume deliberations in June 2015 and that the results would be reported to WP.29 at its next session.

46. The representative of EU expressed his appreciation for the work of IWG. He informed WP.29 that the EU was flexible concerning the number of months needed to accept IWVTA after its entry into force so that a period up to twelve months would be acceptable. He supported the proposed request to GRSG to consider the uncertainty issue on UN Regulation No. 116. He finally expressed the support of the EU for option (b) for spare parts.

47. The representative of the Netherlands informed WP.29 that he also preferred a period of twelve months for Contracting Parties to accept IWVTA after its entry into force and that a period of nine months would be acceptable, pending the agreement of the majority of Contracting Parties. He also supported the option (b) for spare parts.

48. The Chair of GRSG confirmed that GRSG should consider the issue of UN Regulation No. 116 and clarify the text of the Regulation, if needed. He expected that this question would be addressed by GRSG at its May 2015 session.

52. The representative of Japan, Co-Chair of the IWG on IWVTA, reported on the progress at the eighteenth meeting of the group. He reported that IWG had introduced two definitions for type: vehicle type, which could contain all variants regardless of their level of conformity, and which corresponded to what we are used to; and IWVTA type, which defined one level of conformity within a vehicle type. He presented informal document WP.29-166-15 on the changes required to the draft UN Regulation No. 0. He clarified that these changes would be included in the text during the September session of the group and would further be included as Revision 1 to document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2015/68. He notified WP.29 that UN Regulation No. 0 would be pre-tested and that the contact point for pre-testing had been indicated in the informal document for anyone interested. The representative of the Russian Federation highlighted mutual proposal with the European Commission on the applicability of national and regional requirements in addition to IWVTA if there are no such requirements in the existing UN Regulations

44. The representative of Japan, Chair of the IWG on IWVTA, reported on the meetings of the Group on the development of draft UN Regulation No. 0 (WP.29-165-14 and WP.29-165-15). He presented an outline of UN Regulation No. 0 (WP.29-165-15) and sought the advice of WP.29 on: (i) the number of months necessary for Contracting Parties to accept IWVTA pursuant to UN Regulation No. 0 after its entry into force, (ii) resolving the uncertainty in applying UN Regulation No. 116, and (iii) a common procedure for replacement spare parts for vehicles covered by an IWVTA. He presented two options for the spare parts: (a) Contracting Parties should accept original equipment spare parts covered by IWVTA; or (b) Contracting Parties should accept all spare parts having valid UN approvals for vehicles covered by IWVTA (original equipment and aftermarket spare parts). He underlined the possibility for Contracting Parties applying UN Regulation No. 0 to not to be bound by this clause.

45. The Chair of the IWG on IWVTA reported that the Group had nearly completed the draft UN Regulation No. 0 and that it would continue to work on remaining issues, such as the definition of vehicle type. He added that the subgroup on UN Regulation No. 0 would resume deliberations in June 2015 and that the results would be reported to WP.29 at its next session.

46. The representative of EU expressed his appreciation for the work of IWG. He informed WP.29 that the EU was flexible concerning the number of months needed to accept IWVTA after its entry into force so that a period up to twelve months would be acceptable. He supported the proposed request to GRSG to consider the uncertainty issue on UN Regulation No. 116. He finally expressed the support of the EU for option (b) for spare parts.

47. The representative of the Netherlands informed WP.29 that he also preferred a period of twelve months for Contracting Parties to accept IWVTA after its entry into force and that a period of nine months would be acceptable, pending the agreement of the majority of Contracting Parties. He also supported the option (b) for spare parts.

48. The Chair of GRSG confirmed that GRSG should consider the issue of UN Regulation No. 116 and clarify the text of the Regulation, if needed. He expected that this question would be addressed by GRSG at its May 2015 session.

28. [The GRPE Chair] announced that the IWG on Vehicle Propulsion System Definitions (VPSD) would submit a formal proposal for a new Mutual Resolution on Vehicle Powertrain Definitions for the June 2015 session of GRPE.

29. He introduced the informal documents, which list the acronyms and abbreviations used in UN Regulations (WP.29-165-17) and highlighted the problem of using the acronym ‘RESS’ to describe both the ‘Non-original Replacement Exhaust Silencer System’ and the ‘Non-original Replacement Exhaust System and Rechargeable Energy Storage System’ (WP.29-165-16). The World Forum endorsed the content of document WP.29-165-16 and referred the choice to its subsidiary bodies. The secretariat added that the document WP.29-165-17 would be made available on the UNECE website and it would continue to be updated on a regular basis.

28. [The GRPE Chair] announced that the IWG on Vehicle Propulsion System Definitions (VPSD) would submit a formal proposal for a new Mutual Resolution on Vehicle Powertrain Definitions for the June 2015 session of GRPE.

29. He introduced the informal documents, which list the acronyms and abbreviations used in UN Regulations (WP.29-165-17) and highlighted the problem of using the acronym ‘RESS’ to describe both the ‘Non-original Replacement Exhaust Silencer System’ and the ‘Non-original Replacement Exhaust System and Rechargeable Energy Storage System’ (WP.29-165-16). The World Forum endorsed the content of document WP.29-165-16 and referred the choice to its subsidiary bodies. The secretariat added that the document WP.29-165-17 would be made available on the UNECE website and it would continue to be updated on a regular basis.

52. The Secretary of the Informal Working Group on DETA reported on the meeting of the informal group held on 9 March 2015. He noted that the financing of DETA should be included in the regular budget of the UNECE. He added that the IWG on DETA would provide guidance on DETA and the use of the Unique Identifier. He informed WP.29 that a drafting group would meet in the beginning of April and WP.29 delegates were invited to participate in this meeting. He informed WP.29 that Mr. Guiting (Netherlands) had agreed to take over the tasks of the Secretary of the IWG as of June 2015.

53. The secretariat informed WP.29 that the financing of DETA was not covered by the draft regular budget 2016/2017 of the UNECE. The secretariat offered to explore options for financing DETA by extrabudgetary resources and to present them to WP.29 at the June 2015 session.

17. The representative of the United Kingdom underlined the importance of the issues discussed by the IWG and noted that this issue should be mainstreamed into the programme of work of WP.29. His proposal to move the meeting of the IWG on ITS/AD to take place on Wednesday at 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. has been agreed upon by WP.29.

17bis. The representative of the United Kingdom presented the terms of reference for the IWG on ITS/AD. WP.29 adopted the terms of reference as reproduced in Annex III of the session report.