Motorcycle Emissions

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Eamonn Townsend

Motorcycle Emissions

Post by Eamonn Townsend »

European Parliament adopts Lange Report: the way to Conciliation...


11th & 12th December 2001, EP Plenary Session, Strasbourg
The debate and second reading vote within the European Parliament (EP) on the proposal for further reductions of motorcycle emissions resulted in the endorsement of the Rapporteur's position. This means mandatory emission limits for 2006 on the basis of the Adapted European Car Test Cycle, provisions on durability and in-use compliance of fitted devices to meet original emission performances over time.

FEMA was present in Strasbourg. During the debate held the evening before the vote, the Rapporteur Bernd Lange underlined the main objective of his proposed amendments: making motorcycles as clean as cars by 2006. The European Commission expressed its general support for Lange's Report but still disagrees on setting mandatory 2006 limit values before a test cycle specific to motorcycles is finalised. Part of the results from the technical development of this World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) would be validated the following week, said Commissioner Erkii Liikanen.

FEMA thinks that established mandatory 2006 limits must not be distorted by any subsequent changes to the test cycles. These limits should be consistent with the objective of the proposal, therefore subject to correlation factors in order to avoid hidden reductions going beyond the original targets for motorcycle emissions.

The provisions on durability and in-use compliance contained in the proposal, seeking to control the conformity of original emission output of vehicles under normal conditions of use, are still very vague and require closer investigation. The European Commission will set up a working group in order to define the best practice to implement those measures. FEMA will be part of this group and make sure, if these provisions were to be implemented, that motorcyclists would not bear their costs.

The divergent positions of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers will inevitably result in the proposal going through the conciliation procedure. Next Spring will then be a crucial time for this issue. FEMA is constantly undertaking actions to make sure that motorcyclists get a fair treatment.
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