L 127/134 Official Journal of the European Union 29.4.2014 DIRECTIVE 2014/47/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 April 2014 on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union and repealing Directive 2000/30/EC (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 91 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), After consulting the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (3), Whereas: (1)  In its White Paper of 28 March 2011 entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’, the Commission set out a ‘zero-vision’ objective whereby the Union should move close to zero fatalities in road transport by 2050. With a view to attaining that objective, vehicle technology is expected to contribute greatly to the improvement of the safety record of road transport. (2) In its Communication entitled ‘Towards a European road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020°, the Commission proposed a further halving of the overall number of road fatalities in the Union by 2020, starting from 2010. With a view to attaining that goal, the Commission set out seven strategic objectives, and identified actions for safer vehicles, a strategy to reduce the number of injuries and measures to improve the safety of vulnerable road users, in particular motorcyclists. (3)  Roadworthiness testing is a part of a wider regime designed to ensure that vehicles are kept in a safe and environmentally acceptable condition during their use. That regime should cover periodic roadworthiness testing of vehicles and technical roadside inspection of vehicles used for commercial road transport activities, as well as providing for a vehicle registration procedure allowing for the suspension of a vehicle’s authorisation to be used in road traffic where the vehicle constitutes an immediate risk to road safety. Periodic testing should be the main tool to ensure roadworthiness. Roadside inspections of commercial vehicles should merely be complementary to periodic testing. (4) A number of technical standards and requirements in respect of vehicle safety and environmental characteristics have been adopted within the Union. It is necessary to ensure, through a regime of unexpected technical roadside inspections, that vehicles remain roadworthy. (5)  Technical roadside inspections are a crucial element for the achievement of a continuous high level of roadwor- thiness of commercial vehicles throughout their use. Such inspections contribute not only to road safety and a reduction of vehicle emissions but also to avoiding unfair competition in road transport due to acceptance of different inspection levels as between the Member States. () OJ C 44, 15.2.2013, p 128. (?) Position of the European Parliament of 11 March 2014 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 24 March 2014.