Article 6

Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Council Directive 93/12/EEC · European Union

1. By way of derogation from Articles 3, 4 and 5, Member States may require that in specific areas fuels may only be marketed if they comply with more stringent environmental specifications than those provided for in this Directive for all or part of the vehicle fleet with a view to protecting the health of the population in a specific agglomeration or the environment in a specific ecologically sensitive area in a Member State, if atmospheric pollution constitutes or may reasonably be expected to constitute a serious and recurrent problem for human health or the environment. 2. A Member State wishing to make use of a derogation provided for in paragraph 1 shall submit its request in advance, including the justification for it, to the Commission. The justification shall include evidence that the derogation respects the principle of proportionality and that it will not disrupt the free movements of persons and goods. 3. The Member States involved shall provide the Commission with data on ambient air quality for the area in question a well as the predicted effects on air quality of the measures proposed. 4. The Commission shall provide this information to the other Member States without delay. 5. Member States may give their comments on the request and its justification within two months of the date of the Commission's provision of information. 6. The Commission shall take a decision on the request of Member States within three months after the date on which Member States have submitted their comments. The Commission will take Member States' comments into account and will notify them of its decision and inform the European Parliament and the Council at the same time. 7. Any Member State may refer the Commission's decision to the Council within one month of its notification or, in the case of a non-decision, refer the matter to the Council within one month of the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 6. 8. The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within two months of the matter being referred to it.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-29 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.