Brussels, 22/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - According to a press statement by COPA (the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the EU) and COGECA (General Confederation of Agricultural Co-operatives in the EU) published on 20 February, the European Commission's proposal setting a minimum binding 10% target for using bio-fuels for transport fuel by 2020, creates “the possibility for agriculture to play a bigger role in the fight against climate change”. This statement followed the conclusions of the Council of Transport and Energy Ministers on 15 February.
Nonetheless, these two organisations consider that if the EU wants this target to become a reality, “the European Council and the European Parliament must quickly approve the revision of directive 98/70/EC on fuel quality proposed by the European Commission, to enable 10% of bioethanol to be directly incorporated into petrol”. COPA and COGECA explain that with the EU largely short of diesel on the one hand, and world leader in biodiesel production on the other, the automobile industry must ensure that vehicle engines are able to run on diesel containing 10 % biodiesel. In this context, these organisations are calling for the European Standardisation Committee (CEN) to set about revising diesel standard EN 590. The European farmers' organisations conclude: “If the EU wants to reduce its dependence on energy from third countries and create jobs in rural areas, then duty-free imports of raw materials to be used for producing biofuels must be suspended in favour of local raw materials.”