October 2005
OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE
European Commission dispels two FIVA concerns
In October, the European Commission responded positively to two questions posed by FIVA.
The first concerns an announcement earlier this year that the Commission is considering potential restrictions on the use of mercury. At first FIVA members reported that this would not pose a problem. However, in October, it became clear that a restriction on the use of mercury would impact upon the restoration of Duesenberg cars which use mercury as a vibration damper in the crankshafts. FIVA took this concern to the European Commission who responded that at this stage, any Commission action would not impact such use of mercury – and that if their intentions broadened in the future, FIVA’s concerns will be taken into consideration.
The second concerned a rumour that the European Commission is considering banning the use of cars which only have brakes on two of the four wheels. The head of the DG TREN Road Safety Unit, Stefan Tostmann, who as of the beginning of October is new to the post and therefore is still learning the brief, made the necessary enquiries and then confirmed that there are no such plans underway in the Commission.Passenger car taxation – little action under the UK Presidency
Further to the information in last month’s update, the UK Presidency has held a Council Working Group meeting to discuss the Commission’s proposal on passenger car taxation. However, as previously suggested, the UK has now confirmed that this proposal will not be progressed this year, and due the need for unanimous voting on tax issues in Council, is unlikely to make any further progress in the near/foreseeable future.Commission consultation on Transport White Paper mid-term review
The European Commission has launched a mid-term review of its White Paper on "the European transport policy for 2010". While the majority of the issues under consideration are not relevant as they address road versus rail transport arguments, aviation policy etc, some are of interest and FIVA will submit comments before the deadline of 31 December. The Commission has listed 10 questions it wants answers/comments on. The relevant ones are:
Q4. Are there any developments in congestion and pollution on the main axes, in air transport, in the cities, in particularly sensitive areas?
Q5. What are the trends as regards road safety?
Q8. What actions of the White Paper need to be reinforced? What are the new actions to be added, in which new fields?
Q9. Which should be the priority actions between now and 2010 (congestion limitation, new technologies, trans-European network, charging, focus on the corridors, new actions on urban transport)?
Q10. What new additional actions between now and 2010 on safety issues (maritime, aviation, road)?INFORMATION
Germany moves toward vehicle bans
The German Upper House of Parliament has approved a draft law which will progressively require all cars and lorries to be labelled according to their emissions of fine particles (PM10) from next year. The action will enable municipalities to ban more polluting diesel vehicles from city centres during times of high pollution. Under the law all petrol-engine vehicles - which produce very little PM10 - and diesel vehicles meeting the latest, Euro 4, emission standards, will carry a green label. Diesel vehicles complying with Euro 2 or 3 emission standards will carry a white label. Diesel vehicles complying only with the oldest Euro 1 standard will not carry a label at all. Local authorities will then be allowed to temporarily ban vehicles without a label, or also those with a white label – a measure which is becoming more attractive to regulators as it has became clear that several cities are now suffering peaks of PM10 pollution that breach of EU air quality rules.
EU gears up for second climate change programme
The European Commission is to launch a second European climate change programme to devise new emission-cutting policies to reverse an upward trend in greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission plans to create three working groups to produce by mid-2006 a set of policy orientations that might be able to go to legislation – the WGs will address road transport, aviation and carbon capture.
EP calls for stronger environmental action
The European Parliament's Environment Committee has called for a major programme to curb greenhouse gas emissions – which it believes should include a "transformation" of energy, transport and building systems. The Committee resolution will constitute the EP’s response to European Commission proposals for post-2012 EU climate change policies tabled early this year – and says that all developed countries should aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions 15-30% by 2020 and 60-80% by 2050 (EU leaders adopted the first of these aims as official EU policy in the spring but rejected the second). The Committee believes that Europe should become the most energy efficient economy in the world by setting targets to cut energy intensity by 2.5-3% per year, and has said that average new car CO2 emissions should be slashed to 80-100 g/km "in the medium term", enforced through an emissions trading system.
The Committee has also proposed other measures including EU-wide speed limits, traffic charges and tax incentives.
Swedish EPA demands stronger EU air strategy
Sweden has complained that the European Commission should have set more ambitious targets for cutting air pollution than were actually proposed in the Café air quality strategy (see September update).
The proposals made in the Café programme were made less strict shortly before its publication following concerns that its estimated €12.1bn price tag would harm European industry (see earlier updates) – but the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency believes that that a return to the previous higher ambition level is necessary, and that the costs of doing so have been overestimated
Sweden raises its game on transport biofuels
Sweden has reinforced its commitment to increasing the use of biofuels for transport with proposed legislation adopting the EU biofuels directive target of a 5.75% share by 2010. The move is being taken despite advice earlier this year that the target would be difficult to reach
The new law will require larger fuel retail outlets to sell at least one type of renewable motor fuel and altogether, 60% of Sweden's approximately 4,000 service stations will be expected to comply by 2009.
Exemptions to EU ban on metals in cars amended
Exemptions to a general EU ban on the use of six heavy metals in vehicles have been updated by a Council decision which amends a list of exemptions passed under the EU's end-of-life vehicles directive in 2002 – from which historic vehicles are exempted. The most controversial among the changes is an extension by three years, until 1 July 2008 for continued use of nickel cadmium (NiCad) batteries in electric vehicles. The decision also extends by one year to 1 July 2006 the right to use lead in valve seats and in vulcanising agents and stabilisers in certain applications. It also introduces an entirely new exemption, running to 1 July 2007, for cadmium in certain optical components. However, it will also bring to an end, by 1 July 2008, the previously open ended exemption for the use of lead in bearing shells and bushes. It also further tightens a strict limit on lead content of copper used in brake linings which will effective from 1 July 2007.
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The FIVA Legislation Commission members are: Horst Bruning (Chairman); Tiddo Bresters, Andrew Burt, David Davis, Adalberto Gueli, Winfried Kallinger; Patrick Rollet, Svend Aage Tholstrup; and Carla Fiocchi (Secretariat)