Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-01-14-Speech-1-070"
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"en.20080114.14.1-070"2
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") Mr President, Commissioner Verheugen, the report that we are discussing is in fact only a report on a report, namely that which was drawn up by the Commission on the motor car of the future. However, on 19 December the European Commission adopted a proposal relating to future permitted CO2 emissions from passenger cars. The public is therefore naturally interested to see how the European Parliament will react to this proposal and the extent to which the decisions taken by Parliament are consistent with others that have been adopted more recently. We have just been debating and voting on the report presented by my colleague Chris Davies and it is therefore important that we should also be consistent. I would like to say something about this at a later point, for the CARS 21 report also covers many aspects that have nothing whatsoever to do with CO2 emissions.
It is very important that we should concern ourselves in this House with the subject of motor vehicles. Why? Because we have been discussing the Lisbon agenda for years now, and because all this while we have been debating the competitiveness of European industry. Here we have a sector where we really are competitive. In the premium market, for example, Europe has been setting the standard at international level. More than 80% of the world’s top-of-the-range motor cars come from Europe. The industry is one of the cornerstones of Europe’s economy and is also a key factor for European competitiveness.
CARS 21 stands for Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st Century. This is a Communication from the Commission, which in 2005 set up the CARS 21 High Level Group in order to draw up proposals for a future regulatory framework for the EU automotive industry. The aim of this exercise was to identify the adjustments that would have to be made to the automotive industry in order to keep this sector competitive in the years ahead. It is not possible, at this point, to go into all the proposals that were made. However, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy have drawn up a list of 89 of these. I cannot deal with them all here, but they relate to issues such as road safety, environmental protection, the internal market, global trade, research and innovation, and many other things besides.
Let me just single out a few of the aspects involved. We need to complete the internal market for car tuning parts and spares, for example. It is unfair that German automotive tuning companies, for instance, are not allowed to sell products such as wheels in Italy because that country bans after-market tuning parts, while Italian manufacturers on the other hand can export to any country they choose, including Germany. Here Europe needs a proper internal market for tuning and spare parts and we also need equal safety standards for the automotive tuning sector. In addition, we need to introduce an EU-wide type-approval system, for there are blatant discrepancies in this area at the present time.
Here is something else too: we need a more simplified system for regulating type-approval procedures for used vehicles acquired within the EU and elsewhere. Some national states have set high obstacles and built up a massive bureaucracy that makes it very difficult for dealers and private buyers of used vehicles. Europe needs a common regulatory system in this area. This will also be an important tool when it comes to fleet renewal. We are developing a climate-protection policy in many other areas and we need it here too, which means we need to adjust and adapt.
Another important issue concerns research funding. The automobile industry needs more research money from the Member States. The growing number of mandatory targets, such as legislation on CO2 emissions, requires continuous adaptation on the part of the car industry. If Europe is to strengthen its position in this market, both the Member States and the European Union will have to invest far more in vehicle research, and not just in developing alternative drive systems but in other areas too, such as energy storage. We are already five to ten years behind our Asian competitors when it comes to research into storage battery technology.
Now to the subject of CO2: in coordination with Chris Davies, the rapporteur for the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, we have once again set out a number of central parameters. These are based on the concept of penalties instead of bans, with vehicle weight being a key parameter, but they are also centred on a realistic assessment of when the CO2 legislation can take effect. Parliament has decided that the target date should be 2015. We have also voted for the figure of 125 grams as the basic emission target. If I could now just make one comment to the Commission: the penalty that you have specified in your proposal is 15 times higher than that imposed on CO2 emissions from chimneys. This makes CO2 from vehicle exhausts 15 times more expensive than that which is emitted from chimneys. For this reason we require a realistic rating. What we have at present is too ambitious. I should like to express my thanks to those colleagues who helped put this report together."@en1
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"Jorgo Chatzimarkakis,"1
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