The European Union has committed itself to providing for a high level of environmental and public health protection and has taken on ambitious objectives as part of the EU air quality policy and the integrated climate and energy policy framework. Among other measures, common EU standards limiting the emission of atmospheric pollutants from motor vehicles have been introduced to address this situation and to ensure the proper functioning of the single market. Successive "Euro" emission standards for light duty vehicles were initiated in the EU starting in 1993, the most recent ones being Euro 5 and Euro 6. The work on reducing emissions is also in progress for heavy duty vehicles (buses and trucks) with the Euro VI standard. Furthermore, the European Commission has a comprehensive strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from new motor vehicles sold in the European Union, to ensure that the EU meets its greenhouse gas emission targets.

In light of rapid developments in automotive technology, persistent air quality problems in urban areas, and the experience made in implementing the existing legislation, there is a constant need to keep the relevant legislation under review.

In this context, The European Commission is launching a public consultation to gather views from relevant stakeholders regarding a bundle of six individual measures. These measures are aimed at updating the current emissions legislation and type approval requirements to technical progress and to simplify the legal framework by introducing a number of complementary provisions to the Euro 5/6 light duty (LD) and Euro VI heavy duty (HD) emission standards, and the general safety regulation.