Verheugen leads drive for competitive car industry

By Anna McLauchlin

Date: 07/04/05

The work of drawing up a strategy to boost the competitiveness of the European car industry will intensify next week.

The CARS 21 group announced by Competitiveness Commissioner Günter Verheugen in January will have its first high-level meeting on Monday (11 April). Between now and the end of 2005 the group is supposed to draw up a ten-year regulatory road map for the European automotive sector.

The members of the group - three European commissioners, representatives from five member states, two MEPs, seven industry representatives, two trade unionists and a group of environmentalists - were asked to produce a two-page summary of their expectations for the group, to be discussed on Monday.

The UK government recommends that the group establish "clear targets" to reduce the regulatory burden on the car industry, while maintaining a high standard of environmental protection and safety.

It says the group should identify ways to promote innovation and encourage research and development, without resorting to recommending specific technologies.

One of the MEPs on the group, the UK Conservative Malcolm Harbour, insisted that the group should take a "long-term view" in order to provide a framework in which to take more short-term decisions such as the EURO 5 standard on diesel emissions.

He said that EURO 5 should be the only standard launched during the ten-year period, to provide stability for the industry, arguing that regulation should be in line with consumer demand.

"If you are going to focus on lightweight, low-consumption vehicles, these are not the most successful in the marketplace," he said. Harbour will push for the group to reach an informal agreement that carbon emissions form the basis for vehicle taxation.

The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) argues that environmental standards have so far brought "considerable benefits" and warned CARS 21 against going beyond its informal role. "You can't strike down legislation in a smoke-filled room," said Malcolm Fergusson, who was one of the 26 Sherpas working in the background to prepare the work of the high-level group.

Preview of the first high-level meeting on 11 April of the CARS 21 group, a forum announced by European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, Günter Verheugen in January 2005. The group was supposed to draw up a ten-year regulatory road map for the European automotive sector until the end of 2005.

European Commission: Press Release: MEMO/05/117 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/117&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

---