(2004/C 33 E/148)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1662/03

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 May 2003)

Subject:   Tailored toll system

In paragraph 54 of the Presidency conclusions of the European Council meeting held on 20 and 21 March 2003 the Member States are called on to reach a final agreement on the emissions trading directive.

The ecopoints system, which entered into force in 1993, will come to an end in December 2003. Studies carried out thus far have shown that the objectives laid down in Austria's accession treaty, namely a 60 % reduction in NOx emissions and the imposition of restrictions on the number of journeys made by heavy goods vehicles (108 % clause), have not been achieved over the period in question: instead of a 60 % reduction, only a 52 % cut in pollutant emissions has been recorded. The 108 % clause was criticised by the European Commission and the Member States on the grounds that it laid down a qualitative objective, involving a general reduction in pollutant emissions, rather than seeking to impose quantitative restrictions on the number of transit journeys. This shortcoming could be offset by means of a tailored toll system penalising road hauliers on the basis of their individual pollutant emissions.

Should the 108 % clause be abolished, what economically and ecologically acceptable alternative can the European Commission offer?

Does the European Commission share the view that emissions might usefully be regulated through the introduction of a tailored toll system?

In that connection, what support can the European Commission offer the Member States and, in particular, the sensitive areas in the central Alps?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2003)

The upper limit on the number of transit trips that may be made in any year — the so-called ‘108 % clause’ has been considered as a major inconsistency of the ecopoint system and this opinion is confirmed by the Parliament agreement to withdraw it from the system (1). This clause can only apply if the overall environmental performance of lorries improves by more than 8 % per annum. However, since the aim of the ecopoint system is to encourage hauliers to use more environmentally friendly lorries when transiting Austria it is hard to justify a sanction that actually arises from lorries being ‘too green’.

Concerning the objective of the ecopoint system laid down in Article 11 of Protocol No 9, the total nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions shall be reduced by 60 % in the period between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2003. On 1 January 1992, there were in theory, 23 556 220 ecopoints available for EU-15. Since every ecopoint has been agreed to be equivalent to one unit of NOx, the objective of the ecopoint system will therefore be achieved, according to the provisions of Protocol No 9, when 40 % of this total (i.e. 9 422 488 ecopoints) have been used in one calendar year and this will be the case in 2003.

Regarding the statistics of NOx emissions in Austria, the exact percentage of the decrease of NOx emissions by lorries transitting Austria must be weighed against many factors like: the amount of pollution caused by domestic traffic or by road transport vehicles other than lorries, the emissions performance of a well-maintained engine compared to a poorly-maintained engine, the conditions in which the test cycles of the new engines are made, etc.

In the present discussion of the prolongation of the ecopoint system, the idea of having the most polluting lorries excluded from the transit via Austria has been discussed by both Parliament and Council. Whereas more environmentally friendly lorries such as EURO IV would be exempted from ecopoints.

The emissions should in the first place be regulated by adaquate standards in the laws (EURO-classification). Moreover, the Commission has the intention to present shortly a sectoral proposal for a Directive on charging for the use of road infrastructure, amending Directive 1999/62/EC (2).

It is intended to contribute to bringing about a level playing field in the transport market, while ensuring that specificities of sensitive zones and corridors are taken into account.

(1)  Proposal of the Commission, OJ 120 E, 24.4.2001; approved by the Parliament on 1 September 2001.

(2)  Directive 1999/62/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures, OJ L 187, 20.7.1999.