Luxembourg, 05/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - The debate in the Transport Council in Luxembourg Thursday morning once again confirmed the deadlock over the road transit quota system in Austria, through "ecopoints". The European Commission confirmed that it wanted to abolish the clause of the protocol to Austria's accession that provides for the reduction in the number of available ecopoints, when transit exceeds by 8% in a given year the traffic recorded in 1991, the so-called "108% clause". Austrian Minister Monika Forstinger, opposed the abolition of this clause in the name of environmental protection: "we shall fight tooth and nail to retain it" she declared to the Austrian press. The subject is especially sensitive for the region of Tyrol. Several States, including France, considered that the White Paper on the European strategy in the field of transport, expected for May, six months late, should contribute to the debate. Ministers contemplated the possibility of finding a comprehensive solution for the whole of the Alpine region.
"If Austria wants us to be flexible in the follow-up to the Ecopoint system after its expiry in 2003, it should perhaps show proof of flexibility between now and then", said one European diplomat. Speaking before the press, the Austrian minister, however, expressed fear about the consequences of increased traffic after enlargement to the East, and not just in the Alps.