Minister of Transport and Communications Sanna Marin said on Wednesday that the government should re-evaluate plans to adopt a new class of vehicles, lightweight cars, following the advice of the EU Commission opposing the proposal.
The reform is due to take effect on 1 September.
Speed-limited passenger vehicles, also known as lightweight cars, are a new class of transportation with a minimum age limit of 15 years instead of the normal 18. The vehicles have a maximum speed of 60 km/h; and the cars must have an unladen mass of 1,500 kg or 1,800 kg for fully electric versions.
On Tuesday the EU notified Finland that the planned traffic law amendment may endanger traffic safety on Finnish roads. Specifically, the Commission said that vulnerable road users such as small children, pedestrians, cyclists and animals could be at risk under the new law.
In February the Finnish Cyclists Federation filed a complaint with the Commission over the plan to re-designate some vehicles as lightweight cars.
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Marin said on Twitter that the European Commission's public note on Finland's new car law should be taken very seriously by government.
"The mass of a lightweight car is considerable. They have powerful motors and they may accommodate up to five passengers including the driver, and they may even be used to pull trailers. These combined factors drastically compromise road safety, even with a low maximum speed," the Commission wrote.
The EU also said that the proposed lightweight cars would be in the same category as tractors and much flimsier moped cars – but that the class of vehicle would not actually correspond to either.
Drivers with a license for a light all terrain vehicle ( ATV or quad, category AM/121), passenger car (category B) or motorcycle (category A) would be allowed to drive the lightweight cars.
"There are no restrictions on the other technical properties of passenger cars being converted to lightweight cars, such as the power, acceleration, type of transmission, or number of seats," the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency website said.