Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on alternative fuels for road transportation and on a set of measures to promote the use of biofuels,the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of biofuels for transport, andthe Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 92/81/EEC with regard to the possibility of applying a reduced rate of excise duty on certain mineral oils containing biofuels and on biofuels
Date: 2002-11-14
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: environmental protection, excise duty, road transport, substitute fuel

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 278/29

25.
The Commission announces the framing of European
recommendations regarding quality evaluation in education.
is important for such tools to be
In the CoR’s view,
developed to support various players in their drive for constant
improvement
in meeting fixed targets, expectations and
demands — but not as a central system of checks based on
rigid routines.

it

local and regional level throughout the EU in lively dialogue
and discussion of programmes of action. The Committee
suggests that there should be a substantial number of local and
regional representatives on any planned or possible future
bodies, in order to ensure that consultation and formulation
of proposals with respect to lifelong learning are of the highest
quality.

26.
The CoR welcomes the development of a limited
number of indicators but feels that it is vital to draw on the
lessons learned in the context of the OECD’s work. The CoR
would willingly participate in this process.

27.
The CoR feels that one prerequisite for maintaining the
momentum of a lifelong learning process is to involve the

28.
Future efforts to make lifelong learning a reality must
involve the CoR, as the representative of the local and regional
level in Europe. The Commission’s communication has speci-
fied a large number of practical tasks. It is important for these
to be regularly updated with the CoR. This could be done —
as we have already pointed out in our Opinion on the
Commission’s memorandum on lifelong learning — through
a Commission-CoR joint committee.

Brussels, 15 May 2002.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on alternative fuels for
road transportation and on a set of measures to promote the use of biofuels’,

— the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion

of the use of biofuels for transport’, and

— the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 92/81/EEC with regard to the
possibility of applying a reduced rate of excise duty on certain mineral oils containing
biofuels and on biofuels’

(2002/C 278/09)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on alternative fuels for road
transportation and on a set of measures to promote the use of biofuels, the Proposal for a Directive of
the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of biofuels for transport, and
the Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 92/81/EEC with regard to the possibility of
applying a reduced rate of excise duty on certain mineral oils containing biofuels and on biofuels
[COM(2001) 547 final — 2001/0265 (COD)];

having regard to the Council decision of 18 January 2002, under Article 175(1) of the Treaty establishing
the European Community, to consult the Committee on this matter;

C 278/30

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

14.11.2002

having regard to the decision of its Bureau of 6 February 2002 to entrust the Commission for Sustainable
Development with the preparation of the opinion;

having regard to the draft opinion adopted by Commission for Sustainable Development on 25 March
2002 (CdR 34/2002 rev. — rapporteur: Mr Bocklet, Minister of State for Federal and European Affairs in
the Chancellery Office of the Free State of Bavaria, D-EPP),

adopted the following opinion at its 44th plenary session of 15 and 16 May 2002 (meeting of 15 May).

The Committee of the Regions,

welcomes the Commission’s efforts to promote the use

1.
of biofuels through two Community directives;

considers that the communication and proposed directives on
greater use of renewable energy sources are, in principle, a step
in the right direction, given the commitments under the Kyoto
Protocol and, in particular, the transport sector’s considerable
and growing share of fuel consumption. The communication
and proposed directives are also important from the point of
view of the Community’s energy self-sufficiency and agricul-
tural and employment policies;

with regard to Article 2 of the Directive on the promotion of
the use of biofuels for transport, notes that pure plant oils
should be specifically defined as biofuels in part A of the
Annex, since promising developments are under way to use
plant oils as fuel, either in their pure form or blended with
diesel. Provision must be made to incorporate the quantities
used in this way into the calculation of biofuel share;

2.
notes, however, that the proposal for a Directive on the
promotion of the use of biofuels for transport (COM(2001)
547 final — COD 2001/0265),
in particular Article 3(1),
should be amended to allow Member States to retain the right
to determine the range of instruments to be in included in
national emission reduction programmes, the priority areas
and the timetables for increasing the share of renewables.
There is no justification on cost-effectiveness grounds for the
European Community to require each Member State to ensure
that biofuels account for 2 % of all gasoline and diesel sold on
its markets by the end of 2005;

3.
with regard to Article 3 of the Proposal for a Directive
on the promotion of the use of biofuels for transport, notes

Brussels, 15 May 2002.

that the minimum market shares provided for therein can only
be achieved if biofuels are exempted from excise duty. This is
the only way to give farming and the processing sector the
security needed to plan the requisite investments for producing
and marketing biofuels;

with regard to Article 8c(2) of the Proposal for a Directive
4.
amending Directive 92/81/EEC, considers that tax on pure
biofuels and blends containing more than 50 % biofuel should
be reduced by more than 50 %;

5.
with regard to Article 8b and Article 8c(3) of this
directive, notes that the reduced rate of excise duty for pure
biofuels and blends should be permitted without application
procedures beyond 31 December 2003 and 31 December
2010 respectively until such times as the percentage shares set
out in part B of the Annex to the Directive on the promotion
of the use of biofuels for transport have been reached, and
where these levels can only be reached or maintained by means
of this incentive;

6.
with regard to Article 8b of this directive, notes that
biofuels generated by chemical conversion, e.g. rapeseed
methyl ester (RME) or ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE), must
be included in the scope of the directive;

7.
with regard to Article 8d of this directive, points out
that the broader tax concessions for local public passenger
transport, including taxis, and vehicles operated under the
responsibility of a public authority, should be extended to the
following additional environmentally sensitive fields: inland
waterway vessels, motorboats, vehicles used at dams and
gravel pits, the entire agriculture and forestry sectors and their
upstream and downstream industries, and applications in
mountain areas such as piste groomers and supply facilities
for mountain chalets (vehicles, electricity and heating, com-
bined heat and power installations, cableways).

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE