Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-12-Speech-2-409"
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"en.20061212.47.2-409"2
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".
Mr President, it is the simply appalling air quality in many European cities that means that cars must become much cleaner, and this can be done, for we do have the technology.
Tomorrow, we will be voting on the Euro 5 standards that ensure that diesel cars in particular become much cleaner. I should like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Groote, for his efforts. Although major improvements have been reached in the compromise, I do have a number of comments.
First of all, I am not very happy about the procedure. The decision has been taken that there should be an agreement at first reading, which, as a procedure where backroom decisions are taken, is not very transparent. This could be justified if we were in a great hurry, but we are not in the case of Euro 5, since the standards do not enter into effect until September 2009. It would have been preferable if a second reading had been added, for this would have given us the opportunity to arrive at a position in the plenary before discussing it with the Council.
Secondly, I also have mixed feelings about the content. As I said, I am delighted with the stricter standards that have been agreed upon compared to the Commission proposal. I am not happy, though, with the special treatment sport utility vehicles are receiving, in that they will, according to compromise amendment 91, be exempt from the emission requirements that apply to cars until 2012. It is precisely these cars – and I am completely at one with Mr Belet on this – that cause most pollution that should be subject to stricter environmental requirements.
In addition, I regret the fact that Amendment 59, which allows Member States to take more sweeping measures, has not been included in the compromise package. This amendment received broad majority support in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. In previous legislation, we allowed for more flexibility, and we do so again in the case of Euro 5. California, in the USA, has been given more scope to impose stricter environmental requirements for new cars than has the Netherlands within the EU’s internal market, which has become a straitjacket, something that an increasing number of Europeans find unacceptable. In fact, stricter requirements in one or several Member States could be a great incentive for innovation."@en1
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