Strasbourg, 18/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - Following the line of its rapporteur Paolo Costa (Liberal group, Italy), the European Parliament approved on Thursday by 348 votes for, 102 against and 326 abstentions, the agreement reached in conciliation committee on the subject of the regulation setting up an eco-points system applicable in 2004 for heavy goods lorries travelling through Austria (EUROPE 27 November p 11). The agreement focuses on the banning of the most polluting transit (using more than 8 eco-points), the payment of a given amount for intermediate vehicles (6- 8 points) and the freedom to move unrestricted for less polluting (less than 5 points), the application of the system to the whole of Austria (as sought by Austria, the Council and the Commission whereas Parliament wanted to limit it to begin with to the Alpine regions alone, the sharing of eco-point quotas allocated to accession countries, the length of the system (until en of 2006 at the latest. Paolo Costa, who was represented by Kostas Hazidakis in the plenary, relied to Austrian protests saying that in the Alps, Austria had been better treated than Italy and France, which has to face the same environmental problems.
Austrian MEPs left isolated, appealed (with the forcefulness for which they have been known in this case) for the pure and simple rejection of the compromise text during Wednesday's debate. Austrian MEP, from all political parties, used this occasion to attack the compromise that went against environmental imperatives. Konstantinos Hatzidakis (New Democracy) representing Paolo Costas, the rapporteur, acknowledged that the conciliation procedure had been "extremely difficult" but that the agreement that had finally been reached was "balanced". He added, "We have fought for Austrian rights but we couldn't go any further as we would have had problems with the other delegations. He concluded, "At the EPP-ED, we are going to vote with a large majority for this result. Commissioner Loyola de Palacio was keen to point out to Austria, yet again, that with this system, it would benefit from a "privileged" situation. Italians, Giorgio Lisi (EPP/ED) and Giovani Fava (PES) appealed for adoption of the text. Belgian Liberal Dirk Sterckx declared that he was "worried by the declarations made by the Austrians following conciliation". Freddy Blak (GUE/NGL, Denmark) considered the compromise "acceptable" but thought that "if we want to deal with pollution we have to innovate and "get traffic off the roads and onto the railways" but he acknowledged that the will was not there.
Absolutely fuming, the Austrian MEPs gave their response. Johannes Voggenhuber from the Greens said that the compromise had been welcomed in Austria with "anger and consternation by the government, MPs, people and media". He made it clear that those who speak of privileges "appear to believe that we built the Alps out of pure nastiness". He indicated that "the danger is the right of free movement, which is becoming our god". With anger in his voice, he requested whether, "We really want to impose a regulation against our will? This regulation that Austria does not want to ratify. Is this what you want?" Hans Kronberger (FPÖ) repeated that, "there are more eco-points than necessary, therefore there is not a real limitation (of traffic) through Austria". Christian Democrat Reinhard Rack deplored "the black day for Austria" but also for Parliament which "has not played its role of protector of the environment". Rack thought the compromise did not limit transit but on the contrary, freed it up. He specifically highlighted the absence of the rapporteur, Social Democrat Johannes Swoboda, who also called for a rejection of this "false solution".
Speaking for the EPP-ED, Markus Ferber and Georg Jarzembowski (both form Germany and Giacomo Santini (Italy) immediately replied to their Austrian colleagues. Ferber criticised the "unconstructive approach of Austria" which "did not want a compromise". Santini said that "everyone want to protect the environment". Jarzembowski said called on his Austrian colleagues to "stop exaggerating" by claiming that the compromise was "unhealthy". He also pointed out to them that they had not always been coherent in their fight for the environment and concluded that, "in 1994, the Brenner tunnel was part of the trans-European transport network and until last year Austria had been claiming that this would be finished in 2021. It's under pressure from Parliament that Austria finally decided that the project would be finished at the end of 2012".