21. The secretariat presented the draft Programme of Work and Biennial Evaluation 2018-2019 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/119) which provides the mandate for the work of WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies (GRs) for the coming biennium.
22. WP.29 adopted the Programme of Work and Biennial Evaluation 2018-2019 based on document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/119.

23. The secretariat presented the programme of work, which includes a strategic introductory part on the main priorities of the work of WP.29 vehicle automation, powertrain electrification and enhancement of environmental protection. The priorities would include further development in the implementation of the 1958, 1997 and 1998 Agreements, the main horizontal activities and the main topics addressed by the subsidiary bodies of WP.29 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/1/Rev.2). The World Forum noted the revised programme of work and documentation.

24. The secretariat presented the list of Working Parties and Chairs (WP.29-173-01). The secretariat also presented the envisaged tasks of WP.29 staff for the year 2018 (WP.29-173-03).

25. The World Forum took note of WP.29-173-02 on the draft 2018 calendar for WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies, and WP.29-173-03 that describes the activities that are to be performed by the World Forum secretariat staff members during 2018.

26. The 2018 calendar for WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies and the list of Working Parties and Chairs are reproduced in Annex III and IV to the session report.

21. The secretariat presented the draft Programme of Work and Biennial Evaluation 2018-2019 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/119) which provides the mandate for the work of WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies (GRs) for the coming biennium.
22. WP.29 adopted the Programme of Work and Biennial Evaluation 2018-2019 based on document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/119.

23. The secretariat presented the programme of work, which includes a strategic introductory part on the main priorities of the work of WP.29 vehicle automation, powertrain electrification and enhancement of environmental protection. The priorities would include further development in the implementation of the 1958, 1997 and 1998 Agreements, the main horizontal activities and the main topics addressed by the subsidiary bodies of WP.29 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/1/Rev.2). The World Forum noted the revised programme of work and documentation.

24. The secretariat presented the list of Working Parties and Chairs (WP.29-173-01). The secretariat also presented the envisaged tasks of WP.29 staff for the year 2018 (WP.29-173-03).

25. The World Forum took note of WP.29-173-02 on the draft 2018 calendar for WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies, and WP.29-173-03 that describes the activities that are to be performed by the World Forum secretariat staff members during 2018.

26. The 2018 calendar for WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies and the list of Working Parties and Chairs are reproduced in Annex III and IV to the session report.

21. The secretariat presented the draft Programme of Work and Biennial Evaluation 2018-2019 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/119) which provides the mandate for the work of WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies (GRs) for the coming biennium.
22. WP.29 adopted the Programme of Work and Biennial Evaluation 2018-2019 based on document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/119.

23. The secretariat presented the programme of work, which includes a strategic introductory part on the main priorities of the work of WP.29 vehicle automation, powertrain electrification and enhancement of environmental protection. The priorities would include further development in the implementation of the 1958, 1997 and 1998 Agreements, the main horizontal activities and the main topics addressed by the subsidiary bodies of WP.29 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/1/Rev.2). The World Forum noted the revised programme of work and documentation.

24. The secretariat presented the list of Working Parties and Chairs (WP.29-173-01). The secretariat also presented the envisaged tasks of WP.29 staff for the year 2018 (WP.29-173-03).

25. The World Forum took note of WP.29-173-02 on the draft 2018 calendar for WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies, and WP.29-173-03 that describes the activities that are to be performed by the World Forum secretariat staff members during 2018.

26. The 2018 calendar for WP.29 and its subsidiary bodies and the list of Working Parties and Chairs are reproduced in Annex III and IV to the session report.

63. The secretariat updated WP.29 about developments on the hosting of DETA by UNECE and the discussion of the UNECE Executive Committee (EXCOM) related to financing DETA (WP.29-173-04). The representative of the European Union gave, on behalf of the Chair of the IWG on DETA, a status report of the activities of the group at its thirtieth meeting. The secretariat presented WP.29-173-15 on behalf of the Chair of the IWG, explaining (i) what DETA is, (ii) the link between DETA and the activities of the WP.29, (iii) the expected benefits, (iv) the potential additional features of DETA, and (v) three scenarios to organize the migration of DETA to UNECE. He explained that scenario one corresponded to a stand-alone project as presented in WP.29-173-04, scenario two was based on scenario one but with important savings realized in segmenting the project and obtaining additional human resources through a Junior Professional Officer financed by one Contracting Party (potentially Germany). Scenario three was presented by the representative of Germany (WP.29-173-13) and proposed to temporarily host and finance DETA under the condition that UNECE takes over DETA under regular budget at the latest from 2022 onwards² and that the industry covers the development costs of the Unique Identifier and the Declaration of Conformity. Scenario three would allow an implementation date of DETA by mid 2018.

63 bis. Germany also presented a proposal (WP.29-173-13) to rename DETA which will be considered at the next session of WP.29 in March 2018.

64. WP.29 preferred the scenario three and thanked Germany for its offer. The representative of OICA clarified that their possible commitment covered only a fair share of the development costs of the Unique Identifier and mentioned that other industries and governments would also benefit from this DETA development and therefore should also contribute. The representatives of IMMA and CLEPA stated on the question of sponsoring the development of the Unique Identifier as part of the DETA-project, that they were studying the question and could not make any commitment at this time. The representative of Germany hope but cannot assure that the offer can be maintained for the March 2018 session of WP.29. The Chair urged all Contracting Parties to the 1958 Agreement and all stakeholders to find a solution for the financing for DETA before the next session of WP.29 in March 2018.

65. In parallel, WP.29 requested the secretariat and the IWG on DETA to reflect on the proposal made by the representatives of Australia, Austria and South Africa to explore ways to extend DETA with a feature allowing to charge users on a subscription basis, per download and/or upload of Type Approval documentation, as an alternative way to finance the hosting of DETA at UNECE, on the condition that this would not delay the installation of DETA at UNECE.

² Note by the secretariat: as UN Regular Budget is decided by Member States at the UN General Assembly, UNECE is not in the position to commit at this stage.

153. The representative of OICA introduced WP.29-173-05, “Proposal to amend Special Resolution 2” (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1124). He stated that OICA, representing the global auto industry, re-confirmed its strong support for Special Resolution 2 as an important step towards an improved functioning of the 1998 Agreement.

154. He noted that WP29-173-05 took into account comments made at the June 2017 AC.3 session. He added that his intention was to clarify the concepts of options and alternatives, based on the experience gained in the development of several existing global technical regulations. He emphasized the position of OICA that such clarification would constitute a further improvement and that it would help in the development of new or amended global technical regulations.

155. Due to the lack of time, AC.3 agreed to allocate more time to discuss it at its March 2018 session and to keep it still as an informal document.

175. AC.3 started discussion on the informal document WP.29-175-27, submitted by the representative of OICA. However, due to the numerous comments and the lack of time, AC.3 requested interested parties to submit their comments directly to the representative of OICA and to resume consideration on the basis of a new document incorporating the comments at its November 2018 session.

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.

90. The representative of Switzerland presented WP.29-173-07, containing an update on circumstances in the detection of aftermarket manipulation of EURO IV, EURO V and EURO VI truck engines by the suppression of AdBlue injection, up to mid-September 2017. He explained that there were six heavy-duty truck control centres in Switzerland, that have controlled 14,245 vehicles from February to mid-November 2017. During that period, 199 vehicles were detected with irregularities in the pollutant control equipment – or about one per cent of all controlled vehicles. The representative of Switzerland provided information on the emission category engines and brands of vehicles that are most commonly detected to be manipulated, the countries of origin and the specific kind of manipulation that is most commonly detected. He explained that the number of detected manipulations had in recent months decreased as a proportion of total number of vehicles controlled, concluding that the activities of control centres have shown effect.

91. The Chair of WP.29 invited stakeholders to contact the Swiss delegation to contribute to the discussion and invited the Swiss delegation to give an update at the next WP.29 session in March 2018.

104. The secretariat introduced WP.29-173-08 on activities under the purview of WP.29 carried out within the scope of the UNECE Road Safety Action Plan 2011-2020. The document would form part of an official document that would be submitted to ITC, along with relevant inputs from other Working Parties subsidiary to ITC, at its eightieth session in February 2018.

105. The Chair of the World Forum invited delegates to examine the document, provide any necessary feedback and input to the secretariat. He asked the secretariat to annex it to the report of this session and to submit it to the ITC 2018 session (Annex V).

113. The fifty-first session of the Executive Committee (AC.3) was held on 15 November 2017 and chaired by the representative of Japan. The representatives of 12 of the 36 Contracting Parties to the Agreement attended Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (representing Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), India, Japan. Norway, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Tunisia and the United States of America.

114. AC.3 noted the information, as of 15 November 2017, on the status of the Agreement, of the Global Registry and of the Compendium of Candidates (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1073/Rev.20), the status of the priorities (based on WP.29-173-10 as reproduced in Annex II to this report) of the 1998 Agreement and items on which the exchange of views should continue. AC.3 also noted that assistance could be obtained from the secretariat (Mr. E. Gianotti) about the obligations of Contracting Parties in the transposition process. Representatives were also reminded of their obligation to send the mandatory reports on the transposition process through their Permanent Missions in Geneva via the “1998 AGREEMENT-MISSIONS List” electronic system to the secretariat to ensure updating of the status document, which is the monitoring tool of the Agreement.

12. The annotated provisional agenda was adopted as amended (WP.29-173-11).

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).

63. The secretariat updated WP.29 about developments on the hosting of DETA by UNECE and the discussion of the UNECE Executive Committee (EXCOM) related to financing DETA (WP.29-173-04). The representative of the European Union gave, on behalf of the Chair of the IWG on DETA, a status report of the activities of the group at its thirtieth meeting. The secretariat presented WP.29-173-15 on behalf of the Chair of the IWG, explaining (i) what DETA is, (ii) the link between DETA and the activities of the WP.29, (iii) the expected benefits, (iv) the potential additional features of DETA, and (v) three scenarios to organize the migration of DETA to UNECE. He explained that scenario one corresponded to a stand-alone project as presented in WP.29-173-04, scenario two was based on scenario one but with important savings realized in segmenting the project and obtaining additional human resources through a Junior Professional Officer financed by one Contracting Party (potentially Germany). Scenario three was presented by the representative of Germany (WP.29-173-13) and proposed to temporarily host and finance DETA under the condition that UNECE takes over DETA under regular budget at the latest from 2022 onwards² and that the industry covers the development costs of the Unique Identifier and the Declaration of Conformity. Scenario three would allow an implementation date of DETA by mid 2018.

63 bis. Germany also presented a proposal (WP.29-173-13) to rename DETA which will be considered at the next session of WP.29 in March 2018.

64. WP.29 preferred the scenario three and thanked Germany for its offer. The representative of OICA clarified that their possible commitment covered only a fair share of the development costs of the Unique Identifier and mentioned that other industries and governments would also benefit from this DETA development and therefore should also contribute. The representatives of IMMA and CLEPA stated on the question of sponsoring the development of the Unique Identifier as part of the DETA-project, that they were studying the question and could not make any commitment at this time. The representative of Germany hope but cannot assure that the offer can be maintained for the March 2018 session of WP.29. The Chair urged all Contracting Parties to the 1958 Agreement and all stakeholders to find a solution for the financing for DETA before the next session of WP.29 in March 2018.

65. In parallel, WP.29 requested the secretariat and the IWG on DETA to reflect on the proposal made by the representatives of Australia, Austria and South Africa to explore ways to extend DETA with a feature allowing to charge users on a subscription basis, per download and/or upload of Type Approval documentation, as an alternative way to finance the hosting of DETA at UNECE, on the condition that this would not delay the installation of DETA at UNECE.

² Note by the secretariat: as UN Regular Budget is decided by Member States at the UN General Assembly, UNECE is not in the position to commit at this stage.

54. The representative of OICA introduced WP.29-173-14 to raise concerns that the new rules for extensions to existing type approvals under paragraph 31(b) of the guideline document were developed after the most recent amendments to UN Regulations, which therefore obviously could not take into account these new Rules. As a result, recently adopted Supplements could unexpectedly have a retroactive impact on some vehicle type approvals when these are extended. He proposed that Supplements to UN Regulations adopted by AC.1 at its March and June 2017 sessions should not be subject to paragraph 31 of the guidelines.

54 bis. WP.29 noted the proposal from OICA but did not support it.

63. The secretariat updated WP.29 about developments on the hosting of DETA by UNECE and the discussion of the UNECE Executive Committee (EXCOM) related to financing DETA (WP.29-173-04). The representative of the European Union gave, on behalf of the Chair of the IWG on DETA, a status report of the activities of the group at its thirtieth meeting. The secretariat presented WP.29-173-15 on behalf of the Chair of the IWG, explaining (i) what DETA is, (ii) the link between DETA and the activities of the WP.29, (iii) the expected benefits, (iv) the potential additional features of DETA, and (v) three scenarios to organize the migration of DETA to UNECE. He explained that scenario one corresponded to a stand-alone project as presented in WP.29-173-04, scenario two was based on scenario one but with important savings realized in segmenting the project and obtaining additional human resources through a Junior Professional Officer financed by one Contracting Party (potentially Germany). Scenario three was presented by the representative of Germany (WP.29-173-13) and proposed to temporarily host and finance DETA under the condition that UNECE takes over DETA under regular budget at the latest from 2022 onwards² and that the industry covers the development costs of the Unique Identifier and the Declaration of Conformity. Scenario three would allow an implementation date of DETA by mid 2018.

63 bis. Germany also presented a proposal (WP.29-173-13) to rename DETA which will be considered at the next session of WP.29 in March 2018.

64. WP.29 preferred the scenario three and thanked Germany for its offer. The representative of OICA clarified that their possible commitment covered only a fair share of the development costs of the Unique Identifier and mentioned that other industries and governments would also benefit from this DETA development and therefore should also contribute. The representatives of IMMA and CLEPA stated on the question of sponsoring the development of the Unique Identifier as part of the DETA-project, that they were studying the question and could not make any commitment at this time. The representative of Germany hope but cannot assure that the offer can be maintained for the March 2018 session of WP.29. The Chair urged all Contracting Parties to the 1958 Agreement and all stakeholders to find a solution for the financing for DETA before the next session of WP.29 in March 2018.

65. In parallel, WP.29 requested the secretariat and the IWG on DETA to reflect on the proposal made by the representatives of Australia, Austria and South Africa to explore ways to extend DETA with a feature allowing to charge users on a subscription basis, per download and/or upload of Type Approval documentation, as an alternative way to finance the hosting of DETA at UNECE, on the condition that this would not delay the installation of DETA at UNECE.

² Note by the secretariat: as UN Regular Budget is decided by Member States at the UN General Assembly, UNECE is not in the position to commit at this stage.

60. The representative of Japan, Chair of the IWG on IWVTA, introduced the “Question and Answer” (Q&A) document on Revision 3 (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/131) and WP.29-173-16 that clarifies Q&A No. 20. The World Forum adopted ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/131 as amended below:
Q&A No. 20, amend to read:

55. The representative of Japan, Chair of the IWG on IWVTA, introduced the draft UN Regulation No. 0 on uniform provisions concerning the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/108). He reported on the latest amendments to Annex 4 listing the UN Regulations covered by IWVTA (WP.29-173-18). He highlighted that other UN Regulations were in the process of being reviewed by the relevant Working Parties and that would be included in near future. Thus, he presented the draft Terms of References and Rules of Procedure for Phase 2 of the IWG on IWVTA (WP.29-173-17).

56. WP.29 welcomed the submission of draft UN Regulation No. 0 and acknowledged the work progress made by the IWG. The World Forum considered ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/108 and recommended its submission to AC.1 for voting.

58. WP.29 adopted the revised Terms of References and Rules of Procedure for Phase 2 of the IWG on IWVTA, as reproduced in Annex V to the session report.

55. The representative of Japan, Chair of the IWG on IWVTA, introduced the draft UN Regulation No. 0 on uniform provisions concerning the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/108). He reported on the latest amendments to Annex 4 listing the UN Regulations covered by IWVTA (WP.29-173-18). He highlighted that other UN Regulations were in the process of being reviewed by the relevant Working Parties and that would be included in near future. Thus, he presented the draft Terms of References and Rules of Procedure for Phase 2 of the IWG on IWVTA (WP.29-173-17).

56. WP.29 welcomed the submission of draft UN Regulation No. 0 and acknowledged the work progress made by the IWG. The World Forum considered ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/108 and recommended its submission to AC.1 for voting.

106. The secretariat presented WP.29-173-19, listing all of the adopted proposals of the 171st session of WP.29, which entered into force on 10 October 2017.

122. The representative of the European Union introduced WP.29-173-20 (superseding ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/144) aimed at providing an overview of the priority of the programme of work of the development of UN GTRs or amendments to the existing ones. She finally invited AC.3 to provide more details on new UN GTR activities. The representative of the United States of America underlined that especially for the development of new UN GTRs, sponsors should be assigned. The representative from OICA agreed with most of the proposed subjects, but underlined that:

1. Harmonisation is crucial, but issues on the same subjects already being developed in the framework of the 1958 Agreement should continue to be conducted in parallel;
2. Clarification was needed for the development of a UN GTR on Event Data Recorders (EDR); OICA supported this, but pointed out that there was a difference between EDR and data storage systems for automated vehicles and that the scope of the proposal should be clarified;
3. Clarification of the exact objectives would be welcome on the proposals, especially the one on driver recognition systems.

123. AC.3 agreed in principle on the content of WP.29-173-20 and requested the secretariat to distribute it with an official symbol at its March 2018 session for final revision and endorsement.

124. The representative of Japan stated that, regarding a next step for this agenda, the highly automated driving issue should be discussed not only under the 1958 Agreement but also under the 1998 Agreement, and that there is high possibility for this item to become a new UN GTR activity according to the programme of work.

156. The Administrative Committee (AC.4) did not convene, as the quorum could not be established.

50. The representative of the Russian Federation presented the activities of the Russian Federation concerning the designation of Technical Services according to the relevant provisions of the Revision 3 of the 1958 Agreement (WP.29-173-22). He also informed WP.29 about the new “E 22” form: for the communication form, the certificate of the technical service and the official correspondence. He mentioned on the facts of identifying falsified communications on the type approval. The mechanism for confirming legitimacy with direct requests to the Administrative Bodies of the Contracting Parties was very difficult and would take a long time.

50 bis. He reported on the difficulties faced by many Contracting Parties due to the lack of a central database for the consultation of approval documentation and suggested that the bodies issuing communications on the type approval organize national electronic registries databases on their official websites with the possibility of full access and viewing of these documents by the bodies of the Contracting Parties (including authorized certification bodies and technical services): the database would be linked to DETA once DETA would be established. WP.29 agreed with the representative of the Russian Federation on the importance of having an electronic exchange of type approval documentation among Contracting Parties in practical situations described in the presentation and also mentioned the activities of WP.29 on DETA.

10. Representatives of EuroMed beneficiary countries, high-level officials from the Governments of Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the State of Palestine and Tunisia: (a) provided information on their status of accession to and implementation of United Nations vehicle agreements, (b) expressed their country’s interest on the topics addressed by WP.29, and © informed the session about the ongoing efforts, achievements, challenges and needs.

79. In the context of the opening statements by EUROMED, the representative of Morocco made a presentation of the regulatory framework of the type approval and periodic technical inspection in his country and gave an outlook on coming activities. WP.29 welcomed this presentation and encouraged Morocco to consider the accession to the Agreements managed by WP.29.

7. The Senior Vehicle Regulations Expert of the EuroMed project introduced activities of the project aimed at promoting and supporting the accession of beneficiary countries to United Nations vehicle agreements. The process was carried out through a sequence of steps. The first was to introduce to beneficiary countries the legal framework for vehicle regulations in the United Nations system. The second step was a gap analysis of individual countries legal frameworks on road vehicles as compared to the United Nations system and the European Union legal framework in this field. Finally, based on the conducted country gap analysis and on discussions with the national administration stakeholders, the project would provide recommendations on changes to national legislations in the beneficiary countries. The project also would provide technical assistance to support national administrations in acceding to and applying the agreements. The EuroMed project expert updated WP.29 on the individual progress of EuroMed project beneficiary countries in acceding to and implementing United Nations vehicle agreements. The expert concluded his presentation by indicating that EuroMed project beneficiary countries face a series of individual challenges and needs for assistance in applying provisions of the United Nations vehicle agreements. He invited Contracting Parties and representatives of the industry to provide support to EuroMed countries to correctly implement the United Nations vehicle agreements.

7. The Senior Vehicle Regulations Expert of the EuroMed project introduced activities of the project aimed at promoting and supporting the accession of beneficiary countries to United Nations vehicle agreements. The process was carried out through a sequence of steps. The first was to introduce to beneficiary countries the legal framework for vehicle regulations in the United Nations system. The second step was a gap analysis of individual countries legal frameworks on road vehicles as compared to the United Nations system and the European Union legal framework in this field. Finally, based on the conducted country gap analysis and on discussions with the national administration stakeholders, the project would provide recommendations on changes to national legislations in the beneficiary countries. The project also would provide technical assistance to support national administrations in acceding to and applying the agreements. The EuroMed project expert updated WP.29 on the individual progress of EuroMed project beneficiary countries in acceding to and implementing United Nations vehicle agreements. The expert concluded his presentation by indicating that EuroMed project beneficiary countries face a series of individual challenges and needs for assistance in applying provisions of the United Nations vehicle agreements. He invited Contracting Parties and representatives of the industry to provide support to EuroMed countries to correctly implement the United Nations vehicle agreements.