WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1502/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Compulsory use of reformulated petrol in the European Union
Date: 1996-06-12
Institutions: European Parliament, FERNANDEZ ALBOR
Subjects: air quality, environmental protection, marketing, non-polluting vehicle, oxygen, petrol, road transport, transport policy













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91996E1502

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1502/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Compulsory use of reformulated petrol in the European Union  


Official Journal C 345 , 15/11/1996 P. 0080 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1502/96 by Gerardo Fernández-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (12 June 1996)Subject: Compulsory use of reformulated petrol in the European UnionUnleaded petrol is being used throughout the European Union, and now reformulated petrol is being launched. Its use has been compulsory in 39 states of the United States since 1992. Of the Community countries Finland already uses it and the Swedish Government is in favour of it. The French law on air quality recommends its use.Since this petrol has a higher proportion of oxygen in its composition than ordinary petrol and it significantly reduces carbon monoxide pollution (by up to 25%), it seems clear that it would be advisable to introduce it into the Community.Can the Commission say what its current view is on the subject and whether it considers that the use of reformulated petrol should be introduced, whether on a voluntary or a compulsory basis, in order to make a useful contribution to ensuring that the air in our polluted cities is cleaner?Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (1 August 1996)The issues raised by the Honourable Member were the subject of a recent Commission Communication. ((Doc. COM(96) 248. )) On 18 June 1996 the Commission adopted a new strategy to reduce emissions from motor vehicles in order to make it possible to respect rigorous air quality standards concerning pollutants such as carbon monoxide, benzene, nitrogen dioxide, particles and tropospheric ozone.This strategy, which aims to reduce emissions from road transport vehicles by 60-70% in 2010 compared with the current situation, consists of two proposals for a directive. The first seeks to make the standards for emissions applicable to private cars stricter, while the second refers to quality standards for petrol and diesel fuels. This second proposal provides for oxygenated compounds among the other parameters considered for unleaded petrols in the Auto-Oil Programme. The Commission proposes that their maximum content be fixed at 2.3% in weight as higher proportions of oxygenated products in petrols can give rise to increases in other pollutants such as NOx and the aldehydes. That is the reason why, moreover, that the air quality targets adopted did not make it possible to raise this content to higher levels. The value proposed by the Commission is comparable to those adopted by California and Sweden.In addition to this, other proposals for legislation deriving from the Auto Oil programme and concerning standards for emissions from light commercial vehicles and heavy goods vehicles, and on the regulation of inspections, annual and bi-annual maintenance checks are currently being prepared.