Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an ecopoint system applicable to heavy goods vehicles travelling through Austria for the year 2004"

(COM(2001) 807 final - 2001/0310 (COD))

(2002/C 221/19)

On 30 January 2002, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, in accordance with Article 71 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 30 April 2002. The rapporteur was Mr Kielman.

At its 391st plenary session, held on 29 and 30 May 2002, (meeting of 30 May), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 81 votes to 19, with 10 abstentions:

1. Introduction

1.1. An agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Austria concerning the transit of goods by rail and by road was signed on 2 May 1992; upon the accession of Austria to the EU, these provisions were incorporated into EU law. The ecopoint system which expires on 31 December 2003 was laid down in the above agreement.

1.2. The aim of the ecopoint system is to secure over the 12-year life span of the system (1992-2003) a 60 % reduction in NOX emissions from lorries with a maximum authorised weight of more than 7.5 tonnes, used for the transit of goods by road through Austria.

1.3. The system could have expired on 31 December 2000 if, by that date, NOX emissions had actually been cut by 60 % compared with the reference year, 1991.

1.4. However, analyses showed that by the end of 2000 the reduction had been 55 % rather than 60 %. The ecopoint system will thus remain in force until 31 December 2003.

1.5. A ceiling was also set on the actual number of transit journeys. The number of journeys by vehicles from EU Member States in any given year was not to exceed 108 % of the number for the reference year of 1991.

1.6. In view of the fact that the ecopoint system remains in force up to 31 December 2003, the Laeken European Council of 14 and 15 December 2001 called, in point 58 of the Presidency Conclusions, for the system to be extended as a temporary solution. The European Commission takes the view that such an extension furthers the goal of protecting the environment in vulnerable areas such as the Alpine region.

1.7. This measure is deemed necessary by the Commission pending the adoption of the framework proposal on charging for the use of infrastructure, as set out in the White Paper on European Transport Policy for 2010.

1.8. Should the framework proposal not be adopted, the proposal under review makes provision for a possible extension in 2004 for one year (2005) and thereafter a second year, at most (2006). In the Commission's view, there are legal grounds for this action.

1.9. In Annex 1 to the proposal, the total number of ecopoints for the EU-15 for 2004 is set at 9422488, the same figure as for 2003.

2. General comments

2.1. The ESC believes that the reasons for the Commission's proposal can be ascribed to the need to take account of, on the one hand, the requirements in respect of the freedom of movements for goods and services - one of the four basic freedoms - and, on the other hand, concern for environmental protection in vulnerable areas, such as the Alpine region.

2.2. The ESC believes that this latter concern was one of the contributory factors behind the establishment of the ecopoint system in 1992, under which less-polluting lorries are charged fewer ecopoints than more polluting vehicles.

2.3. The ESC highlights the fact that the ecopoint system applies only to road transit traffic through Austria. No such system applies to other forms of transport.

2.4. The ESC also believes that not only environmental factors, but also socio-economic issues, are important in assessing the Commission proposal. It should therefore be borne in mind that there are still no suitable alternatives, above all qualitatively speaking, to transit traffic through Austria, even though Protocol 9 stipulates that the Community and the Member States concerned are to adopt measures to promote rail and combined transport. In this respect, the Committee suggests that the Commission promote consideration of the appropriate measures to boost demand for this type of transport, and strongly urge all the national governments to boost combined rail transport, especially in the areas of infrastructure and locomotives.

2.5. In the proposal for a regulation the ESC sees the trade-off between free movement of goods and services on the one hand, and environmental protection on the other, as the basis for ensuring quality of life. The ESC therefore accepts as a compromise the Commission's decision not to set a limit in its proposal on the number of actual transit journeys that can be made from 1 January 2004. The ceiling set in 1992 of 108 % of the number of transit journeys made in 1992 has been perceived in the past few years by the transport sector as restrictive and unjustified, because more and more less-polluting lorries are being used. The ESC also notes that the title of the Proposal for a Regulation refers to the establishment of an ecopoint system for the year 2004 only. The ESC therefore takes the view that the provisions of Article 3(3) should be deleted as the adoption or failure to adopt the framework proposal on charging for the use of infrastructure mentioned in Article 3(3) cannot seriously be regarded as providing a legal basis for an automatic extension of the ecopoint system after 2004. Subsequent extensions will have to be decided upon individually and only on the basis of specific proposals put forward by the Commission.

2.6. The ESC also wishes to point to the situation that will arise if new Member States accede before the ecopoint system expires. In that case, separate arrangements will have to be made for transit traffic.

3. Specific comments

3.1. The ESC believes that the number of ecopoints for 2004 set out in Annex 1 of the Commission's proposal - 9422488 for the EU-15, the same number of points as for 2003 - is restrictive, although it does constitute a reasonable starting point, in the light of the Commission's proposal.

3.2. The ESC assumes that the number of ecopoints available for 2004 will be allocated between the Member States in accordance with the same criteria which were applied when the system was introduced in 1992, namely the number of transit journeys actually made in 1991.

3.3. The ESC takes the view that every effort must be made to provide as soon as possible an adequate number of high-quality rail links for road transit traffic, so that really affordable alternative transport options are available.

3.4. The Committee believes that in future Commission studies, account should be taken of economic, competition-related and operational factors arising from the need to make the south-north and west-east flow of goods as smooth as possible.

3.5. The ESC also feels it is very important in this context to develop a coherent and consistent transport policy for vulnerable regions, such as the Alpine region, although the interdependence of the countries in question means that measures cannot be taken unilaterally, so as to prevent detours, for example.

3.6. In this connection, the ESC supports more favourable treatment for less-polluting vehicles compared with the more-polluting types. This should apply both in respect of the number of ecopoints charged per journey and of taxation.

Thus for example a system could be developed at European level to protect vulnerable regions, whereby the environmental impact of the transport mode would affect the choice of mode more than is currently the case.

4. Summary and conclusions

4.1. The ESC believes that the Proposal for a Regulation establishing an Ecopoint System applicable to heavy goods vehicles travelling through Austria for the year 2004 as put forward by the Commission, is open to question.

4.2. The proposal should be seen as a temporary solution, applicable to the year 2004 only, pending adoption of the framework for infrastructure charging provided for in the White Paper on European Transport Policy for 2010 and subject to the deletion of Article 3(3), as there is no serious legal basis for this latter provision.

4.3. The ESC wishes to make the following comments on various points of the Commission proposal:

- in the short term a real effort must be made to meet the commitment to provide an adequate number of high-quality rail transit routes for carriage of goods;

- the provision of the same number of ecopoints for the 15 EU Member States as in 2003, with the same distribution of ecopoints between the Member States as hitherto and non-application of the 108 % rule, is considered by the ESC to represent an acceptable compromise;

- the ESC points out that less-polluting goods vehicles should also benefit from more favourable tax treatment than more-polluting vehicles;

- to protect vulnerable regions in Europe, the ESC thinks it is important to develop a system at European level whereby the environmental impact of the mode of transport affects the choice of transport mode more than is currently the case.

Brussels, 30 May 2002.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke Frerichs

APPENDIX

to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee

The following amendments, which were supported by at least a quarter of the votes cast, were rejected when put to the vote:

Point 2.5

Delete the final three sentences of this point: "from 'The ESC also notes that the title of the Proposal for a Regulation ...' to 'on the basis of specific proposals put forward by the Commission'."

Result of the vote

For: 37, against: 41, abstentions: 11.

Point 4.1

Replace the existing text of point 4.1 by the following: "The ESC believes that the Proposal for a Regulation establishing an ecopoint system applicable to heavy goods vehicles travelling through Austria for the year 2004, as put forward by the Commission, is a controversial but nonetheless acceptable proposal."

Result of the vote

For: 30, against: 47, abstentions: 13.

Point 4.4, 3rd indent

Add the following: "... more polluting vehicles; by way of example, the ecopoint system could be confined to vehicles belonging to categories EURO 0, I and II, whilst vehicles belonging to categories EURO III and above could be exempted from the system in order to encourage their use."

Result of the vote

For: 45, against: 59, abstentions: 8.