Brussels, 30/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - The report by Austrian Socialist Hannes Swoboda, to be discussed in next week's plenary in Strasbourg, suggests the European Parliament reject the European Commission's proposal to drops the "108% clause" of the ecopoint system. The report was adopted by the EP's transport committee by 28 votes in favour and 26 against, whereas rejection was unanimous within the environment committee consulted for opinion.
The ecopoint system for regulating road traffic through Austria, created by Austria's protocol for accession to the EU, provides for the number of available transit rights to be automatically reduced by the Commission when traffic exceeds that recorded in 1991 by 8%. Last December, the Commission proposed dropping this clause, considering that it was detrimental to road transport which has tried hard to reduce the level of pollution caused by heavy vehicles. It noticed in general that the system has had a positive effect on encouraging the use of less polluting lorries, since the number of ecopoints needed to cross Austria is linked to the level of NOx emissions from heavy vehicles. The aim of reducing total NOx emissions from heavy vehicles by 60% was not, however, reached (see EUROPE of 22 December).
According to Hannes Swoboda, "these facts, which the Commission itself notes, are contradicted by its call for the dropping of the 108% clause as a quantitative ceiling on transit journeys". Also, "the 108% clause was from the outset an essential part of the ecopoints system, and sought to restrict certain environmental impact factors over and above NOx emissions, such as noise, road safety risks, etc." The rapporteur therefore calls on the EP to reject the Commission's proposal and calls on the Commission to present forthwith a strategy for the period beginning after expiry of the ecopoint system in 2004.
The Commission, which was in principle to present a comprehensive paper on the problem of road traffic in the Alps (traffic through Switzerland, Mont Blanc and Frejus tunnel, etc.) finally incorporated this problem into its White Paper on the future of EU transport, to be adopted by the college of Commissioners on 12 September.