Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-05-05-Speech-3-544"
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"en.20100505.76.3-544"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that the Spanish Presidency has correctly situated the electric car strategy in a broad – broader – context that relates not only to electric cars but also to the development and protection of the car industry, in the context of European industrial policy. In this way it is considering how industry, industrial development and job creation will look in the decades to come.
Therefore, this decision, which the Commission supports, targets – through a two-pronged strategy, which certainly does not rule out a serious effort to reduce CO
emissions from traditional vehicles – two areas: combustion-engine cars, which must be improved, and technology and research, because, as Mrs Bilbao Barandica and Mr Pallone were saying, it is only right that we focus on technology and research if we want to overcome the challenge on the global market. We cannot conceive of having a competitive European car industry if strong action is not taken in the fields of innovation and research: any initiatives and support from Parliament in this area are therefore very welcome.
Choosing an electric car does not mean excluding other options: I say this to Mr Cancian, who stressed the importance of hybrid cars, of hydrogen cars. Electric cars are an important resource that have already gained broad support and obtained positive results. Many Member States, in fact, are choosing them. However, I repeat – because I have also heard some MEPs oppose the principle of electric cars, which are the subject of this evening’s debate – that electric cars are an extraordinary opportunity but are not the only opportunity, because our objective is to have a European industry that is more competitive on the international markets and to reduce pollution and CO
emissions in the transport system, including in the urban transport system. I would point out to Mr van Nistelrooij that, during the last parliamentary term, the European Commission presented the urban action plan, which accords huge importance to electric transport in this context.
Of course, it takes a great deal of work to produce a competitive electric car. Someone raised the issue of standardisation: in the Commission document the Union’s standardisation bodies have already been given the task, in 2010, of developing a harmonised European standard for electric vehicle recharging systems by next year. We have already responded to these concerns, just as we have also responded, in the document approved by the College, to the concerns expressed by Mrs Merkies about the issue of raw materials. She raised the issue of lithium, along with other MEPs who have spoken about batteries during this debate. Precisely because it recognises the problem, the Commission has decided to include in its work programme – and we also spoke about this during a recent meeting with Mrs Merkies – a communication on the problem of raw materials, which is a priority for us.
Some MEPs – Mr Belet, Mrs Matias – mentioned the problem of employment, but many other MEPs also spoke about the retraining of workers, because if we are to have an industrial system in the car industry which is highly innovative, which is focused not only on electric vehicles but also on the development of a transformed combustion engine – less-polluting combustion engines but all the other opportunities too – then we must focus on retraining workers as well, because our aim is to comply with the Treaty of Lisbon, which regards the market as the best vehicle for creating social policy.
However, the concerns that have been raised by some Members are already addressed in the text of the Commission communication, in which it is explicitly stated that the Commission is willing to allocate resources from the European Social Fund to specific initiatives to retrain and provide vocational refresher training for workers, precisely so that they too can be instrumental in achieving this innovation, which should make European industry more competitive.
I believe that Europe has a strategy. Mrs Stassen is opposed to electric cars: they are an opportunity, but it is ultimately up to the market to decide. There is also the option not to buy electric cars; no one is forcing Europeans to buy them. However, Mr Zasada presented another problem, which concerns the safety of transport: without doubt, when it comes to marketing, we will have to assess in every way possible the future problems in relation to both noise pollution and polluting substances, as well as the full impact of car manufacturing and scrapping on the environment. We have explained this problem clearly and, in fact, we are convinced that having electric cars will enable us to make progress, including in the area of safety. However, we must provide the manufacturers in the sector with specific guidelines, so that it really is possible to have a non-polluting electric car.
I have tried to answer almost all of the questions that have been put by the MEPs, and I shall also reply to Mr Lange, who mentioned CARS 21. In the communication that was approved by the Commission and subsequently presented to Parliament and the Council, it is expressly stated, on the final few pages, that we are anxious to revive the CARS 21 high-level group. The latter was an extraordinary opportunity to work with the stakeholders and it must remain as such, especially since we believe – in unison with the Spanish Presidency and with the vast majority of the MEPs, Mr President, who have spoken during this debate – that the car industry is an extraordinary asset, which must certainly be adapted and in some cases restructured, which will certainly have to be modernised, but which has extraordinary potential and which is the jewel in the crown of the European industrial and entrepreneurial system.
For this reason we are all committed to ensuring – and this evening’s debate proves it – that this industrial sector can become more competitive. We are more competitive if we focus on innovation and research. I believe that choosing to commit ourselves to electric cars, too, is a good way of ensuring that European industry can compete on the global market."@en1
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