WRITTEN QUESTION E-1271/02 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Problems relating to implementation of Directive on withdrawal of vehicles.
Date: 2002-05-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, environmental protection, prevention of pollution, tax system, technical standard, vehicle, waste management, waste recycling

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The Commission subsequently decided to use outside consultants to draw up individual job profiles and,
if appropriate, to assist the Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA) during interviews with
candidates ‘to ensure the appointment of candidates who are of the highest qualification and merit, and that
proper account is taken of the quality of their record of performance in management’.

In this context, the union representing R & D officials has repeatedly expressed severe criticism of the
procedures and methods for assessing and selecting candidates for senior posts.

How does the Commission view the attitude of the R & D union and what steps has it taken or does it
intend to take to reestablish the facts if the accusations of nepotism inside and outside the Comission made
by the union (advance knowledge of the names of candidates to be chosen) should prove to be groundless?

If they do not, does the Commission not consider this is precisely what causes ‘serious, lasting imbalances
affecting any nationality in terms of appointments of senior managers’, as emerges from the list of Italian
senior officials?

(1) OJ C 147 E, 20.6.2002, p. 71.

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(21 June 2002)

The Commission re-affirms its commitment to abiding by the provisions of Article 27 of the Staff
Regulations which explicitly states that no posts are to be reserved for nationals of any specific Member
State. The Honourable Member is aware, from the answer to his written question E-2973/01 (1), of the
measures which have been introduced to further strengthen procedures for the selection and nomination
of officials to senior posts.

With regard to the views of the R & D union concerning these selection procedures, the Commission
would refer the Honourable Member to its reply of 25 March 2002 to written question E-0286/02 by
Mr Cossutta (2).

The Commission re-affirms its commitment to the principle of avoiding any serious, lasting imbalance
affecting any nationality in terms of appointments of senior managers, as set out in its decision of
21 December 2000 (3).

In accordance with Article 27 of the Staff Regulations the Commission is continually monitoring the
geographical balance with regard to all senior officials. The Commission does not consider that the current
situation warrants exceptional measures but will, of course, keep the matter under constant review.

(1) OJ C 147 E, 20.6.2002, p. 71.
(2) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002, p. 102.
(3) SEC(2000) 2305/5.

(2002/C 277 E/198)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1271/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 May 2002)

Subject: Problems relating to implementation of Directive on withdrawal of vehicles

According to numerous articles in the Greek press, on 1 July 2002 Community Directive 2000/53/EK (1)
will also enter into force in Greece. Under that directive, all new cars sold will have a specific age limit
determined by the automobile industry. When these vehicles reach the end of their ‘life cycle’, they will be
handed in to dealers for compulsory scrapping.

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The same articles report that this measure will be mandatory from 2007 and is expected to result in the
withdrawal of approximately two million cars over 15 years old, using conventional technology, on the
roads in Greece. Greece, in fact, is one of two Member States (the other is Denmark) in which cars over
1800 cc are subject to inordinate special consumer taxes and other levies entailing considerable financial
sacrifice by the average Greek wishing to acquire a reliable and safe means of transport for himself and his
family. The compulsory withdrawal and scrapping of vehicles will particularly affect those individuals who
have paid exorbitant taxes to the Greek State, as it will also affect anyone buying a car in the future who
will be compelled to surrender it at the end of its ‘life cycle’ for scrapping.

Do the provisions of the Directive apply as presented in the Greek press? Has the Commission calculated
exactly how many vehicles will have to be scrapped and when? Has provision been made for any financial
incentive or concession for owners who hand in their cars for scrapping? Should the implementation of
the Directive not go hand in hand with the full harmonisation of taxes in order to eliminate the absurd
situation which forces Greek taxpayers ultimately to pay up to 360 % more than other Union citizens for
the same car?

(1) OJ L 269, 21.10.2000, p. 34.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 June 2002)

It is incorrect that Directive 2000/53/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on
end-of life vehicles (1), fixes specific age limits for vehicles. It does not contain any specific rules on the
withdrawal of vehicles from the market.

Discarded vehicles today result in approximately 8 to 9 million tonnes of waste each year in the Union.
Directive 2000/53/EC aims to prevent waste from vehicles and to promote the re-use, recycling and other
forms of recovery of end-of-life vehicles and their components. It sets clear quantified targets for reuse,
recycling and recovery of vehicles and components and applies the producer responsibility principle by
establishing that producers should finance a free take-back scheme for the last holders/owners of end-of
life vehicles put on the market after 1 July 2002. For vehicles put on the market before 1 July 2002, the
free take back scheme will only apply as from 1 January 2007.

There are no harmonised rules on when a vehicle has reached the end of its life-cycle. The average life
cycle of vehicles across Europe varies significantly, with the lowest in Luxembourg (four years) and the
highest in Portugal (11 years) (2). It is therefore difficult to estimate the number of vehicles that will be
scrapped at this moment. According to the European Environmental Agency, the estimated number of
scrapped cars in the Union is projected to grow from about 11,3 million in 1995 to slightly less than
17 million in 2015 (3).

Apart from the rule that owners of end-of life vehicles must be able to have their cars taken back free of
charge, the Directive does not provide for any financial incentive or concession for owners of end-of life
vehicles to scrap their cars.

The main objective of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of life vehicles is to minimise the negative impact of
end-of life vehicles on the environment. As the end-of life vehicles covered by Directive 2000/53/EC are
waste within the meaning of Article 1(a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste (4),
there is no sense in considering the use of vehicle related taxes as a specific instrument to improve their
environmental performance.

The implementation of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of life vehicles and potential new Community
initiatives with regard to vehicle related taxes are not linked. The Commission is exploring a number of
taxation of passenger cars.
options for action at Community and national

in the field of

levels,

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The outcome of this exercise will be presented soon for discussion to the Council and the Parliament, in
the form of a Commission Communication. The main objective of this Communication will be to identify
options for future action in the area of taxation of passenger cars, which will ensure the smooth
functioning of the Internal Market and advance Community’s environment objectives provided for, inter
alia, by the Kyoto Protocol.

(1) OJ L 269, 21.10.2000.
(2) Source: European Environmental Agency, Indicator 25: size and average age of vehicle fleet, lastly updated on

24 January 2001; at http://reports.eea.eu.int/ENVISSUENo12/en/page031.html

(3) Source: European Environmental Agency, Waste from road vehicles, version of 20 August 2001,

http://themes.eea.eu.int/Sectors_and_activities/transport/indicators/consequences/waste/
Waste_from_road_transport_TERM_2001.pdf.

(4) OJ L 194, 25.7.1975.

(2002/C 277 E/199)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1277/02

by Monica Frassoni (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(6 May 2002)

Subject: The paper mill in Tolmezzo (Udine) and Prime Ministerial Decree of 14 February 2002

A few weeks ago the courts placed the paper mill at Tolmezzo (UD) under distraint, since it had been
discovered that waste from the mill had entered the local sewerage system, was highly polluted and most
of it was discharged into the river Tagliamento without even passing through the local depuration plant.
It exceeded all the legal
limits, especially for ammonia, BOD, sulphites, phenols, surface-active agents,
nitrites, nitrates and hydrocarbons, thereby seriously endangering and damaging the environment and the
river.

On 14 February 2002 and in accordance with Law No 225 of 24 February 1992 on civil protection, the
Italian Government issued a Prime Ministerial Decree declaring a ‘socio-environmental state of emergency
as regards the depuration of waste water in the municipality of Tolmezzo’ and appointed the President of
the Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia as commissioner for the emergency. The following day he authorised
the discharge of waste from the Tolmezzo paper mill
‘under current conditions’, pending ‘detailed
investigations’.

Law No 225 of 1992, designed to tackle emergencies and natural disasters, was used not to deal with
in order to safeguard the environment, but for the opposite purpose I to cope with the
‘pollution’
‘disaster’ of the closure of the paper mill, thereby justifying infringement of the law and opening the way
to any Italian business wanting to have a ‘licence to pollute’, by means of the law on civil protection, when
under threat of closure and the resulting redundancies.

All this is in blatant contrast with Community directives 76/464/EEC (1) (on pollution caused by certain
dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community) and 91/271/EEC (2)
(concerning urban waste-water treatment) and can the Commission therefore say whether it intends to take
steps to counter Italy’s infringement of Community law?

(1) OJ L 129, 18.5.1976, p. 23.
(2) OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(12 June 2002)

The Commission has the task of ensuring the correct application of Community law, in the light of the
powers conferred on it by the EC Treaty. As the Guardian of the Treaty, it does not hesitate to take all
necessary measures, including infringement procedures under Article 226 of the EC Treaty, in order to
ensure the observance of Community law.