Brussels, 13/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU's European Economic and Social Committee considers it preferable to modify rather than abolish the exemption ruling on automobile distribution, which expires in September 2002. So as to launch the debate, the European Commission submitted a fairly negative report on 15 November 2000, on the system that allows automobile manufacturers to conclude exclusivity agreements with their sales and after-sales dealers, thereby being exempt from the rules of competition defined in Article 81 of the Treaty.
By adopting the opinion proposed by Giacomo Regaldo (Italian member of the employers group), the ESC suggests retaining the rule of exemption, while improving: 1) the possibility of inter-make competition; 2) the independence of dealers vis-à-vis manufacturers; 3) the provision of technical information to independent repairers.
This opinion "is of an exceptional importance for all 280,000 enterprises in the retail motor industry in the EU", stresses Jurgen Creutzig, President of the European Council for the Motor trade and Repairs (CECRA), in a press release. "We fully agree with the report that protecting the dealers will enhance fair competition, which will in turn improve consumer's well-being, freedom of choice and safety, and the operation of the single market", he added.