Brussels, 23/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - Environmentalist demonstrations partially blocked the Brenner motorway on Tuesday between Austria and Italy to protest against the European transport policy. And, on Wednesday, the European Commission is to give its opinion on a project that adjusts the ecopoint system in order to settle the problem of the rise in heavy goods vehicle traffic in Austria. Austria's protocol for membership to the EU provides for a system of traffic stabilisation trhough the country, with transit permits, or ecopoints, attributed according to the level of pollution caused by the vehicles. This system, which should reduce by 60% the pollution of heavy vehicles weighing over 7.5 tonnes, expires in 2001.
Under the accession protocol, the Commission is held legally responsible for presenting a mechanism for reducing traffic when the number of transit journeys during any given year exceeds the reference year (1991) by 8%. In 1999, 1.7 million lorries crossed Austria, amounting to a 15% rise compared to 1991. In principle, the reduction mechanism must be applied from the next year. The Commission should therefore reduce by 20% the ecopoints attributed in 2000. In practice, a mechanical reduction of ecopoints over the six remaining months of the year would be tantamount to interrupting all traffic through Austria. In addition, the rise in traffic in Austria is partially due to the closure of the Mont Blanc tunnel, but also to the improvement in the environmental quality of heavy goods vehicles, which thus obtain more ecopoints.
Consequently, Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio presented, on Wednesday, a project that will spread over three and a half years the reduction of ecopoints instead of over a single year. The reduction would be shared out proportionally between the Member States whose hauliers are at the origin of the excessive traffic threshold. Legally, this proposal causes problems since it distances itself from the text of the accession protocol for Austria. Politically, the Permanent Representatives of the Member States (Coreper) supported this draft compromise during their meeting last week. Austria had pointed out on this occasion that it was willing to envisage spreading out reduction of ecopoints if the system effectively results in reduced traffic. Italy and Germany, which alone account for 60% of the transit through Austria, as well as Greece, gave a positive welcome to this principle of spreading out. But Germany expressed reticence on the principle of sharing out the reduction between Member States responsible for increased traffic.
The regulation is expected to be adopted by the Commission after a positive stance by the "ecopoint committee", which is to meet on 30 May. If this does not happen, then the file will be presented to the Council in June which will give its position by qualified majority.