Report from the Commission - Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: Fourth annual Report (Reporting year 2005)
Date: 2007-10-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, air quality, diesel fuel, marketing, motor vehicle, petrol, pollution control, product quality, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 17.10.2007 
COM(2007) 617 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: 
Fourth annual report 
(Reporting year 2005) 

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1. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Directive  98/70/EC1  sets  minimum  specifications  on  health  and  environmental  grounds  for 
fuels  to  be  used  for  vehicles  equipped  with  positive-ignition  and  compression-ignition 
engines.  Fuel  quality  is  environmentally  important  because  it  affects  engine  pollutant 
emissions and thus air quality. It also affects the ease and cost with which desired pollutant 
and  greenhouse  emission  limits  can  be  achieved  by  manufacturers.  Directive  2003/17/EC2, 
amending Directive 98/70/EC, requires a further reduction of the sulphur content of petrol and 
diesel fuels.  

Non-respect  of  the  fuel  specification  can  lead  to  increased  emissions  (for  example  excess 
oxygenates  can  increase  NOx  emissions)  and  might  damage  engine  and  exhaust  after-
treatment  systems  (for  example  excess  sulphur  damaging  catalysts)  leading  to  higher  air 
pollutant emissions. In order to ensure compliance with the fuel quality standards mandatory 
under this Directive, Member States are required to introduce fuel quality monitoring systems. 

Article 8 of Directive 98/70/EC requires the Commission to publish annually, a report on fuel 
quality  in  the  Member  States.  This  fourth  Commission  Report  summarises  Member  States’ 
submissions on the quality of petrol and diesel, as well as the volumes sold, for the year 2005. 
All Member States except France submitted national reports for 2005.  

The monitoring of fuel quality in 2005 shows that the specifications for petrol and diesel laid 
down  in  Directive  98/70/EC  are  in  general  met  and  again  few  exceedances  were  identified. 
For  petrol  the  main  parameters  where  exceedances  were  identified  were  research  octane 
number  (RON)3,  summer  vapour  pressure4  and  distillation/evaporation  at  100/150°C5  For 
diesel  the  main  parameters  where  exceedances  were  identified  were  sulphur  content, 
distillation 95% point, cetane number and density.  

Although  several  Member  States  reported  non-compliant  samples,  in  general  far  fewer 
samples exceeded the limit values (and the limits of tolerance for the test methods) compared 
to  previous  years.  However,  several  EU-10  Member  States  reported  significant  numbers  of 
samples  non-compliant  with  limit  values.Belgium  reported  a  higher  proportion  (~3.5%)  of 
non-compliant  samples  than  other  Member  States,  but  has  improved  compliance  levels  on 
previous years.  

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3 

4 

5 

Directive  98/70/EC  relating  to  the  quality  of  petrol  and  diesel  fuels  and  amending  Council  Directive  93/12/EEC 
O.J. L 350, 28.12.1998, p. 58 
Directive  2003/17/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  3  March  2003  amending  Directive 
98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels O.J. L 76, 22.3.2003, p. 10 
Research Octane Number (RON) is a quantitative measure of the maximum compression ratio at which 
petrol  can be used  in  an  engine  without  some  of  the  mixture  self  igniting  in  the  engine. Self  ignition 
leads to excess fuel consumption and an increase in Volatile Organic Compound and Carbon Monoxide 
emissions. 
Vapour  pressure  is  a  measure  of  the  propensity  of  the  fuel  to  evaporate.  It  is  regulated  in  summer 
because temperatures at that time of year can lead to high emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds, 
which  are  a  precursor  of  ground  level  ozone.  Exceedances  will  result  in  increased  Volatile  Organic 
Compound emissions. 
The distillation parameter establishes the proportion of the fuel that evaporates at 100˚C and 150˚C. It 
limits  the  range  of  lighter  components  that  can  be  blended  in  the  petrol.  Exceedances  could  lead  to 
vapour locks and driveability problems.  

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Sulphur  content  for  diesel  proved  a  particular  problem  in  2005  (mainly  EU-10),  due  to  the 
new  mandatory  <50  ppm  level  from  the  start  of  2005.Several  EU-10  Member  States  had 
problems  with  sales  of  higher  sulphur  grades  early  in  the  year,  and  there  appeared  to  be  a 
higher number of samples contaminated with higher sulphur diesel or gas oil than in previous 
years. 

The Commission is not aware of any negative repercussions on vehicle emissions or engine 
functioning related to these exceedances, but continues to urge Member States to take action 
in order to ensure full compliance. Most are doing so already, and details of action taken by 
Member States with regard to non-compliance are included, where provided, in the individual 
country chapters of the detailed report for 20056. The Commission will continue monitoring 
compliance with the fuel quality requirements laid down in the Directive and aims to improve 
its analysis of the data provided from reporting year 2006 onwards.  

For  the  abatement  of  air  pollution  and  the  introduction  of  new  engine  technology  it  is 
important to note that the share of <10 ppm and <50 ppm sulphur fuels increased significantly 
from 2001 to 2005 for EU-15. From 2005, it was mandatory for all fuel to meet the <50 ppm 
sulphur  level,  and  for  fuels  of  <10  ppm  sulphur  to  be  introduced  in  all  Member  States. 
Average  sulphur  content  in  2005  is  substantially  below  that  reported  in  2004  as  shown  in 
table 1. 

Table 1: Annual trend in average sulphur content in petrol and diesel fuels for the EU 

Average Sulphur Content, ppm 

EU15  EU10 

Fuel/Year 

2001 

2002 

2003* 2004*

2005*

2005*

2005 

Petrol 

Diesel 

68 

51 

37 

38 

223 

169 

125 

113 

19 

25 

19 

24 

23 

37 

Includes EU10 country data from 2004. *Excludes France, who did not report in 2003 to 2005.  

National  fuel  quality  monitoring  systems  still  differ  considerably;  however,  the  Directive 
requirements  are  expected  to  promote  greater  homogeneity  and  to  improve  the  quality  of 
reporting. 

2. 

INTRODUCTION 

The specifications for petrol and diesel sold in the European Union are laid down in annexes 
to Directive 98/70/EC and, from 1 January 2005, only one set of fuel specifications applies. 
The Directive also requires Member States to report summaries of the quality of fuels sold in 
their  territories.  From  2004  onwards,  Member  States  are  required  to  report  on  their 
monitoring in accordance with European Standard, EN 142747, or with systems of equivalent 
confidence.  Article  8  of  Directive  98/70/EC,  as  amended  by  Article  1(5)  of  Directive 
2003/17/EC, requires the Commission to forward the results of Member States’ fuel quality 

6 
7 

See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/pdf/fqm_summary_2005.pdf 
EN 14274:2003  -  Automotive  fuels  -  Assessment  of  petrol  and  diesel  quality  -  Fuel  Quality  Monitoring 
System (FQMS). 

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reporting.  In  compliance  with  this  request,  this  fourth  Commission  Report  summarises  the 
quality of petrol and diesel, as well as the volumes sold, in the Community for the year 2005. 
Previous year's reports can be found on the Commission's web pages8.  

3. 

NATIONAL MONITORING SYSTEMS 

A  number  of  different  approaches  have  been  used  to  implement  Fuel  Quality  Monitoring 
Systems  (FQMS)  across  the  EU.  These  range  from  those  based  on  European  Standard  EN 
14274,  with  sampling  at  a  range  of  fuel  retail  stations,  through  to  national  systems.  For 
example,  systems  in  Sweden  and  the  UK  integrate  sampling  and  analysis  of  all  refinery  or 
imported batches  into the requirements for distribution  of fuels within the country. There is 
also random sampling across the distribution chain throughout the year. The systems active in 
several Member States were originally designed for other purposes, and this explains some of 
the  variations  in  coverage  and  application  across  the  EU.  A  greater  degree  of  homogeneity 
was expected from 2004, when the amended Directive requires Member States to: "establish 
a  fuel  quality  monitoring  system  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  relevant 
European Standard" (EN 14274 & EN 142759) from 1 January 2004. Since 2001 a significant 
number of changes have been made to Monitoring Systems. From the EU-15 Member States, 
6  have  now  moved  their  systems  to  ones  based  upon  EN  14274  as  have  6  of  the  EU-10 
Member States. Portugal has stated it is still in the process of changing its system to comply 
with EN 14274. Alternative monitoring systems may be permitted by the Directive, provided 
such  systems  ensure  results  of  an  equivalent  confidence.  So  far  only  Cyprus,  Denmark  and 
Malta  have  provided  information  justifying  their  use  of  National  Systems  with  reduced 
sampling. The UK has also provided information on the statistical confidence of its system. 
Figure 2 summarises the sampling rate across the EU in 2005. 

4. 

2005 REPORTING 

4.1 Fuel Qualities and Volumes 

While  a  wide  variety  of  octane  and  sulphur  grade  petrols  were  available  across  the  EU  in 
2005,  the  majority  of  sales  comprised  RON95  (84%  of  the  total,  66%  of  which  was  low 
sulphur  and  34%  sulphur  free10),  see  Figure  1  and  table  in  the  Annex  for  full  details  by 
Member  State  (no  submission  was  provided  by  France  for  2003  to  2005  fuel  quality 
monitoring). Of all petrol sold, 61% was low sulphur (<50 ppm) and 39% sulphur free (<10 
ppm).  Of  all  diesel  sold  the  equivalent  split  was  67%  and  33%.Compared  to  2001  the 
quantities  of  <50 ppm  and  <10  ppm  sulphur  fuels  have  increased  significantly  since  in  that 
year they accounted for approximately 20% of all petrol and diesel sales in the EU while they 
now account for virtually all petrol and diesel sales. 

Sales in EU-10 Member States comprised 10.5% and 11.3% of total petrol and diesel sales in 
the EU respectively (up slightly since 2004).Compared to the EU-15, much lower proportions 
of sulphur-free petrol grades were sold in the EU-10 (15.5%), but a slightly higher proportion 
of sulphur-free diesel (36%) was sold.  

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9 

10 

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/fuel_quality_monitoring.htm 
EN 14275:2003 - Automotive fuels - Assessment of petrol and diesel fuel quality -Sampling from retail site 
station pumps and commercial site fuel dispensers.  
The term “low sulphur” corresponds to a sulphur content of 50 ppm; the term “sulphur free” to a sulphur content of 
10 ppm  

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EN 

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Figure 1: 

EU Fuel sales proportions by fuel type (%) 

Petrol Sales 

2005  Diesel Sales 

2005 

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

% 
0.1% 
66.5% 
33.5% 

  Type 
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) 

% 
0.0% 
0.3% 
7.7% 
0.0% 
55.4% 
28.0% 

0.0% 

4.1% 
0.00% 
0.0% 
0.9% 
3.5% 

Similarly to 2001-2004, the largest total sales of fuels (of submissions received) in 2005 were 
made in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom (Figure 3). Diesel sales are dominant 
in many Member States; however the relative proportions of petrol and diesel vary.  

Since 2001 there has been increased homogeneity in the number of grades of fuel reported to 
be available across the EU (Figure 4). In 2005 there are generally 2-3 petrol grades available, 
mainly  a  result  of  different  octane  levels  (RON  category),  however  separate  sulphur-free 
grades are appearing in some cases (for example Estonia, which has a sulphur-free version of 
each fuel type).Separate (marked) national sulphur-free (<10 ppm) fuel grades were available 
in 10 EU15 (only 1 in 2001) and 4 EU10 Member States in 2005 (in others fuel meeting the 
sulphur limit is available but unmarked at sale). 

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Figure 2: 

Fuel Quality Monitoring sampling rate across the EU in 2005 (average number of samples per fuel grade) 

2479

3748

460

1653

438

268

415 1327
657

2255

300

250

200

150

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Petrol 

Diesel 

Figure 3: 

National fuel sales by fuel type across the EU (million litres)* 

35,000

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

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Total Petrol 

Total Diesel 

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Figure 4: 

Number of fuel grades available nationally by fuel type across the EU 

6

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Number of Petrol Grades 

Number of Diesel Grades 

Figure 5: 

National sales of low sulphur petrol grades across the EU (%) 

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

AT BE CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE EL HU IE

IT

LV LT LU MT NL PL PT SK SI ES SE UK

Petrol (regular) 

Petrol (<50 ppm sulphur) 

Petrol (<10 ppm sulphur) 

EN 

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EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 6: 

National sales of low sulphur diesel grades across the EU (%) 

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

AT BE CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE EL HU IE

IT

LV LT LU MT NL PL PT SK SI ES SE UK

Diesel (regular) 

Diesel (<50 ppm sulphur) 

Diesel (<10 ppm sulphur) 

Figure 7: 

Average sulphur content of petrol and diesel grades across the EU (%) 

114 ppm 

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

2005 limits

2009 limits

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Petrol 

Diesel 

EN 

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EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Low  sulphur  fuels  were  available  during  2001-2004  in  many  EU  Member  States,  although 
mandatory introduction was not required until 2005 (see Figure 5 and Figure 6). Low sulphur 
(<50 ppm) grades are mandatory from 1 January 2005, as was the introduction of sulphur-free 
(<10  ppm)  fuels.  However  several  Member  States  are  yet  to  introduce  separately  marketed 
(and  labelled)  sulphur  free  fuels.  Some  have  not  provided  sufficient  information  to  judge 
whether  they  are  available  “on  an  appropriately  balanced  geographical  basis”,  as  required 
by the Directive, and Cyprus, Malta and the UK have not yet made them available at all. 

Member  States  do  not  have  to  fully  switch  to  sulphur-free  fuels  until  2009.  However,  for 
petrol  fuels  in  the  EU-15,  4  Member  States  (Austria,  Finland,  Germany  and  Sweden)  had 
already  fully  moved  over  to  sulphur  free  petrol  in  2005.For  diesel  fuels  in  the  EU15,  3 
Member States (Finland, Germany and Sweden) had fully moved over to sulphur free diesel 
fuel in 2005 (in Germany it has been available from 2003 and in Sweden virtually all diesel 
has been sulphur-free since 1999).None of the EU-10 has yet fully switched to sulphur-free 
fuels. 

While  separate  (or  labelled)  sulphur-free  fuel  grades,  or  separate  sales  figures  were  not 
available in 2005 in some Member States, fuels complying with the <10ppm sulphur criterion 
were available in many cases, e.g. the Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands.This can be seen 
in  Figure  7,  which  presents  the  average  sulphur  content  of  petrol  and  diesel  grades  by 
Member State across the EU. (Average sulphur content is calculated from the mean sulphur 
content from reporting on the sampled fuels, weighted to the quantities of different petrol or 
diesel  fuel  grades  sold).  The  earlier  Table  1  demonstrated  that  the  annual  average  sulphur 
content  of  petrol  and  diesel  fuels  sold  in  the  EU  is  decreasing,  and  together  with  Figure  7 
shows  that  much  of  the  fuel  sold  in  previous  years  already  complied  with  the  2005  sulphur 
limit (<50 ppm sulphur) for petrol and diesel. 

4.2 Compliance with Directive 98/70/EC in 2005 

Table 2 summarises the compliance of Member States with Directive 98/70/EC for the year 
2005 reporting in terms of the results of the analysis of samples against limit values and the 
reporting format and content. As for 2001 to 2004, the quality of the compliance assessment 
suffers  in  a  few  cases  from  incomplete  information  provided  by  Member  States.  Details  of 
action taken with regard to limit value non-compliance by Member States are included where 
provided in the individual country chapters of the detailed report for the year 200511. 

It can be seen that 6 Member States are in complete compliance with Directive 98/70/EC limit 
values for both petrol and diesel for all samples (compared to 5 in 2001 for the EU-15 and 11 
in 2004 for EU-25). With the exception of oxygenates (for 7 Member States, see notes 4 and 5 
of  the  table),  21  Member  States  also  provided  complete  reporting  across  the  range  of 
parameters specified for monitoring in the Directive.  

In  2005,  17  Member  States  (8  EU-15)  reported  at  least  one  petrol  sample  that  was  non-
compliant with Directive 98/70/EC, this is in comparison to 13 Member States in 2004 (6 EU-
15). For the EU15, in 2002 and 2003, 9 Member States reported at least one non-compliant 
sample while 10 did so in 2001.Of these, the main parameters of concern were again research 

11 

See http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/air/fuel_quality_monitoring.htm 

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octane  number  (38  samples),  summer  vapour  pressure  (45  samples)  and  distillation  - 
evaporation at 100/150°C (9 samples). 

For diesel, 13 Member States (4 EU-15) reported at least one sample that was non-compliant 
with Directive 98/70/EC. This is compared to 4 in 2001, 6 in 2002 and 5 in 2003 from EU-15 
Member  States  and  8  EU  Member  States  in  2004  (2  EU-15).Of  these,  the  parameters  of 
concern  were  sulphur  content  (133  samples),  distillation  95%  point  (54  samples),  cetane 
number (6 samples) and density (5 samples). 

Although  several  Member  States  reported  non-compliant  samples,  far  fewer  samples 
exceeded  the  limit  values  (and  the  limits  of  tolerance  for  the  test  methods)  compared  to 
previous  years.However,  several  EU-10  Member  States  reported  significant  numbers  of 
samples  non-compliant  with  limit  values.Belgium  has  reported  a  higher  proportion  of  non-
compliant  samples  than  other  Member  States,  but  has  improved  compliance  levels  on 
previous years. Sulphur content proved a particular problem for this year (mainly EU-10), due 
to  the  mandatory  <50  ppm  level  from  the  start  of  2005.Several  of  the  EU-10  had  problems 
with sales of higher sulphur grades early in the year, and there appeared to be a higher number 
of samples contaminated with higher sulphur diesel or gas oil than in previous years. 

EN 

11 

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Table 2: 

Summary of Member State compliance with 98/70/EC for 2005 reporting. 

Limit value non-compliance (1)  
(95% confidence limits) 
[Non-compliant samples / Total samples] 

Petrol 

4 / 205 

232 / 4957 

45 / 1381 

10 / 300 
2 / 257 

6 / 543 
1 / 289 
7 / 120 
3 / 118 
3 / 318 
1 / 251 
8 / 192 

13 / 51 
1 / 106 
16 / 392 

7 / 236 
22 / 136 

Diesel 

3 / 100 

232 / 3748 
19 / 155 
64 / 1653 

1 / 114 

1 / 240 

6 / 309 
9 / 438 
20 / 268 

23 / 31 

15 / 204 

1 / 102 
25 / 152 

Incomplete reporting  
[Number of parameters 
not measured / Total] 
Diesel 
Petrol 

Late report 
(Due by 
30/6/2006) (2) 

Notes 

1 / 18 
7 / 18 

<6 months 
<1 month 

(3)  
(4)  

<4 months 

(7)  

Not received 
<3 months 
<2 months 

(4)  

<2 months 

(5)  

<1 month 

 (8) 

1 / 5 

<6 months 
<5 months 

 (9) 

(4) (6) 

(4)  

<1 month 

<3 months 
12 

6 / 18 

6 / 18 

7 / 18 

6 / 18 

17 

13 

6 

1 

Member State 

Austria 

Belgium 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Poland 
Portugal 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Spain 
Sweden 
UK 
No. Countries 

Notes: 

(1)   

It  is  not  possible  to  confirm  whether  limit  values  have  been  respected  in  all  samples,  where  reporting  data  is 
incomplete. Where it has not been possible to establish from submissions the number of samples exceeding the limit 
value a ‘>’ symbol indicates that the number of samples exceeding limits is a minimum and might be greater. 

(2)    Directive 98/70/EC states that Member States should submit monitoring reports by no later than 30th June each year. 

(3)    Oxygen content has not been reported 

(4)    Oxygenates  (other  than  ethers  with  more  than  5  carbon  atoms  per  molecule)  have  not  been  reported.  However,  in 
principle, all substances on the list are measured at once using the oxygenate test methods. However, the system has to 
be  calibrated  using  a  calibration  sample,  containing  the  same  oxygenates  in  similar  proportions  as  present  in  the 
sample  under  test.It  is  not  clear  in  most  cases,  whether  this  has  been  carried  out,  however  Portugal  have  stated  no 
other oxygenates are added to the fuel.The total organically bound oxygen is calculated from the percentages by mass 
of the individual components after identification. 

(5)    Oxygenates (other than ethers with more than 5 carbon atoms per molecule) have not been reported (see note 4 for 

more details).  

(6)    Portugal also carried out no measurements on lead content this year. 

(7)    Estonia also reported 5 samples of sulphur-free petrol and 4 samples of sulphur-free diesel that exceeded the 10ppm 
sulphur tolerance limits for this class of fuel in national specifications. These non-compliant samples are not included 
in the total as they are within the mandatory <50ppm limit value for petrol and diesel. 

(8)    Quantities of regular diesel <350ppm appear to have been sold in Latvia in early 2005, in non-compliance with the 

<50 ppm limit value mandatory from start 2005. 

(9)    Cetane index has been measured instead of Cetane number 

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5. 

CONCLUSIONS  

Fuel  quality  is  environmentally  important  because  it  affects  engine  pollutant  emissions  and 
thus air quality as well as the ease and cost with which desired pollutant and greenhouse gas 
emission  limits  can  be  achieved  by  manufacturers.  The  monitoring  of  fuel  quality  in  2005 
shows  that  the  specifications  for  petrol  and  diesel  laid  down  in  Directive  98/70/EC  are  in 
general met and very few exceedances were identified. The Commission is not aware of any 
negative repercussions on vehicle emissions or engine functioning due to these exceedances. 
The  Commission  remains  concerned  about  the  exceedances  and  will  continue  monitoring 
compliance with the fuel quality requirements laid down in the Directive. In support of this, 
from 2006 reporting, the Commission intends to carry out more detailed statistical analysis of 
reported data. 

The share of <10 and <50 ppm fuels have been increasing from 2001 to 2004.For 2005 the 
proportions  have  increased  significantly,  with  the  <50  ppm  sulphur  limit  becoming 
mandatory,  and  the  requirement  for  introduction  of  <10  ppm  sulphur  fuels  across  the  EU. 
Zero sulphur fuels were available in the majority of Member States in 2005 (UK, Malta and 
Cyprus  still  need  to  introduce  these  fuels).However,  from  current  indications  there  are  still 
cases where the grades do not appear to be labelled in certain Member States.  

This  lack  of  labelling  could  hamper  the  introduction  of  vehicles  using  technology  requiring 
sulphur-free  fuels  before  full  mandatory  introduction  in  2009  since  without  labelling 
consumers have no possibility to choose these fuels. This is particularly important for owners 
of  vehicles  utilising  technology  that  requires  sulphur-free  fuel  and  significantly  undermines 
the value of having fuels meeting this criterion available.As a result the full potential offered 
for  reductions  in  CO2  from  the  road  transport  sector  would  not  be  realised.Belgium,  Czech 
Republic, Ireland, Latvia, Luxemburg and Slovenia are countries where action could be taken 
to ensure zero sulphur fuels are labelled in future years Reporting on this labelling could help 
the  automotive  industry  gain  confidence  in  fuel  availability  so  that  vehicles  taking  full 
advantage of the zero sulphur content are more widely introduced leading to an environmental 
gain  through  lower  pollutant  and  greenhouse  gas  emissionsIn  general  very  limited 
information  has  been  provided  by  Member  States  on  the  geographical  availability  of  zero 
sulphur fuels. Most Member States simply stating they were widely available, but provided no 
supplementary information to provide a measure of the geographical availability. 

The  fuel  quality  monitoring  systems  established  at  national  level  differ  considerably  and 
require  further  uniformity  in  order  to  provide  transparent  and  comparable  results.  The 
implementation  of  Directive  2003/17/EC  has  led  to  improved  quality  of  reporting  as  it 
requires Member States to report on monitoring in accordance to the new European Standard, 
EN 14274,  or  with  systems  of  equivalent  confidence.  Where  Member  States  do  not  report 
according to EN 14274 format, justification for this must be provided. 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
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 

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 

ANNEX: 2005 EU fuel sales by fuel type (million litres)  

Austria  Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland 

AU 
- 
- 
738 
- 
- 
1,986 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
83 
0 
0 
2,807 
2,807 
- 
976 
6,535 
7,511 

BE 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1,055 
659 
- 
- 
- 
- 
276 
395 
0 
1,331 
1,055 
2,386 
- 
7,269 
168 
7,437 

DK 
- 
- 
525 
- 
- 
1,951 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
16 
0 
0 
2,492 
2,492 
- 
- 
2,782 
2,782 

FI 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
2,232 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
269 
0 
0 
2,501 
2,501 
- 
- 
2,383 
2,383 

FR 
- 
- 
- 
0 
- 
- 
0 
- 
- 
0 
- 
- 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
- 
- 
0 

DE 
- 
- 
8,884 
- 
- 
21,849 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
992 
0 
0 
31,725 
31,725 
- 
- 
34,206 
34,206 

EL 
- 
- 
- 
- 
4,229 
- 
- 
735 
- 
- 
136 
268 
0 
5,100 
268 
5,369 
- 
2,446 
9 
2,455 

IE 
- 
- 
- 
- 

Italy  Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden UK 
UK 
IT 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
24,082
- 
- 
1,273 
- 
- 
- 
- 
0 
25,355
0 

PT 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1,919 
- 
- 
- 
495 
0 
1,919 
495 
2,413 
- 
5,476 
403 
5,879 

ES 
- 
- 
- 
- 
8,066
- 
- 
575 
- 
- 
- 
1,190
0 
8,641
1,190
9,831
- 
27,840
0 
27,840

SE 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
5,104 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
384 
0 
0 
5,488 
5,488 
- 
- 
4,270 
4,270 

EU15 
EU15  % Total 

EU15 

0.0% 
0 
0.0% 
3 
8.6% 
10,147 
0.0% 
0 
53.4% 
63,151 
30.0% 
35,429 
0.0% 
0 
3.8% 
4,502 
0.0% 
1 
0.0% 
0 
0.7% 
854 
3.5% 
4,094 
0.0% 
0 
58.0% 
68,510 
42.0% 
49,671 
25,355 118,181 100.0% 
0 

0.0% 
66.9% 
23,389 107,418
33.1% 
53,113 
23,389 160,530 100.0% 

- 

- 

NL 
- 
- 
- 
- 
7,089 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
310 
1 
0 
7,399 
1 
7,400 
- 
9,000 
- 
9,000 

LU 
- 
3 
- 
- 
524 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
131 
- 
0 
659 
0 
659 
- 
2,139 
- 
2,139 

1,646  16,461
979 
669 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
0 
0 

1,646  16,461
979 
670 
2,315  17,440

- 

- 

1,801  27,081
1,467 
890 
2,691  28,549

Cyprus  Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Malta Poland  Slovakia Slovenia EU10  EU10 
EU10  % Total
LT 
0.0% 
- 
0 
3.0% 
80 
423 
0.6% 
- 
78 
0.1% 
- 
14 
72.4% 
355 
10,088
11.5% 
2 
1,596 
0.0% 
- 
0 
6.2% 
- 
857 
0.0% 
- 
0 
0.0% 
- 
0 
2.8% 
1 
393 
3.4% 
7 
478 
0.1% 
0 
14 
84.4% 
436 
11,760
15.5% 
9 
2,152 
13,927 100.0%
444 
0.7% 
- 
139 
63.0% 
888 
12,882
7,441 
65 
36.4% 
20,461 100.0%
953 

HU 
- 
- 
- 
- 
1,801 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
175 
4 
0 
1,976 
4 
1,980 
- 
2,901 
59 
2,960 

PL 
- 
- 
- 
9 
4,130 
912 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
404 
9 
4,130 
1,316 
5,455 
45 
1,273 
6,875 
8,193 

SI 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
833 
- 
- 
53 
- 
0 
886 
0 
886 
- 
1,010 
- 
1,010 

CZ 
- 
280 
- 
- 
2,762 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
27 
- 
0 
3,069 
0 
3,069 
- 
5,003 
- 
5,003 

MT 
- 
- 
- 
- 
66 
- 
- 
24 
- 
- 
- 
- 
0 
90 
0 
90 
- 
116 
- 
116 

CY 
- 
- 
- 
- 
355 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
55 
- 
0 
410 
0 
410 
- 
414 
- 
414 

SK 
- 
28 
73 
5 
94 
562 
- 
- 
- 
- 
2 
18 
5 
124 
652 
781 
45 
443 
215 
703 

EE 
- 
14 
5 
- 
176 
121 
- 
- 
- 
- 
43 
36 
0 
233 
162 
394 
- 
118 
227 
345 

LV 
- 
21 
- 
- 
350 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
36 
10 
0 
408 
10 
418 
49 
716 
0 
765 

European Union  European Union 

EU 
0 
426 
10,225 
14 
73,239 
37,025 
0 
5,359 
1 
0 
1,246 
4,572 
14 
80,270 
51,823 
132,108 
139 
120,299 
60,553 
180,991 

% Total 
0.0% 
0.3% 
7.7% 
0.0% 
55.4% 
28.0% 
0.0% 
4.1% 
0.0% 
0.0% 
0.9% 
3.5% 
0.0% 
60.8% 
39.2% 
100.0% 
0.1% 
66.5% 
33.5% 
100.0% 

EN 

14 

EN