As reported to ECF members a couple of weeks ago[1] the European Parliament IMCO committee, led by MEP Charanzová, agreed with ECF to exclude pedelecs from the Motor Insurance Directive. This was rubberstamped yesterday and approved in Strasbourg by the European Parliament plenary[2].

The European Commission had argued that any vehicle with any type of motor in any traffic situation should be treated as a motor vehicle and its users mandated into taking out expensive motor vehicle insurance, even if they had other 3^rd party insurance.

ECF felt this was disproportionate to the risks involved in 3^rd party crashes with power assisted bicycles which are essentially bicycles with a 250 watt electric boost travelling at similar average speeds to bicycles. The European Parliament lead rapporteur in the IMCO committee MEP Charanzová agreed as did other shadow rapporteurs MEP Durand, MEP Pospíšil, and MEP Dalton.

The draft report from the IMCO committee which all MEPS voted on yesterday, uses type approval to define a motor vehicle within the context of the Directive. This then excludes pedal assisted bicycles with power less than 250 watts and with a motor cut off speed at 25 km/h. Speed pedelecs will not be excluded as they are type approved, although member states will be able to exclude them at the national level. Member states will of course be able to insist other type of 3^rd party insurance for any other vehicle that falls outside of type approval at the national level also.

This issue is not finished as the European Council, consisting of the EU Member States and the co-legislator, has not yet had meaningful discussion on the issue. Though the Council has not yet agreed its final position we would hope that it takes notice of the strong agreement in the Parliament. We will be continuing our work and contacting Member States to try to persuade them to agree with the Parliament that this legislation is not appropriate for low powered pedelecs.

ECF would like to thank all those who contacted MEPs, your actions made a difference, and we will count on your support when the Council works on this also, and also to the rapporteurs and those MEPs who voted in favour of the report.

The procedure file can be found here https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?reference=2018/0168(COD)&l=en