Report from the Commission - Quality of gasoline and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union - First annual Report (Reporting years 2001 and 2002) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2004-04-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, air quality, diesel fuel, marketing, motor vehicle, petrol, product quality, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 27.04.2004 
COM(2004)310 final 

. 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Quality of gasoline and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: 
First annual report 

(Reporting years 2001 and 2002) 
. 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Quality of gasoline and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: 
First annual report 

(Reporting years 2001 and 2002) 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Environmental  fuels  specifications  for  petrol  and  diesel  fuels  are,  inter  alia,  an  important 
element of the cost-effective package of Europe-wide and national/regional/local measures to 
reduce  emissions  into  air.  Therefore  Directive  98/70/EC1  sets  technical  specifications  on 
health  and  environmental  grounds  for  fuels  to  be  used  for  vehicles  equipped  with  positive-
ignition  and  compression-ignition  engines.  Directive  2003/17/EC2,  amending  Directive 
98/70/EC, requires a further reduction of the  sulphur  content of petrol and diesel fuels.  The 
introduction  of  fuels  with  a  maximum  sulphur  content  of  10  mg/kg  will  improve  the  fuel 
efficiency attainable with new, emerging vehicle technologies and should lead to significant 
reductions in emissions of conventional air pollutants when used in existing vehicles. 

Significant violations of the fuel specification can lead to increased emissions and might even 
damage  the  engine  and  the  exhaust  after-treatment  systems.  In  order  to  ensure  compliance 
with the fuel quality standards required under this Directive, Member States are requested to 
introduce fuel quality monitoring systems. 

Article  8  of  Directive  98/70/EC,  as  amended  by  Article  1(5)  of  Directive  2003/17/EC, 
requires  that  the  Commission  shall  publish  annually,  and  for  the  first  time  by  31  December 
2003, a report on the actual fuel quality in the different Member States. In compliance with 
this request this Commission Report summarises briefly Member States’ submissions, on the 
quality of petrol and diesel, as well as the volumes sold, for the years 2001 and 2002.  

The monitoring of fuel quality in 2001 and 2002 shows that the specifications for petrol and 
diesel  laid  down  in  Directive  98/70/EC  are  in  general  met.  Only  very  few  violations  were 
identified. Member States need to take action in order to ensure full compliance. Most of them 
are  doing  so  already,  and  details  of  the  action  taken  by  Member  States  with  regard  to  non-
compliance  are  included,  where  provided,  in  the  individual  country  chapters  of  the  detailed 
reports for the years 2001 and 20023. The Commission will continue urging Member States to 
ensure full compliance with the fuel quality requirements laid down in the Directive.  

For  the  abatement  of  air  pollution  and  the  introduction  of  new  engine  technology  it  is 
important to note that the share of 50  ppm fuels increased significantly from 2001 to 2002, 
while the shares of 10 ppm fuels remained nearly constant. Six Member States have defined 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 350 of 28.12.1998, p. 58. 
OJ L 76 of 22.3.2003, p. 10. 
See http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/transport.htm#2 

2 

 
 
  
 
 
 
                                                 
national fuel grades for low (<50 ppm) or sulphur free (<10 ppm) fuels. Low sulphur fuels are 
available in many countries across the EU (for petrol in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Sweden 
and  the  United  Kingdom;  for  diesel  in  Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland,  Greece,  Ireland, 
Netherlands and the United Kingdom). However, there are still five countries which did still 
not  introduce  separately  marketed  low  (<50  ppm)  or  sulphur  free  (<10  ppm)  fuels  at  all 
(France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). Sulphur free petrol was only available in Austria, 
Germany and Ireland, and sulphur free diesel was only available in Sweden.  

The  fuel  quality  monitoring  systems  established  at  national  level  differ  considerably  and 
require  harmonisation  in  order  to  provide  transparent  and  comparable  results.  The 
implementation  of  Directive  2003/17/EC  is  expected  to  improve  the  quality  of  reporting  in 
this  respect  when  Member  States  are  required  to  report  in  accordance  to  the  new  European 
Standard, EN 14274, or with systems of equivalent confidence. 

2. 

INTRODUCTION 

The specifications for petrol and diesel sold in the European Union are laid down in Directive 
98/70/EC. Two sets of fuel specifications are included in the Directive, the first entered into 
force on 1 January 2000 and the second will enter into force on 1 January 2005. The Directive 
also stipulates that Member States are required to report summaries of the quality of fuels sold 
in their territories. For the reporting the format laid out in Commission Decision 2002/159/EC 
of 18 February 20024 should be applied. Member States were required under the Directive to 
report for the first time by 30 June 2002 for the preceding calendar year (i.e. 2001). Article 8 
of Directive 98/70/EC, as amended by Article 1(5) of Directive 2003/17/EC, requires that the 
Commission should forward the results of Member States’ fuel quality reporting. According 
to this Article 8 the Commission shall publish annually, and for the first time by 31 December 
2003, a report on the actual fuel quality in the different Member States. In compliance with 
this  request  this  Commission  Report  summarises  the  quality  of  petrol  and  diesel,  as  well  as 
the volumes sold, in the Community for the years 2001 and 2002. The detailed reports can be 
found  on  the  Commission’s  web  page5.  Additional  reporting  requirements  laid  down  in 
Directive  2003/17/EC,  e.g.  the  availability  and  geographical  coverage  of  fuels  with  a 
maximum  sulphur  content  of  10  mg/kg,  are  not  covered  by  this  Commission  Report  since 
Member States are not reporting in accordance with this requirement before the transposition 
of the Directive into national legislation is completed, e.g. at the best by mid 2005, covering 
then the reporting year 2004. 

3. 

NATIONAL MONITORING SYSTEMS 

A number of different approaches have been made in implementing Fuel Quality Monitoring 
Systems across the EU. These range from simple sampling at a number of fuel retail stations 
at  certain  periods  during  the  year  (e.g.  Netherlands)  through  to  integration  of  sampling  and 
analysis  of  all  refinery  or  imported  batches  into  the  requirements  for  distribution  of  fuels 
within  the  country,  together  with  random  sampling  across  the  distribution  chain  throughout 
the  year  (e.g.  Sweden  and  the  UK).  The  monitoring  approaches  are  under  review  in  some 
Member  States  and  it  appears  that  few  amendments  or  changes  have  been  made  in  2002 
compared to the Monitoring Systems used in 2001. However, presumably Member States are 

4 
5 

OJ L 53 of 23.2.2002, p. 30. 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/transport.htm#2 

3 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
saving  major  revisions  for  the  changes  necessary  to  comply  with  the  amended  Directive 
(2003), which states that: "Member States shall establish a fuel quality monitoring system in 
accordance with the requirements of the relevant European Standard" (the recently adopted 
EN  142746  &  EN 142757)  from  1  January  2004.  The  Commission  expects  that  most  of  the 
Member  States  will  apply  the  CEN  standards,  but  it  should  be  noted  that  alternative 
monitoring  systems  may  be  permitted  provided  such  systems  ensure  the  results  are  of  an 
equivalent  confidence.  Article  2  requires  Member  States  to  adopt  the  laws,  regulations  and 
administrative  provisions  necessary  to  comply  with  the  Directive,  and  to  inform  the 
Commission  thereof.  Thus,  Member  States  making  use  of  the  provision  on  alternative 
monitoring  systems  will  have  to  inform  the  Commission  about  their  national  monitoring 
system. The Commission will address this question again in future monitoring reports, taking 
into account the information provided by Member States on this issue. 

A  rough  appreciation  for  the  existing  degree/rate  of  sampling  carried  out  may  be  obtained 
from Figures 1 and 2, which plots the total number of samples of petrol and diesel against the 
respective  sales  in  billion  litres.  It  is  clear  from  these  plots  that  there  was  a  wide  range  of 
sampling  intensities across  the EU  in  2001  and  2002.  Of  particular  interest  is  the  very  high 
sampling rate of Belgium (from refuelling stations across the Belgium territory) in relation to 
the  other  Member  States,  even  when  compared  to  Sweden  and  the  UK  who  incorporated 
sampling  and  analysis  into  a  mandatory  requirement  for  fuel  distribution  in  their  territories. 
This anomaly is due to the fact that the Belgium system in operation in 2001 and 2002 was 
designed  and  introduced  in  1996  for  the  purposes  of  detecting  fraud  at  retail  stations. 
Similarly,  the  systems  active  in  some  other  Member  States  were  also  designed  for  other 
purposes – explaining a wide variation in sampling frequency, sampling location and extent of 
analysis of each sample, across the EU. 

It is worth noting that the degree of sampling that may be required to statistically demonstrate 
compliance with Directive 98/70/EC could also include a measure of the number of refineries 
supplying  the  market,  the  number  of  fuel  grades  available  and  the  number  of  different 
imported fuel grades and sources. On the basis of the information provided it would appear 
that  the  Netherlands  and  France  have  particularly  low  coverage  with  respect  to  sales. 
However, this is also taken into account in the new European Standard, where the minimum 
number of samples per fuel grade (in each of the winter and summer periods) is 50, 100 or 
200,  depending  on  the  statistical  model  and  the  size  of  the  country  (i.e.  100,  200  or  400 
samples per year per fuel grade).  

The countries that are defined as "large" include France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK 
according to the definition contained in the European Standard (>15million tonnes automotive 
fuel sales per year). The Netherlands falls just underneath this criteria. Using these criteria it 
can  be  seen  (Figures  3  &  4)  that  only  Belgium,  Italy,  Spain,  Sweden  and  the  UK  already 
satisfy  the  specifications  for  sampling  numbers.  (However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the 
standard  specifies  individual  samples  taken  at  separate  refuelling  stations.  Samples  from 
separate  sites  is  not  always  specified  in  existing  submissions  and  in  some  cases  sampling 
takes place at other points of the distribution chain also). 

6 

7 

EN 14274:2003 - Automotive fuels - Assessment of petrol and diesel quality - Fuel Quality Monitoring 
System (FQMS). 
EN 14275:2003 - Automotive fuels - Assessment of petrol and diesel fuel quality - Sampling from retail 
site pumps and commercial site fuel dispensers. 

4 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
Figure 1: 2001 FQM sampling rate across the EU  
(Total Number of Samples per Billion Litres Fuel Sold) 

752

914

43

22

80

45

15

9

7

2

21

9

33

19

38

20

12

10

14

3

3

2

17

16

43

10

179

173

89

90

AU

BE

FI

DK
Petrol

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

LU

NL

PO
Diesel

SP

SV

UK

Figure 2: 2002 FQM sampling rate across the EU  
(Total Number of Samples per Billion Litres Fuel Sold) 

1527

761

40

19

77

45

15

9

5

2

12

8

43

28

30

23

17

16

21

5

11

8

70

12

38

3

172

157

108

90

AU

BE

FI

DK
Petrol

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

LU

PO

NL
Diesel

SP

SV

UK

Figure 3: 2001 FQM sampling rate across the EU  
(Average Number of Samples per Fuel Grade) 

1061

5922

225

241

470

843

1772

638

173

158

120

40

96

49

40

40

20

13

165

222

96

52

53

44

20

4

4

12

10

19

AU

BE

FI

DK
Petrol

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

LU

PO

NL
Diesel

SP

SV

UK

Figure 4: 2002 FQM sampling rate across the EU  
(Average Number of Samples per Fuel Grade) 

2085

5140

375

392

773

474

1447

1915

281

582

120

40

143

131

95

50

81

29

20

13

82

76

50

16

41

41

45

19

5

7

AU

BE

DK

FI

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

LU

Petrol

PO

NL
Diesel

SP

SV

UK

250

200

150

100

50

0

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5 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. 

2001 REPORTING 

4.1 

Fuel Qualities and Volumes 

Figure 5 (see Annex Table 3 for full details by Member State) shows that in 2001, whilst a 
wide variety  of RON  and  sulphur grade fuels  were available across the EU, the majority of 
sales comprised of RON95 (76%, with 60% regular, 15% low sulphur and 1% sulphur free8). 
Of  all  petrol  sold,  83%  was  regular  sulphur  grade,  15%  low  sulphur  (<50  ppm)  and  2% 
sulphur free (<10 ppm). Of all diesel sold the equivalent split was 77%, 21% and 2%. Please 
note that a general ban on the marketing of leaded petrol was agreed by EU institutions from 
2000. 

Figure 5: 2001 EU fuel sales proportions by fuel type (%) 

Petrol Sales

2001

Diesel Sales

2001

1.Unleaded petrol min. RON=91
2.Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<50 ppm S)
3.Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<10 ppm S)
4.Unleaded petrol min. RON=95
5.Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<50 ppm S)
6.Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<10 ppm S)
7.Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98
8.Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<50 ppm S)
9.Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<10 ppm S)
10.Unleaded petrol RON>=98
11.Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<50 ppm S)
12.Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<10 ppm S)

13.Diesel

14.Diesel (<50 ppm sulphur)

15.Diesel (<10 ppm sulphur)

8 

The  term  “regular”  is  used  for  fuels  with  a  sulphur  content  which  is  in  accordance  with  Directive 
98/70/EC  (150  ppm  for  gasoline  and  350  ppm  for  diesel);  the  term  “low  sulphur”  corresponds  to  a 
sulphur content of 50 ppm; the term “sulphur free” to a sulphur content of 10 ppm. 

6 

 
 
  
 
 
 
                                                 
Legend: EU fuel sales by fuel type (%) 

Petrol 

15 
Fuel ID 
% EU Sales  7.7%  1.4%  0.0%  60.3%  14.7% 0.5% 7.2% 0.0% 0.0% 6.6% 0.5% 1.1%  77.3%  20.8% 2.0%

10 

11 

12 

13 

2 

3 

4 

5 

1 

6 

7 

8 

9 

Diesel 
14 

Unsurprisingly the largest total sales of fuels in 2001 were made in France, Germany, Italy, 
Spain  and  the  United  Kingdom  (Figure  6).  Whilst  diesel  sales  are  higher  in  many  Member 
States, it is interesting to note the variations in relative sales of petrol and diesel. In  France 
and United Kingdom the differences are particularly pronounced, with diesel sales in France 
being almost double those of petrol, and diesel sales being almost 30% less than petrol in the 
United Kingdom. 

Figure 6: 2001 national fuel sales by fuel type across the EU (million litres) 

40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0

s
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AU

BE

DK

FI

FR

GE GR

IR

IT

LU

NL

PO SP

SV

UK

Total Petrol

Total Diesel

There is also a variation in the number of grades of fuel reported to be available across the EU 
(Figure 7) in 2001, with clearly more petrol grades available, despite the larger quantities of 
diesel sold. It also appears that only four Member States have actually defined national fuel 
grades for low (<50 ppm) or sulphur free (<10 ppm) fuels (Austria, Germany, Luxembourg 
and  Sweden).  Other  Member  States  have  either  left  the  availability  of  low  or  sulphur  free 
fuels simply  to market conditions, or  provided some form of  incentive  to  encourage market 
change  (e.g.  the  reduction  in  duty  for  low  sulphur  fuels  in  the  UK).  Reporting  of  fuel  sales 
under the Commission Decision (which allows Member States to define their own "national 
fuel grades") has also been varied.  

Figure 7: Number of fuel grades available nationally by fuel type across the EU 

5

4

3

2

1

0

y

l
l

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F
f
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m
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AU

DK

BE
No. Petrol Grades

FI

FR

LU

NL

SP
No. Diesel Grades

PO

SV

UK

GE

GR

IR

IT

7 

 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Although  low  sulphur  fuels  were  available  in  many  countries  across  the  EU  (see  Figures  8 
and 9), some countries were yet to introduce separately marketed low (<50 ppm) or sulphur 
free  (<10  ppm)  fuels  at  all  (Belgium,  France,  Greece,  Italy,  Portugal  and  Spain).  Fuels  that 
have low sulphur content were available in these countries in some cases. However, it was not 
completely clear whether the sulphur content was either not guaranteed (as needed for some 
next-generation  cleaner  technologies  to  function  at  optimum  efficiency),  or  whether 
insufficient data is available to specify the sales/availability of low sulphur fuel grades. 

Figure 8: National sales proportions of low sulphur petrol grades across the EU (%) 

s
e
l
a
S

l

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t
e
P

l
a
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%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

AU
Petrol (regular)

BE

DK

FI

FR

GE GR
Petrol (<50 ppm sulphur)

IR

IT

LU

NL

PO SP
Petrol (<10 ppm sulphur)

SV

UK

Whilst sulphur free petrol was available in Austria, Germany and Ireland; sulphur free diesel 
was only available in Sweden. Also, in 2001 three countries (Denmark, Sweden and the UK) 
had fully moved over to low or sulphur free diesel fuel, but no countries had fully switched to 
low or sulphur free petrol.  

Figure 9: National Sales Proportions of Low Sulphur Diesel Grades across the EU (%) 

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

s
e
l
a
S

l
e
s
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i
D

l
a
n
o

i
t
a
N
%

AU
Diesel

BE

DK

FI

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

Diesel (<50 ppm sulphur)

4.2 

Compliance with Directive 98/70/EC in 2001 

LU

NL

PO SP
Diesel (<10 ppm sulphur)

SV

UK

In terms of compliance with Directive 98/70/EC, five Member States (Greece, Luxembourg, 
Portugal, Sweden and UK) were in complete compliance with limit values for both petrol and 
diesel.  

In 2001, ten of the Member States reported at least one petrol sample that was noncompliant 
with  Directive  98/70/EC.  Of  these,  the  main  parameters  of  concern  were  summer  vapour 
pressure (the most often exceeded, across all fuel grades), distillation (evaporation at 100°C) 
and  aromatics  content.  Motor  octane  number  (MON),  benzene  content  and  sulphur  content 
were  also  exceeded  by  some  samples  for  more  than  one  Member  State.  However,  for  all 
parameters at least one sample exceeded the limit value (and the limit of tolerance for the test 
method).  

8 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For  diesel  reporting,  only  four  of  the  Member  States  reported  at  least  one  sample  that  was 
noncompliant  with  Directive  98/70/EC.  Of  these,  the  main  parameters  of  concern  were 
sulphur  content  and  density,  however  for  all  parameters  the  Directive's  limit  values  were 
exceeded by at least one sample.  

The following Table 1 summarises the compliance of Member States with Directive 98/70/EC 
for the year 2001 reporting. 

9 

 
 
  
 
Member State 

Table 1: Summary of MS compliance with 98/70/EC for 2001 reporting. 
Incomplete reporting 

Limit value non-compliance (1) 
(95% confidence limits) 
Diesel 
Petrol 
(2) 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 
X 
X 

Austria 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Spain 
Sweden 
United Kingdom 

Notes: 

(4) 
X 

X 

X 
(6) 

Diesel 

X 

X 

X 

Petrol 
X 
X 
X 

X 

(3) 

(5) 
X 
X 
(5) 

X 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

It is not possible to confirm whether limit values have been respected in all samples, 
where reporting data is incomplete. 

Insufficient  information  provided  to  enable  assessment  of  whether  one  particular 
sample was noncompliant with the distillation limit value. 

Although  all  oxygenates  not  were  measured  (other  than  ethers  with  more  than  5 
carbon atoms per molecule), Greece has stated the other oxygenates were not added 
and  the  oxygen  content  can  be  calculated  directly  from  the  oxygenates  content,  so 
would also be compliant. 

Ireland  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  exceedances  found  could  not  be  categorically 
confirmed because the samples were stored for a longer period than desirable prior to 
analysis, which could have affected the results disfavourably. 

Although  all  oxygenates  were  not  measured  (other  than  ethers  with  more  than  5 
carbon atoms per molecule), Italy and Portugal have stated no other oxygenates are 
added to the fuels. 

The  format  of  the  data  provided  by  Sweden  (though  in  compliance  with  the 
Commission  Decision)  does  not  enable  confirmation  of  whether  petrol  samples 
complied with the summer limits. However, Sweden has confirmed that all samples 
did comply. 

The  quality  of  the  compliance  assessment  suffers  in  some  cases  due  to  the  incomplete 
information provided by Member Sates. Details on specific exceedances are provided in the 
individual country chapters of the full report. 

The cases of non-compliance identified seem not to have major negative repercussions on fuel 
quality in general. However, the Commission expressed its concern at an expert meeting and 

10 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
asked Member States to explain the measures taken in order to avoid future violations. A 
number of member States did so; the replies are given in the detailed report. 

5. 

2002 REPORTING 

5.1 

Fuel Qualities and Volumes 

Submissions have been received from all Member States, although some of them were so late 
that the Commission Report could not be finalised before 31 December 2003. Figure 10 (see 
also Annex Table 4) show that in 2002, whilst a wide variety of RON and sulphur grade fuels 
were  available  across  the  EU,  the  majority  of  sales  still  comprised  of  RON95  (78  %,  with 
38.7  %  regular,  38.9  %  low  sulphur  and  0.5%  sulphur  free).  Of  all  petrol  sold,  51%  was 
regular  sulphur  grade,  47%  low  sulphur  (<50  ppm)  and  2%  sulphur  free  (<10  ppm).  Of  all 
diesel sold the equivalent split was 59%, 43% and 2%. Compared to 2001 the quantities of 50 
ppm  fuels  increased  significantly,  while  the  quantities  of  10  ppm  fuels  remained  nearly 
constant. 

Figure 10: 2002 EU fuel sales proportions by fuel type (%) 

Petrol Sales

2002

Diesel Sales

2002

1.Unleaded petrol min. RON=91
2.Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<50 ppm S)
3.Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<10 ppm S)
4.Unleaded petrol min. RON=95
5.Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<50 ppm S)
6.Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<10 ppm S)
7.Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98
8.Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<50 ppm S)
9.Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<10 ppm S)
10.Unleaded petrol RON>=98
11.Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<50 ppm S)
12.Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<10 ppm S)

13.Diesel

14.Diesel (<50 ppm sulphur)

15.Diesel (<10 ppm sulphur)

11 

 
 
  
 
 
 
Legend: EU fuel sales by fuel type (%) 

Petrol 

Fuel ID 
15 
% EU Sales  0.9%  7.8%  0.0%  38.9%  38.7% 0.5% 4.8% 0.0% 0.0% 6.7% 0.6% 1.0%  54.6%  43.3% 2.1%

10 

11 

12 

13 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

Diesel 
14 

Similarly  to  2001,  the  largest  total  sales  of  fuels  (of  submissions  received  to  date)  in  2002 
were  made  in  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Spain  and  the  United  Kingdom  (Figure  11).  Whilst 
diesel sales are dominant in many Member States, there are still variations in relative sales of 
petrol and diesel.  

Figure 11: 2002 national fuel sales by fuel type across the EU (million litres) 

s
e
r
t
i
l

n
o

i
l
l
i

m

,
s
e
l
a
S

l
e
u
F

l
a
n
o
i
t
a
N

40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0

AU

BE

DK
FI
Total Petrol

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

LU

NL

PO
Total Diesel

SP

SV

UK

As  in  2001,  there  is  also  still  a  variation  in  the  number  of  grades  of  fuel  reported  to  be 
available across the EU (Figure 12) in 2002, with clearly more petrol grades available, despite 
the larger quantities of diesel sold (though less than in 2001). Six Member States, two more 
than  in  2001,  have  actually  defined  national  fuel  grades  for  low  (<50  ppm)  or  sulphur  free 
(<10  ppm)  fuels.  Reporting  of  fuel  sales  under  the  Commission  Decision  (which  allows 
Member States to define their own "national fuel grades") has also been varied again, though 
improved since 2001. 

Figure 12: Number of fuel grades available nationally by fuel type across the EU 

5

4

3

2

1

0

e
l
b
a
l
i
a
v
A
s
e
d
a
r
G

l
e
u
F
f
o
r
e
b
m
u
N

y
l
l
a
n
o
i
t
a
N

AU

BE

DK

FI

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

No. Petrol Grades

NL

LU
No. Diesel Grades

PO

SP

SV

UK

Already  in  2001  low  sulphur  fuels  were  available  in  many  countries  across  the  EU  (see 
Figures  13  and  14).  However,  there  are  still  five  countries  which  are  yet  to  introduce 
separately  marketed  low  (<50  ppm)  or  sulphur  free  (<10  ppm)  fuels  at  all  (France,  Greece, 
Italy, Portugal and Spain). Compared to 2001, Belgium now disappeared from this list since 
all diesel marketed is of the <50 ppm quality.  

12 

 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 13: National sales proportions of low sulphur petrol grades across the EU (%) 

100%

s
e
l
a
S

l

o
r
t
e
P

l
a
n
o
i
t
a
N
%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

AU

BE

DK

FI

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

LU

Petrol (regular)

Petrol (<50 ppm sulphur)

NL

PO

SV
Petrol (<10 ppm sulphur)

SP

UK

As  in  2001,  sulphur  free  petrol  was  only  available  in  Austria,  Germany  and  Ireland,  and 
sulphur free diesel was only available in Sweden. Also, in 2002 seven countries (only three in 
2001) had fully moved over to low or sulphur free diesel fuel; Sweden had moved completely 
over to sulphur free diesel, but none of the countries had fully switched to sulphur free petrol.  

Figure 14: National sales proportions of low sulphur diesel grades across the EU (%) 

100%

s
e
l
a
S

l
e
s
e
i
D

l
a
n
o
i
t
a
N
%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

AU

BE

DK

FI

FR

GE

GR

IR

IT

LU

NL

PO

SP

SV

UK

Diesel

Diesel (<50 ppm sulphur)

Diesel (<10 ppm sulphur)

5.2 

Compliance with Directive 98/70/EC in 2002 

In terms of compliance with Directive 98/70/EC, four Member States (France, Luxembourg, 
Portugal, Spain and Sweden) were in complete compliance with limit values for both petrol 
and diesel (compared to five in 2001).  

In 2002, nine of the Member States reported at least one petrol sample that was noncompliant 
with Directive 98/70/EC (compared to ten in 2001). Of these, the main parameters of concern 
were summer vapour pressure (the most often exceeded, across all fuel grades), research and 
motor  octane  number  (RON,  MON).  Distillation  (evaporation  at  100°C),  ethers  with  5  or 
more  C  atoms  per  molecule,  benzene  and  aromatics  content  were  also  exceeded  by  some 
samples  for  more  than  one  Member  State.  However  for  all  parameters  at  least  one  sample 
exceeded the limit value (and the limit of tolerance for the test method).  

13 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For  diesel  reporting,  six  of  the  Member  States  reported  at  least  one  sample  that  was 
noncompliant  with  Directive  98/70/EC  (compared  to  four  in  2001).  Of  these,  the  main 
parameters  of  concern  were  sulphur  content  and  Distillation  95%  point,  however  for  all 
parameters the Directive's limit values were exceeded by at least one sample.  

The  following  table  summarises  the  compliance  of  Member  States  with  Directive  98/70/EC 
for the year 2002 reporting in terms of the results of analysis of samples against limit values 
and the reporting format and content.  

14 

 
 
  
 
Member State 

Table 2: Summary of MS compliance with 98/70/EC for 2002 reporting. 
Incomplete reporting 

Limit value non-compliance (1) 
(95% confidence limits) 
Diesel 
Petrol 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
(2) 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

Diesel 

X 

Petrol 
X 
X 
X 

X 

(3) 

(4) 
X 
X 
(4) 

X 

Austria 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Spain 
Sweden 
United Kingdom 

Notes: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

It is not possible to confirm whether limit values have been respected in all samples, 
where reporting data is incomplete. 

The Finnish Customs Laboratory is of the opinion that all samples comply with the 
requirements of the Directive on the basis of expanded uncertainty limits of +/-10% 
for ethers [i.e. 90% confidence limits]. 

Although  all  oxygenates  were  not  measured  (other  than  ethers  with  more  than  5 
carbon atoms per molecule), Greece has stated the other oxygenates were not added 
and  the  oxygen  content  can  be  calculated  directly  from  the  oxygenates  content,  so 
would also be compliant. 

Although  all  oxygenates  were  not  measured  (other  than  ethers  with  more  than  5 
carbon atoms per molecule), Italy and Portugal have stated no other oxygenates are 
added to the fuel. 

As  in  2001  the  quality  of  the  compliance  assessment  suffers  in  some  cases  due  to  the 
incomplete  information  provided  by  Member  Sates.  Details  on  specific  exceedances  are 
provided in the individual country chapters of the full report. 

The Commission is concerned about the violations identified. Member States will be asked to 
explain the reasons as well as the measures taken, or planned to be taken, in order to Ensure 
that the fuel quality specifications are met. 

15 

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. 

CONCLUSIONS  

The monitoring of fuel quality in 2001 and 2002 shows that the specifications for petrol and 
diesel  laid  down  in  Directive  98/70/EC  are  in  general  met.  Only  very  few  violations  were 
identified namely related to exceedances of the maximum limit for vapour pressure during the 
summer period.  

Details of action taken by Member States with regard to non-compliance are included, where 
provided,  in  the  individual  country  chapters  of  the  detailed  reports  for  the  years  2001  and 
20029. The Commission will continue urging Member States to ensure full compliance with 
the fuel quality requirements laid down in the Directive. The recent amendments to Directive 
98/70/EC  (see  Directive  2003/17/EC)  included  the  insertion  of  a  paragraph  which  states 
"Member  States  shall  determine  the  penalties  applicable  to  breaches  of  the  national 
provisions  adopted  pursuant  to  this  Directive.  The  penalties  determined  must  be  effective, 
proportionate and dissuasive." It is expected that the implementation of this requirement will 
have positive repercussions on compliance. 

It should be noted that the share of 50 ppm fuels increased significantly from 2001 to 2002, 
while the shares of 10 ppm fuels remained nearly constant. 

The  fuel  quality  monitoring  systems  established  at  national  level  differ  considerably  and 
require  harmonisation  in  order  to  provide  transparent  and  comparable  results.  The 
implementation  of  Directive  2003/17/EC  is  expected  to  improve  the  quality  of  reporting  in 
this  respect  when  Member  States  are  required  to  report  in  accordance  to  the  new  European 
Standard, EN 14274, or with systems of equivalent confidence. 

9 

See http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/transport.htm#2 

16 

 
 
  
 
                                                 
ANNEX 

Table 3: 2001 EU fuel sales by fuel type (million litres) 

Italy  Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain  Sweden
IT 
0 
0 
0 
18,424
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
18,424
0 
0 
18,424
24,553
0 
0 
24,553

SP 
0 
0 
0 
7,400 
0 
0 
3,041 
0 
0 
1,041 
0 
0 
11,482
0 
0 
11,482
21,642
0 
0 
21,642

PO 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1,510 
0 
0 
697 
0 
0 
2,207 
0 
0 
2,207 
6,107 
0 
0 
6,107 

NL 
0 
0 
0 
6,434 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
649 
0 
0 
7,083 
0 
0 
7,083 
1,779 
7,772 
0 
9,551 

LU 
28 
0 
0 
507 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
207 
17 
0 
743 
17 
0 
759 
1,247 
0 
0 
1,247 

SV 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4,660 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
758 
0 
0 
5,418 
0 
5,418 
0 
0 
3,556 
3,556 

Million litres 

ID 
No.  Fuel grade 

1  Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 
2  Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<50 ppm S) 
3  Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<10 ppm S) 
4  Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 
5  Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<50 ppm S) 
6  Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<10 ppm S) 
7  Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 
8  Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<50 ppm S) 
9  Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<10 ppm S) 
10  Unleaded petrol RON>=98 
11  Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<50 ppm S) 
12  Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<10 ppm S) 

  Petrol (regular) 
  Petrol (<50 ppm sulphur) 
  Petrol (<10 ppm sulphur) 
  Total Petrol 

13  Diesel 
14  Diesel (<50 ppm sulphur) 
15  Diesel (<10 ppm sulphur) 

  Total Diesel 

Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece  Ireland

AU 
831 
0 
0 
0 
1,807 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
123 
831 
1,807 
123 
2,761 
5,447 
0 
0 
5,447 

BE 
0 
0 
0 
1,863 
0 
0 
959 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2,822 
0 
0 
2,822 
6,476 
0 
0 
6,476 

DK 
481 
0 
0 
1,972 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
130 
0 
0 
2,583 
0 
0 
2,583 
0 
2,221 
0 
2,221 

FI 
0 
0 
0 
2,046 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
367 
0 
0 
2,412 
0 
0 
2,412 
22 
2,137 
0 
2,159 

FR 
0 
0 
0 
8,628 
0 
0 
2,871 
0 
0 
6,475 
0 
0 
17,974 
0 
0 
17,974 
33,944 
0 
0 
33,944 

GE 
9,792 
1,983 
0 
18,696 
5,574 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1,427 
28,488 
7,557 
1,427 
37,473 
34,121 
5,810 
0 
39,930 

GR 
0 
0 
0 
2,942 
0 
0 
215 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3,157 
0 
0 
3,157 
2,733 
0 
0 
2,733 

IR 
0 
0 
0 
1,292 
17 
724 
31 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1,324 
17 
724 
2,065 
2,207 
0 
0 
2,207 

17 

UK 
UK 
0 
0 
0 

EU15 

EU15 

EU  % Total 

11,133 
1,983 
0 

7.7% 
1.4% 
0.0% 
60.3% 
17,279  87,483 
14.7% 
21,362 
9,304 
0.5% 
724 
0 
7.2% 
10,387 
1,760 
0.0% 
0 
0 
0.0% 
0 
0 
6.6% 
9,566 
0 
0.5% 
775 
0 
1.1% 
1,551 
0 
19,039  118,569  81.8% 
16.6% 
24,119 
9,304 
1.6% 
2,275 
0 
28,343  144,964  100.0% 
140,277  77.3% 
20.8% 
2.0% 

19,733  37,673 
3,556 
19,733  181,506  100.0% 

0 

0 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 4: 2002 EU fuel sales by fuel type (million litres) 

Million litres 

AU 
818 
0 
0 
0 

ID 
No.  Fuel grade 
1  Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 
2  Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<50 ppm S) 
3  Unleaded petrol min. RON=91 (<10 ppm S) 
4  Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 
5  Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<50 ppm S)  2,082 
6  Unleaded petrol min. RON=95 (<10 ppm S) 
7  Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 
8  Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<50 ppm S) 
9  Unleaded petrol 95=<RON<98 (<10 ppm S) 
10  Unleaded petrol RON>=98 
11  Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<50 ppm S) 
12  Unleaded petrol RON>=98 (<10 ppm S) 

IT 
0 
0 
0 

Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland  Italy  Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden UK 
UK 
IR 
EU  % Total 
0 
0 
1,335 
0 
0 
11,386 
0 
0 
0 
56,921 
0 
4,774  25,795 56,692 
0 
953 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
953 

0.9% 
7.8% 
0.0% 
38.9% 
38.7% 
0.5% 
718 
4.8% 
7,038 
0.0% 
0 
0.0% 
0 
6.7% 
9,840 
0.6% 
938 
1,533 
1.0% 
75,135  51.3% 
5,512  25,795 69,017  47.1% 
1.5% 

FR 
0 
0 
0 
9,265 
0 
0 
2,099 
0 
0 
5,984 
0 
0 

PO 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1,725 
0 
0 
630 
0 
0 

FI 
0 
0 
0 
2,100 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
356 
0 
0 

SP 
0 
0 
0 
7,665
0 
0 
2,250
0 
0 
1,136
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
738 
0 
0 

12 
718 
11 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

0 
0 

SV 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

EU15  EU15 

2,455  17,348

2,355  11,051

1,413  21,969

1,423  21,969

2,251 

0 
0 

0 

0 

0 
0 

0 
0 

2,455  17,348
35,412
0 
0 

1 
2,205 
0 

2,206  35,412

12 
718 
2,154  21,969
24,005
0 
0 

0 
2,209 
0 

2,209  24,005

2,355  11,051 5,512  26,748 146,403  100.0% 
98,776  54.6% 
5,650  22,975
21,219 78,370  43.3% 
2.1% 
3,717 

0 
0 
3,717 

0 
0 

0 
0 

0 

0 

5,650  22,975 3,717  21,219 180,863  100.0% 

BE 
0 
0 
0 
1,878 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
852 
0 
0 
2,730 
0 
0 
2,730 
0 
6,750 
0 
6,750 

DK 
492 
0 
0 
2,062 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
40 
0 
0 
2,594 
0 
0 
2,594 
0 
2,264 
0 
2,264 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
127 
818 
2,082 
127 
3,026 
6,195 
0 
0 
6,195 

LU 
26 
0 
0 
529 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
200 
0 
554 
200 
0 
755 
0 
1,380 
0 
1,380 

NL 
0 
0 
0 
6,783 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
565 
0 
0 
7,348 
0 
0 
7,348 
1,630 
7,972 
0 
9,602 

GE 
0 
11,386 
0 
0 
24,029 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1,406 
0 
35,415 
1,406 
36,822 
0 
34,371 
0 
34,371 

GR 
0 
0 
0 
3,259 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
277 
0 
0 
3,537 
0 
0 
3,537 
2,910 
0 
0 
2,910 

  Petrol (regular) 
  Petrol (<50 ppm sulphur) 
  Petrol (<10 ppm sulphur) 
  Total Petrol 
13  Diesel 
14  Diesel (<50 ppm sulphur) 
15  Diesel (<10 ppm sulphur) 
  Total Diesel 

18