WRITTEN QUESTION E-0679/00 by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Car prices in Ireland and the future legal framework of car distribution.
Date: 2000-03-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Ireland, after-sales service, competence of the Member States, distributive trades, marketing, motor car, price net of tax, purchase price

C 330 E/204

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.11.2000

(2000/C 330 E/235)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0678/00

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Discrepancies in the levels of heart disease among EU Member States and the need for further

preventive action

the Treaty Establishing the European Community and given the
Bearing in mind Article 152 of
discrepancies in the levels of heart disease throughout the EU (with Ireland having almost five times the
rate of that in France) and the fact that Irish women now account for one in two deaths in Ireland from
cardiac arrest and that many cases of heart disease are easily preventable, can the Commission comment
on these discrepancies and outline what, if anything, it intends to do to tackle heart disease further across
the EU (and in particular in countries such as Ireland) to ensure that such high death rates are brought
down?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(14 April 2000)

The Commission is aware of the problem raised by the Honourable Member.

This issue is currently being discussed in the context of the European heart health initiative, which is a
Community-wide project aiming at increasing awareness in all the Member States among policy makers,
health professionals, and in the longer term the general public, of the importance of fighting cardio-
vascular disease and of ways of making prevention possible.

It is expected that the project will propose guidelines on how cardio-vascular disease should be tackled and
on what actions and policies for a healthier Europe should be developed and implemented in this respect.

The new public health strategy and action programme will offer a solid basis for continuing efforts to
combat cardio-vascular disease in the Community.

(2000/C 330 E/236)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0679/00

by Avril Doyle (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Car prices in Ireland and the future legal framework of car distribution

Bearing in mind the relatively high prices of cars in Ireland for general consumers compared to other
members of the Euro zone, will the Commission state when it intends to take its decision regarding the
future legal framework of car distribution, comment on what the rationale behind the prospective decision,
and comment on what effect the decision could have on car prices in Ireland and on competition in the
car sector in that country?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(31 March 2000)

The current block exemption regulation concerning car distribution (1) provides, in Article 11, that the
Commission regularly evaluates the application of the regulation, with particular regard to price differ-
entials between the different Member States and on the quality of service to final users. To this end, the
Commission has, since 1993, monitored car price differences in the Community in its bi-annual report on
car prices. Article 11 of the regulation also requires the Commission to draw up a report on the evaluation
of the regulation before 31 December 2000.

21.11.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 330 E/205

In contrast to what has been observed by the Honourable Member, the Commission(cid:146)s regular reports on
car prices have not revealed that car prices before tax in Ireland are particularly high in comparison with
other Member States, and in particular with the United Kingdom (2). In this respect, the Commission has
found that in Member States with a high taxation on car purchase, such as Ireland, prices before tax are
relatively low. With regard to prices after tax,
it has to be noted that taxation on car purchase has
remained an issue on which the Member States decide, as they have so far excluded this issue from
Community actions concerning tax harmonization in the internal market.

As far as the query of the Honourable Member about the future legal framework for car distribution is
concerned, the decision is still open. The Commission is currently preparing a report on the evaluation of
the regulation, which is expected to provide more evidence on the causes of price differentials and on the
impact of the exempted distribution system on car prices. The impact of this regulation on consumers will
be one of the key elements in the evaluation. This report will however provide an essential basis for the
forthcoming discussion about the future legal framework for car distribution, after expiry of the current
regulation on 30 September 2002.

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1475/95 of 28 June 1995 on the application of Article 85(3) of the EC Treaty to

certain categories of motor vehicle distribution and servicing agreements (cid:129) OJ L 145, 29.6.1995.

(2) See for example the most recent press release IP/00/121 of 7 February 2000 on the Report.

(2000/C 330 E/237)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0684/00

by Elspeth Attwooll (ELDR) to the Commission

(9 March 2000)

Subject: Daytime running lights

Could the Commission please give an indication of the current state of play in terms of the Commission
High Level Group for Road Safety(cid:146)s deliberations on the issue of daytime running lights and the possible
introduction of EU legislation on this matter? Is the Commission in a position to apply further pressure in
order to resolve the current apparent stalemate between Member States on this issue?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(7 April 2000)

The Commission has been reviewing the available research evidence concerning the effectiveness of
daytime running lights as an accident reduction measure. The results of the considerable amount of
research in this field are not conclusive, but they do indicate that for all road users daytime running lights
would be a positive road safety measure and that the effects are directly proportional to ambient daylight
levels. Estimates of the accident reduction effect vary widely and are still the subject of unresolved
academic debate.

The Commission concludes that while daytime running lights are likely to be a cost-effective road safety
measure they will not be as significant, for example, as the benefits to be obtained from speed reduction,
less drinking and driving or increased seat belt wearing. The Commission view on the significance of these
measures is described in greater detail in the road safety communication which it adopted on 18 March
2000 (1).

The Commission has also estimated that the maximum additional fuel consumption, and consequent
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, arising from daytime running lights is between 1,5 % and 2,0 % although
this depends to some extent upon the technical specification for daytime running lights.