Strasbourg, 23/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - By adopting the report by Swedish Socialist Ewa Hedkvist Petersen on road safety, the EP considered that the European Commission's "recommendation" that Member States set the level of alcohol allowed behind the wheel at 0.5 mg/ml not to be sufficient, and that there ought to be binding legislation (the Commission presented this recommendation on 18 January: see EUROPE of 19 January, p.10). In a paragraph of the resolution adopted by 264 in favour, 215 against and 14 abstentions, Parliament "considers that an EU recommendation concerning the maximum level of alcohol intake allowed is not an appropriate solution to the need to reduce the great disparities that remain in this field between Member States" (four States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Luxembourg and Italy apply a level of 0.8 mg/ml). The EPP opposed the idea of a directive in the name of subsidiarity. During the debate, Mr. Jarzembovsi said that it was a question of a false debate, and that what was important was to improve controls. Referring to the Commission's programme for road safety 1997-2001 and in anticipation of the third programme that the Commission is soon to present, the MEPs place emphasis on a series of priorities, like less dangerous car bonnets for pedestrians in case of accident, the wearing of seatbelts, headlights on during the day, etc. (see EUROPE of 13 January, p.12 for the details). Parliament also introduced a social issue into its resolution. By adopting an amendment tabled by the rapporteur, it called on the Commission in its new programme to look at driver fatigue (256 in favour, 219 against and 16 abstentions), and considered (306 in favour, 182 against and 11 abstentions) that legislation in force on working time and rest time was not adequate to guarantee drivers acceptable working timetables.