Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-01-Speech-1-057"
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"en.20020701.5.1-057"2
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"Madam President, I wish to congratulate the rapporteur, and I think that this report really enables us to make progress on an issue of great significance politically, economically, and in terms of environmental and energy policy. Producing and utilising fuels derived from biomass is a political and economic alternative to importing oil. The transport sector's demand for energy will continue to grow. That is evident to all of us, as society is becoming ever more mobile and the number of vehicles on Europe's roads will also continue to increase dramatically after EU enlargement.
Europe's economy and jobs are inevitably dependent on security of supply, so fiscal support is the right way ahead, as we can expect the production of fuels from biomass to completely replace the import of fuel oil as soon as a few decades hence. It is therefore right and proper for Europe-wide fiscal instruments to promote biofuels over a transitional period. A common internal market demands more than the development of instruments by some states and not by others.
Because they contain a proportion of carbon dioxide and need to be mixed with petroleum, biofuels are currently subject to the duty levied on petroleum products. It is therefore also right that we recommend to the plenary that it should go beyond the Commission proposal and consider as a possible incentive not only reduced rates of duty but also actual exemption from it, in order to make progress with further deliberate promotion of biofuels.
As fiscal benefits, whether in the form of reductions or exemptions, lead to marked cost reductions, the competitiveness of biofuels can be guaranteed. This promotion can simultaneously create jobs in agriculture and plant engineering, leading in turn to higher tax yields and social security contributions. In the final analysis, the production of biofuels is labour-intensive and has a greater impact on employment than the production of conventional fuels. More favourable fiscal treatment at Community level is in accordance with the principles of the internal market and will also tend to enhance the EU's competitiveness. There may be resultant innovations in the areas of process engineering, cultivation and harvesting, and also in the production of motor vehicles. Community-wide requirements for biofuels to be of a quality standard compatible with state-of-the-art motors would make it possible for motor engineering to advance to the point of producing the zero-emission car, which would probably be an export winner. All this enhances growth and creates jobs, as does the export of relevant products and processes to countries that are at present economically dependent on imported oil."@en1
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