Brussels, 12/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday evening, the Conciliation Committee failed to reach compromise between Council and Parliament on the ecopoints system (the transit regulation to be applied as of 2004 to heavy lorries travelling through Austria: see EUROPE of 6 November, p.13, on the trialogue on the subject). An EP press release indicates that there were no formal negotiations, as the Council delegation did not even speak, and Commission Loyola de Palacio told MEPs that Council members had failed to agree. According to the same press release, the European Parliament's delegation is now asking for new data on the number of ecopoints for each category of vehicle. The meeting for the next and final conciliation is set for 25 November. It is worth noting that the EP feels the system should apply only to the Austrian Alps, and Council thinks it should pertain to the whole of the Austrian territories.
Forza Italia MEP Giacomo Santini had this to say about this failure of "the last attempt to conciliate Austrian claims" with demands by other countries: "the new problem appears to go by the name of Germany and France, who, contrary to past positions, now seem almost disposed to negotiate with Austria prolonging the ecopoints system beyond 31 December this year, as planned". The MEP notes that "Italy was about to reach a compromise with Austria, by agreeing to keep 20% of ecopoints for Euro 1 and Euro 2 vehicle categories for another year (...) but France and Germany, with their older and more polluting vehicles, disassociated themselves from this agreement".