By Patrick Raleigh, Crain News Service
BRUSSELS (Nov. 3, 2014) — European Union (EU) authorities will need to step up their enforcement of tire labeling to ensure the success of the scheme, Martina Shchuryk, senior manager government affairs EMEA at Goodyear Dunlop Tires S.A., has warned.
Speaking on the second day of the Future Tire conference, Oct. 28-29 in Brussels, Ms. Shchuryk highlighted the need for market surveillance by authorities to check compliance with the label scheme — now approaching its third year in the EU.
“With any European legislation it is important that the rules are not only adopted but also properly followed and inspected by all the stakeholders,” the Goodyear official told delegates at the event.
“In terms of tire labeling, each of the 28 Member States should dedicate an authority for supervision and there should be a clear set of penalties to ensure proper action against any infringement,” she said.
Ms. Shchuryk went on to call for “a clear process of checks to ensure the label is present at the point of sale as the law demands. Even more importantly, there must be checks to ensure the declared label ratings correspond to the performance of the tires.”
Member States are moving at different speeds towards these enforcement goals, with the Goodyear manager listing Germany, Sweden, Belgium and The Netherlands among the countries to have initiated enforcement measures, such as checks at dealerships or by requiring technical information from tire manufacturers. Some other countries, though, have yet to introduce any such measures, she said.
This report appeared on the website of European Rubber Journal, a UK-based sister publication of Tire Business.