23.11.2011 Official Journal of the European Union L 305/1 (Legislative acts) | DIRECTIVES DIRECTIVE 2011/88/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 November 2011 amending Directive 97/68[EC as regards the provisions for engines placed on the market under the flexibility scheme (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 114 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), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2), Whereas: 1 Directive 97/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1997 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from internal combustion engines to be installed in non- road mobile machinery (}) concerns exhaust emissions and emission limits of air pollutants from engines installed in non-road mobile machinery and contributes to the protection of human health and the environment. Directive 97/68/EC  provided that emission limits applicable to type-approval of the majority of compression ignition engines under Stage IIl A were to be replaced by the more stringent limits under Stage III B. Those limits apply from 1 January 2010 as regards the type-approval for those engines and from 1 January 2011 with regard to the placing on the market of those engines. () O] C 48, 15.2.2011, p. 134. (3) Position of the European Parliament of 25 October 2011 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 8 November 2011. () OJ L 59, 27.2.1998, p. 1. (2) The revision of Directive 97/68/EC is currently being prepared by the Commission in line with the requirements of Article 2 of Directive 2004/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 amending Directive 97/68/EC (*). In order to ensure that the revised Directive is in line with Union standards for good air quality, and in the light of experience, scientific findings and available tech- nologies, the Commission should, in the upcoming revision of Directive 97/68/EC and subject to impact assessment, consider: — establishing a new emission stage — Stage V — that should be based, subject to technical feasibility, on the requirements of Euro VI standards for heavy- duty vehicles, — introducing new requirements for the reduction of particulate matter, namely a particulate number limit that applies for all compression ignition engine categories, where technically feasible, so as to ensure an effective reduction of ultra-fine particles, — taking a comprehensive approach to promoting emission-reducing provisions and retrofitting of after-treatment systems on the existing fleet of non- road mobile machinery on the basis of the currently ongoing discussions under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe regarding harmonised requirements for retrofit emission control devices; this approach should support Member States’ efforts to improve air quality and to promote the protection of workers, — establishing a method providing for the periodic testing of non-road mobile machinery and vehicles, in particular to establish whether their emissions performance complies with the values given at regis- tration, () O] L 146, 30.4.2004, p. 1.