Brussels, 20/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - Changes to the exemptions by category for the car industry are too significant to be examined within the deadline set by the European Commission, in the view of the MEPs in the two European Parliament committees responsible for the issue, ECON (Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee) and IMCO (Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee). They therefore requested more time to examine the proposal, into next year, in order to “explore the issue properly,” in the words of MEP Malcolm Harbour (a member of the CRE group and chair of IMCO).
Paolo Cesarini, responsible for anti-trust cases in the manufacturing industry and other areas for DG Competition at the European Commission, presented the proposal at a joint sitting of IMCO and ECON in Strasbourg in the evening of Monday 19 October 2009. He hoped the draft legislation would be finalised this month in order to be commented upon by the EP in February or March 2010. Malcolm Harbour described this as “quite a tight timetable. This is a project which this Parliament is entitled to explore properly.” Although the EP only has the right to be consulted on the issue because the codecision procedure does not apply here, Harbour stressed the importance of the amendments to this important sector of EU industry.
The Commission is suggesting dividing up the current legislation into two halves - the current exemption for the sale of new cars would be removed. This would mean that new car sales would be subject to the normal rules banning any collaboration that might create an uneven playing field. Exclusive deals with dealers might then become illegal. In order to allow time to change, this would not come into force until 1 June 2013 and would be accompanied by special guidelines for the sector. The proposed legislation would exempt car maintenance and repair services from EU competition rules, along with the supply of spare parts. These markets would be the subject of special rules to guarantee independent mechanics access to the technical information they require to repair vehicles, which are increasingly computerised; protect independent mechanics' access to spare parts produced by the original manufacturer; and restricting abuse of manufacturer warranties. These warranties last for up to seven years for some makes and in practice, they prevent competition in after-sales services for the duration of the warranty. These measures on services and spare parts would come into force on 1 June 2010 in the timeline preferred by the Commission. The EP wants this to be extended for a year in order to carry out an in-depth analysis of how it would impact on the market. “Their own appraisal (by the Commission) indicates no competition or market dysfunction that need immediate attention,” explained Harbour, arguing for a prudent approach.
The Commission takes a dim view of this request for more time. Someone closely involved with the issue at DG Competition explained that the whole industry was telling the Commission “Don't keep us hanging!” as they need to know as soon as possible what the rules will be for the next decade. As one speaker put it, are these measures intended to protect the industry and its employees or to improve supply for the consumer? (C.D. trans fl)