A4-0012/97

Resolution on the Commission Green Paper 'Towards fair and efficient pricing in transport - policy options for internalizing the external costs of transport in the European Union' (COM(95)0691 - C4-0610/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission Green Paper (COM(95)0691 - C4-0610/95),

- having regard to the Commission Green Paper on 'sustainable mobility' (COM(92)0046), the Commission White Paper on the future development of the common transport policy (COM(92)0494), Parliament's resolutions of 18 September 1992 on transport matters ((OJ C 284, 2.11.1992, p. 164-179.)) and 18 January 1994 on the future development of the common transport policy ((OJ C 44, 14.2.1994, p. 53.)) and the conclusions of the Council of Transport Ministers on this subject,

- having regard to its resolution of 6 June 1996 ((OJ C 181, 24.6.1996, p. 21.)) on the communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the common transport policy action programme 1995-2000,

- having regard to the Commission communication on a future strategy for the control of atmospheric emissions from road transport taking into account the results from the Auto/Oil Programme (COM(96)0248) and the European Programme on Emissions, Fuels and Engine Technologies (EPEFE) and having regard to the Eurostat report 'Road transport and the environment - energy and tax aspects', which reveals the link between lower energy prices in the European Union and rising average energy consumption per capita in the transport sector,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinions of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0012/97),

A. whereas the safeguarding of sustainable mobility is the guiding principle of European transport policy,

B. whereas European transport policy and improved traffic management, particularly through the use of telematics, must satisfy the mobility requirements of individuals and businesses,

C. whereas efficient and cost-effective transport networks form the basis for the internal market, freedom of movement and the free movement of goods, the integration and development of the entire European continent and its economic recovery and improvements in the employment situation,

D. whereas demand for transport has risen virtually in line with GDP and whereas transport services employ about 7 million people and account for about 4% of GDP,

E. whereas the aim of the ideas set out in the Green Paper is not to increase the Member States' and EU's revenue but rather to enable EU citizens and enterprises to obtain tax relief where they opt for sustained mobility and improved transport logistics,

F. whereas resource-conserving traffic management, rewarded by the general conditions attached to the internalization of external costs, is to help strengthen the competitive position of European undertakings worldwide in the future and so improve the EU economy in the long term,

1. Welcomes the Green Paper as a step towards preserving and developing sustainable mobility and as a first approach to dealing with the problem of internalizing the external costs of transport;

2. Points out that it must be viewed in conjunction with other transport policy measures, in particular the various directives, the development of the citizens' network, trans-European networks and the application of telematics;

3. Stresses that a coherent transport policy must apply the same costing principles to all modes of transport (road, inland waterway, rail and air) and points out to the Commission that particular account should be taken of the direct relations between the different modes of transport, and suggests therefore that a more comprehensive approach covering all transport modes be taken;

4. Reminds the Commission that combined transport in particular must be a competitive option in the integrated approach to road and rail transport and inland waterway and coastal shipping and calls on the Commission to take account of this in the charging of costs;

5. Points out that a balanced transport policy must create equal conditions of competition for all modes of transport, so that each of them bears the external costs to which they give rise; the Green Paper lacks, for example, a concept for charging full infrastructure costs for rail, inland waterway and air transport;

6. Recognizes that congestion, accident, environmental and noise-related costs have been inadequately recorded and passed back to those responsible; yet no account has been taken of the fact that some of the costs mentioned have already been borne by road-users in the past;

7. Stresses that the purpose of quantifying external costs must not be to make transport 'more expensive', but only to ensure the efficient apportionment of existing costs, which the higher revenue must be used to offset;

8. Emphasizes that the proposed measures are in no way intended to banish the transport of goods from the roads, since the HGV is essential for the distribution of goods over land; the transport of goods by road is and remains a necessary component of all economic activity, although it too must be assessed in accordance with the polluter-pays principle;

9. Considers that, with a few exceptions, the principles and methods developed by the Commission are basically suitable for internalizing external costs and so correcting the distortions in the transport sector and for ensuring the more rational and efficient use of infrastructure and modes of transport;

10. Takes the view that external costs must be apportioned among all modes of transport at the same time so that fresh distortions of competition may be avoided and calls on the Commission to develop a flexible basis for calculation which enables advances in environmental compatibility to be reflected in the apportionment of external costs as a reduction in costs;

11. Considers the idea of electronic road-pricing also to be a suitable method in principle for apportioning road transport costs to users;

12. Considers that appropriate rules must be drawn up to ensure data protection;

13. Does not, however, underestimate the difficulties associated with introducing and operating such a system and therefore views it only as a medium-term option for internalizing costs;

14. Takes the view, therefore, that in the short term transport policy measures must be taken which, on the basis of the Green Paper, result in a fairer distribution of transport costs and the harmonization of conditions of competition for all modes of transport, but that it must also be ensured that they are acceptable to users and do not lead to distortions at social level; the public and the business community must be able to rely on a predictable framework;

15. Considers it necessary, as a first step, to harmonize the current transport policy instruments (motor vehicle taxes, mineral oil duties, infrastructure charges, registration fees and tolls) throughout Europe with due regard for the specific situation in each country, so that they can subsequently be completely replaced by road-pricing systems;

16. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, until such time as telematic methods of charging have been introduced throughout the EU, to harmonize rates of mineral oil duty and motor vehicle tax in the Community;

17. Calls on the Commission to include CO2 emissions and their global impact on the environment in the deliberations on and measures relating to the internalization of external costs;

18. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, when harmonizing rates of motor vehicle tax, to take account of the materials from which the vehicle is made, fuel consumption, potential emissions, noise levels, damage to the roads and vehicle safety as important criteria in the calculation of the tax rate;

19. Calls on the Member States to increase checks on the emission of harmful substances, noise and vehicle safety and on work and rest periods;

20. Supports the idea of stricter vehicle inspection and maintenance requirements and the introduction of producer responsibility for the long- term performance of engines and exhaust systems;

21. Believes that scrappage programmes would promote earlier disposal of the most polluting vehicles;

22. Calls on the Member States, when Directive 93/89/EEC on the application by Member States of taxes on certain vehicles used for the carriage of goods by road and tolls and charges for the use of certain infrastructures ((OJ L 279, 12.11.1993, p. 32.)) is amended, to take account of the differences in infrastructure charges to HGVs and passenger cars and to accept differentiation of road charges for HGVs as a function of the damage they do to the roads and the atmospheric emissions they produce;

23. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to draw up special arrangements for corridors in which the environment is particularly badly degraded and further proposes that Directive 93/89/EEC be amended so as to permit higher charges for the financing of alternative solutions; the corridors in which the environment is particularly badly degraded will be designated by Community law;

24. Calls on the Commission, with regard to the internalization of accident costs, to examine the costing methods it advocates and proposes that insurance premiums should be differentiated to a greater extent in order to reflect the specific risks;

25. Calls on the Commission to close at the earliest opportunity and as far as possible the gaps which exist in relation to both data and the method of internalization and to refine and consolidate the system, taking account of the success achieved by the various modes of transport in the further development of sustainable mobility through advances in technology, organization and infrastructure;

26. Calls on the Commission to draw up a comprehensive study showing unequivocally the external costs caused by individual modes of transport as a reliable basis on which to draw conclusions in the forthcoming White Paper;

27. Calls on the Commission to draw up guidelines for applying the rules of competition which would allow a road-pricing system to be introduced;

28. Points out that the internalization of external costs is a very important step for the European Union's legislation, but that in the overall context there is also a need to bring the Central and Eastern European countries progressively closer; believes that the association agreements, the accession negotiations now beginning and the Pan-European Transport Conferences represent a potential forum;

29. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.