During the European Commission’s presentation of the second “mobility” package on Wednesday 8 November, the Commission is expected to propose clear definitions of clean vehicles and suggest that the member states respect certain minimum thresholds for this kind of vehicle in the context of public procurement.
This was illustrated in a draft text about which EUROPE has obtained information and which revises directive 2009/33/EC on the promotion of clean road transport vehicles. The Commission has pointed out that this directive has not attained the results that had been hoped for in terms of procurement by the public authorities of clean vehicles, particularly due to the restrictive scope of application and lack of clear provisions on clean vehicles. It has therefore decided to propose several measures to make the text more effective.
The changes outlined by the Commission include a significant expansion in the scope of the directive. Therefore, in the proposal presented on Wednesday, the Commission is expected to suggest that all the public procurement markets, such as rent, lease and hire-purchase of vehicles contracts are covered by the text provisions, whereas purchasing contracts are the only ones currently covered.
Given the different interpretations within the European Union about the notion of “clean vehicles”, the Commission is also expected to provide clear definitions of this term for different kind of vehicles affected (passenger cars, light duty vehicles, buses, etc.). These definitions will depend on factors such as per kilometre CO2 emissions. With regard to heavy-duty vehicles, the Commission would like to be able to adopt delegated acts to set out CO2 emissions and pollutants thresholds, in an effort to define what constitutes a clean vehicle.
Another flagship measure expected to be proposed by the Commission includes: an obligation on the public authorities to procure a percentage of clean vehicles in relation to the total vehicle fleet. This percentage is expected to vary according to the member state in question and will take into account several different factors.
Finally, the proposal the European Commission will present on Wednesday is expected to suggest an obligation incumbent upon itself and the member states to draft reports on the implementation of the revised directive. The Commission is therefore expected to submit a report every three years as from 1 January 2024 on the application of the directive and the measures taken by the member states. The latter are also expected to present a report on implementation at a national level of the text, every three years as from 1 January 2026.
This is not going to be an isolated proposal either, since the European Commission is expected to present several initiatives in the context of the second “mobility” package, particularly with regard to international car and coach passenger transport rules and the roll out of alternative fuel infrastructure (see EUROPE 11896). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)