Brussels, 02/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Car industry representatives will be meeting in Brussels shortly for two days of talks on the EU's transport policies. A delegation met with the European Commission recently in this connection at a meeting of the high-ranking CARS 21 group, where Greenpeace expressed concern that the car industry would quash the EU's aims to reduce carbon emissions.
Under the aegis of the ACEA (the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association), which is organising its AGM in such a way as to focus on EU transport policies, the leaders of the big car companies are flocking to Brussels on 1 and 2 December. The leaders started on Thursday by asking EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas about the EU's plans to cut the carbon footprint of transport in Europe (announced in a European Commission White Paper on Transport earlier this year).
A delegation of the captains of the car industry attended a meeting of the high-level working group CARS 21 on Friday 2 December to formulate recommendations to the Commission on the role of industry, which they want to see better reflected in EU policies because it plays a key role in job creation and R&D.
In its conclusions, CARS 21 backs the need to establish equal competition conditions at global level, as well as harmonisation of standards applicable to vehicles throughout the world (in the context of the 1958 EEC-UN agreement). The group also works on greener vehicles and on deployment of necessary infrastructure.
The environmental NGO Greenpeace, however, has carried out action to increase awareness regarding the role that could be played by the motor industry to weaken European stances on the subject. In true operational mode, Greenpeace organised a shock demonstration before the ACEA offices on the theme of Star Wars, alluding to a popular advert of the Volkswagen company. Greenpeace thus hoped to denounce the hold that automotive manufacturers, and other stakeholders, could have on European legislation under preparation to decrease the number of grams of CO2/km emitted by vehicles. (MD/fl/jl)