15 Transport: alternative fuels
| (a)
(34647)
5736/13
+ ADD 1
COM(13) 17
(b)
(34653)
5899/13
+ ADDs 1-3
COM(13) 18
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Commission Communication: Clean power for transport: a European alternative fuels strategy
Draft Directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure
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| Legal base | (a) —
(b) Article 91 TFEU; co-decision; QMV
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| Department | Transport
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| Basis of consideration
| Minister's letter of 27 November 2013
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| Previous Committee Reports
| HC 83-xxi (2013-14), chapter 8 (20 November 2013) and HC 86-xxxiv (2012-13), chapter 3 (6 March 2013)
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| Discussion in Council
| 5 December 2013 |
| Committee's assessment
| Legally and politically important
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| Committee's decision
| Cleared |
Background
15.1 These Commission documents, presented in January,
proposed mandatory requirements for the build up and coverage
of alternative fuels infrastructure for transport and common technical
standards for their construction and interoperability. In its
Communication, document (a), the Commission evaluated the main
alternative fuel options that could replace oil as the primary
fuel source for transport (both road and maritime), identifying
the options as electricity, hydrogen, biofuels and natural gas.
15.2 The Commission was concerned by the slow realisation
of alternative fuels infrastructure across the EU and considered
this, along with the lack of common technical standards for infrastructure,
as a major obstacle to the market introduction of alternative
fuels. It therefore put forward a proposal for a Directive, Document
(b), which aimed to deliver a build-up of alternative fuels infrastructure,
compliant with common technical standards, so as to facilitate
a quicker transition to cleaner transport.
15.3 The draft Directive would require Member States
to adopt and publish National Policy Frameworks for the market
development of electric, hydrogen, biofuels and natural gas refuelling
infrastructure and transmit these to the Commission within 18
months of the date of entry into force of the Directive, and every
two years thereafter. Member States would be required to cooperate
with one another, either through consultations or joint policy
frameworks, to ensure that measures are coherent, coordinated
and meet the objectives of the measure.
15.4 When in March we considered these documents
we commented that, whilst we recognised the potential role for
EU legislation in promoting alternative fuels infrastructure,
we shared the Government's concerns about the detail of the proposals.
So we asked, before considering the issues again, to have an account
of how these concerns were being addressed in Council working
group discussions, of the outcome of the Government's consultations
and of its own impact assessment.
15.5 As for subsidiarity, we noted the Government's
contention that the setting of targets for the uptake of ultra
low emission vehicles technology and for the installation of alternative
fuels infrastructure was a matter better left to national policy
makers. Whilst we had some sympathy with this view, we did not
consider the target setting provisions of the proposal breached
the principle of subsidiarity to the extent necessary to warrant
the House issuing a Reasoned Opinion. We did, however, strongly
agree with the Government that the targets for the number of alternative
fuel infrastructure points and their geographical coverage should
not be adopted through a series of delegated acts, thus diminishing
Member State control, but through legislative acts.
15.6 Last month we heard about the Government's consultations
and its impact assessment, that there had been some encouraging
progress in Council working group consideration of the proposals,
but some issues of concern had yet to be addressed, and that the
Lithuanian Presidency hoped to agree a general approach at the
5 December Transport Council. We said that we looked forward to
hearing further about the negotiations, particularly in relation
to the Presidency's ambition for the forthcoming Council. Meanwhile
the documents remained under scrutiny.[43]
The Minister's letter of 27 November 2013
15.7 The Minister of State, Department for Transport
(Baroness Kramer), tells us now that further proposed compromise
text was discussed at the final working group on 20 November when
the Government successfully safeguarded the recent progress made
against the UK's priority issues and has made some further gains.
Noting that the improvements reported in her previous letter are
retained, the Minister says that:
· the compromise text
aligns with the Government's key priorities by removing the binding
nature of infrastructure targets and proposes that national commitments
to the transition to cleaner power be included within National
Policy Frameworks;
· this removes the potential
for excessive regulatory burdens from installation costs that
may not be balanced against revenues in the developing market;
· in place of the binding
EU targets Member States will be required to identify the density
of infrastructure considered appropriate to support the use of
alternatively fuelled vehicles and establish their own targets
within their National Policy Frameworks;
· crucially, these targets
can be revised by Member States on the basis of assessment of
demand, which mitigates the risk of the developing market being
saturated with outdated or even redundant technology specific
infrastructure;
· National Policy Frameworks
have the potential to provide organisations with evidence to allow
them to invest with greater confidence in the deployment of infrastructure
for alternatively fuelled vehicles ahead of their mass uptake;
and
· the level of information
required to be presented in these documents has been increased
to compensate for the deletion of the binding EU targets and to
provide more comprehensive information on Member States' policy
objectives, commitments and support for development of the market.
15.8 The Minister says also that:
· the compromise text
which takes into account the concerns of the UK and other Member
States regarding the premature picking of 'winning' technologies,
by broadening the scope of the Directive to include other types
of alternative fuels, is retained;
· the latest compromise
text restricts the Commission's powers to adopt delegated acts
to amendments or updates to the references to technical standards,
whilst inserting a new provision for seeking advice from Member
States prior to adoption;
· the Goverment has
been successful in its attempts to remove wireless charging technologies
from scope of the Directive, so to avoid stifling innovation at
such an early stage of technical development; and
· it had also hoped
to secure support for amendments that would provide greater flexibility
for private electric rapid recharging networks to install only
those connectors required by their fleets, however it has been
unable to do so due to concerns from a majority of other Member
States that this would lead to fragmentation of the market.
15.9 The Minister concludes by saying that:
· following these further
negotiations it now appears likely that the Presidency will be
able to achieve a general approach at the 5 December Transport
Council; and
· having secured the
UK's key priorities, including the removing of binding EU targets
and securing greater flexibility for Member States, the Government
considers that the terms of the general approach represent a successful
outcome and would therefore wish to support it.
Conclusion
15.10 We are grateful to the Minister for the
further account she gives us about the Council working group negotiations
and, noting the improvements to the draft Directive now secured,
clear the documents.
43 See headnote. Back
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