Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-01-Speech-1-065"
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"en.20020701.5.1-065"2
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"Madam President, my heartfelt thanks go to my colleague, Mrs Ayuso González, for the work she has done in drawing up this report. The directive will be important for the sector’s industry and will point the way to developments in the years to come.
The most crucial issue, and the one that is discussed in several amendments, concerns how binding the percentages are to be – are they to be obligatory or just target values? Our aims and targets must be such that they lead towards the long-term use of biofuels with low emissions. Transport is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, and we are highly dependent on imports of traditional petroleum-based fuels. This dependence on imported oil will increase in the future, and we must free ourselves from this dependence in any way that is at all possible.
However, at this stage I do not support binding targets with regard to percentages. A voluntary scheme is often the most viable solution. There are always dangers associated with coercion. Many Member States are sparsely populated and in thinly populated regions often the only way of getting around is by car. We cannot force people who live in sparsely populated regions to use biofuels if this means significantly increased fuel costs.
If we want to set targets to promote the use of biofuels we must also be prepared to introduce tax concessions in connection with them. Tax relief could be granted for biofuels to guarantee their competitiveness, as the Commission has stated in its separate proposal for a directive. Biofuels will not be competitive, compared to traditional fuels, without separate tax concessions. I do not believe, however, that the Council of Ministers, especially the Ministers for Finance, will be very pleased with this idea. I would therefore like to show moderation in this matter of tax relief.
We should leave the matter of increasing the market share of biofuels for a later appraisal. Let us first see how well the new products are received by the market and consumers and what other effects biofuels and bio-components have. The undisputedly positive impact of biofuels on employment in the EU countries must not be overlooked in the study. Neither should this directive mean expensive agricultural aid for certain Member States. We will have to look carefully at how the availability of raw material develops in the different Member States. The Commission’s proposal to increase the percentage annually must at this stage be omitted from the directive."@en1
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