This Communication outlines the direction of future automotive policy. In the spirit of better regulation it aims to promote coherent interaction between different policy areas, provide predictability and seek the protection of public interest (e.g. environment and safety) while attempting to reduce the regulatory burden on industry. It presents the Commission’s position on the CARS 21 High Level Group which brought together the main stakeholders (Member States, industry, NGOs and MEPs) in 2005 to examine the main policy areas impacting the European automotive industry and to make recommendations for future public policy and regulatory framework. At the outset of the CARS 21 Group, industry raised concerns about the high cumulative cost of legislation. The review conducted in CARS 21 concluded that the current type-approval system was effective, should be maintained and that most of the legislation was necessary and useful in the interest of protecting health, safety, consumers and the environment. The CARS 21 Group did, however, identify 38 EC directives which can be replaced with international UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) regulations. It also identified 25 directives and UNECE regulations, for which self- or virtual testing can be introduced. The Commission supports these recommendations, but will ensure that in referring to UN/ECE regulations, the Community will keep its ability to legislate independently from the UN/ECE system, where appropriate. In the area of the environment, the Communication endorses the further limiting of pollutant emissions in line with the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution. Furthermore, it describes the key elements of the future Commission strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from cars set out in the Communication on results of the review of the current Community strategy. The future strategy is based on an integrated approach to achieving the EU objective of 120 g/km CO2 by 2012 through a combination of EU and Member States action. The Commission will propose legislation, focusing on mandatory reductions of the emissions of CO2 to reach the objective of 130 g/km for the average new car fleet by means of improvements in vehicle motor technology, and a further reduction of 10 g/km of CO2, or equivalent if technically necessary, by other technological improvements and by an increased use of bio-fuels. It will encourage additional efforts by the Member States and the consumer. The strategy is to be seen in the context of the recently adopted Commission Communication on Energy for Europe. The Communication identifies a series of measures to be considered in the area of road safety. A number of vehicle-related actions are proposed with the inclusion of the Electronic Stability Control in new vehicles being the most significant. The Communication stresses the need to adopt a holistic approach to road safety involving vehicle features, infrastructure and road users. The Communication aligns the main concerns of the automotive sector to trade policy. It proposes to assess the potential of using bi-lateral trade agreements (particularly in the Asian region) to improve market access and reinforces the need enforce intellectual property rights globally. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting