EESC wil meer controle op geluid en luchtvervuiling door weg transport en competitiviteit in auto industrie vrijwaren

EESC calls to strengthen control on noise and air pollution from road transport and to safeguard competition in automotive industry

At its plenary session on 15 and 16 July 2009, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted two key opinions on automotive sector. The first opinion calls for concrete measures to overcome the stagnation in persisting high levels of noise and pollutants emission from road transport. In the opinion on the downstream markets of the automotive industry, the EESC provides specific recommendations on the need to monitor restructuring developments in the aftermarket sector and act to safeguard competition and both the quantity and quality of jobs .

Prepared by the rapporteur Edgardo Iozia (Group II, Employees, Italy), the Committee opinion on "Emissions from road transport: concrete measures to overcome stagnation", points out that emissions from private, public and goods road transport continue to cause serious illness and erode quality of life, especially for urban populations, representing more than 75% of European citizens.

"The current system of self-certification by the industry and the negotiating of controls at the UN Economic Council for Europe obviously do not deliver the needed improvements for the citizens" explained Mr Iozia. "While test in laboratory conditions are used to proof compliance with EU emission standards, on-road controls, particularly during use, show that noise and pollutants emissions are considerably higher than those recorded in the cycle tests."

" Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods should also be applied to indirect transport-related emissions: production and transport of fuel, vehicle production , streets and car parks", stressed Mr Iozia. The EESC recommends that the European Community Institutions take immediately steps to strengthen control measures, thereby protecting citizens' health.

The components and downstream markets of the automotive sector

The EESC also adopted an opinion on " The components and downstream markets of the automotive sector" by rapporteur Gustav Zöhrer (Group II, Employees, Austria) and his co-rapporteur José Custódio Leirião . The automotive aftermarket consists of approximately 834 700 companies and 4.6 million employs. T he Committee recognises that vehicle manufacturers and vehicle dealers both face stiffer competition, leading to ever-diminishing profit margins.

" The ongoing restructuring of the aftermarket sector will result in the emergence of a range of new partnerships and new forms of customer relationships. The EESC thus calls the Commission to better monitor restructuring developments on the aftermarket sector closely and act to safeguard fair competition and both the quantity and quality of jobs" Mr Zöhrer said.

" Therefore, the opinion asks to setting up a high-level group which, drawing on the CARS 21 findings, would be responsible for outlining future prospects once the crisis is over," Mr Zöhrer stressed. The EESC underlines that priorities should be set: on access to free and fair competition, implementation of the Lisbon strategy, up skilling needs, innovation, consumer issues, trade policy, and social aspects . Additionally, more consideration must be given to demographic change, the development of lifelong training, and new workplace health and safety requirement.

The full text of these opinions will soon be available in all EU languages on :

http://www.toad.eesc.europa.eu/AgendaDocuments.aspx?pmi=c%2FwXXbtJX54%3D

For more details on the opinions, please contact the rapporteurs:

http://eescmembers.eesc.europa.eu/EESCMembers.aspx?culture=en

or email mailto:ten@eesc.europa.eu(road transport) and mailto:ccmi@eesc.europa.eu(automotive sector)