Memorandum by the European Automobile
Manufacturers Association (ACEA)
1. Where do the ideas which trigger work towards
legislation come from? For example, what are the processes by
which legislation is generated inside the Commission? The Commission
operates in an open way; does that openness extend to ideas for
legislation from external sources? If so, what are the sources
of information or ideas on which the Commission draws? Does it
actively seek out ideas and views? How effective are multi-annual
strategies and annual work plans in setting the agenda for the
creation of legislative proposals?
The Commission draws inspiration from a very
wide range of sources including national policy initiatives, scientific
studies, opinions of the European Parliament and national governments,
demands from non-governmental organisations and trade associations,
and complaints from individual consumers.
In many cases, the Commission first publishes
a Green Paper, White Paper and/or Communication before issuing
a legislative proposal. After having consulted interested parties
and carried out an impact assessment, the Commission then adopts
a proposal for Directive or Regulation. In most cases, this must
be approved by the Council and the European Parliament in order
to become law.
The multi-annual strategies and annual work
plans established by the Commission are helpful in that they provide
advance warning of legislative developments that are to come.
In the case of CO2 emissions from passenger
cars, the current legislative proposal actually succeeds the voluntary
agreements concluded between the Commission and the associations
of European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers in 1999. These
voluntary agreements set targets to be achieved in 2008-09. The
initial ideas for measures aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from
passenger cars were formulated in a Commission Communication in
December 1995 and based on scientific reports concerning the impact
of CO2 emissions on climate change. The Environment Council asked
the Commission in June 1996 to undertake the necessary steps to
reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars. Ultimately, the EU institutions
decided that the fastest and most cost-effective manner to do
this was through the conclusion of voluntary agreements with the
manufacturers' representative associations.
The current legislative proposal was adopted
on 19 December 2007. It takes account of various more recent scientific
reports such as the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change and the Stern Review. It was preceded by the
publication of a Communication in February 2007 and the organisation
of a stakeholder consultation meeting in July 2007. The European
Council also considered this matter in January 2008 as part of
its so-called "energy package".
2. How are the ideas developed? What arrangements
are in place for quality control and to determine priorities?
What are the arrangements for the drafting of texts?
Each Commission department initially develops
its own ideas and establishes its own priorities. On the basis
of these proposals, the college of Commissioners adopts an annual
work plan that determines the overall priorities. The ideas are
developed further through Green Papers, White Papers and/or Communications
and the feedback provided by interested parties.
The drafting is the responsibility of the lead
department even though other departments are consulted and can
make suggestions for improvement. The Legal Service is always
consulted to ensure that the legislative proposal has the correct
legal basis and is consistent with other existing legal texts.
An impact assessment is usually carried out
to determine the social, economic and environmental implications
of the legislative proposal.
3. How significant are the views of the other
EU Institutions? The European Council's role is to "provide
the Union with the necessary impetus for its development"
and to define its "general political guidelines". How
important are the Conclusions of the European Council in the development
of legislative proposals? Are the likely reactions of the European
Parliament and the Council a significant factor in triggering
work or determining the scope and extent of proposed EU legislation
during the development of proposals? Are the views of EU bodies
and agencies, such as the Economic and Social Committee or the
Committee of the Regions anticipated or sought informally? What
role do judgements of the European courts play?
The role of the Council of Ministers and the
European Parliament in the legislative process is extremely important
in that nearly all proposals for Directive and Regulation must
be approved by these institutions before they can become law.
When it comes to the initiation of legislation,
it is mainly the European Council that sets the direction for
EU policy. In certain cases, the Commission starts preparing legislative
proposals only after having been instructed to act by the European
Council. It is more common, however, that the Commission prepares
ideas and proposals that are then submitted to the Council in
the form of preparatory document, usually a Communication. The
Council then instructs the Commission to work out more concrete
measures. There is therefore often a close cooperation between
the Commission and the Council. The same is true for the European
Parliament.
Other bodies such as the Economic and Social
Committee and the Committee of the Regions are usually consulted
only on the basis of a legislative proposal. Their opinions are
only advisory and therefore carry much less weight than those
of the Council and the Parliament.
Judgements of the European courts only play
a role to the extent that they interpret and set the boundaries
of Community law. Sometimes, this requires corrective legal action.
4. How significant are the views of individual
Member States in the process of initiation?
Except where the European Council explicitly
instructs the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal,
it is our impression that individual Member States do not ask
the Commission to initiate legislation very frequently.
Usually, Member States become involved in the
process only at the time when the Commission issues a preparatory
document such as a Communication. Since the Council must approve
any legislative proposal that the Commission makes, the views
of Member States carry considerable weight.
5. How significant are the views of other
interested parties, such as national Parliaments, international
bodies such as the Council of Europe, non-governmental organisations,
pressure groups, the news media, the general public?
All these bodies can play a significant role
in shaping legislation. With the possible exception of non-governmental
organisations and pressure groups, however, these bodies rarely
request the Commission to initiate legislation.
6. What is your assessment of the quality
of proposals submitted by the entities which have the right of
initiative (Commission, Member State or other)?
In our view, the quality of the Commission's
legislative proposals varies.
We believe the current proposal regarding CO2
emissions from passenger cars does not adequately take account
of the cost impact for car manufacturers and disregards the CO2
emissions reduction that could be achieved by adapting road infrastructure
and changing consumer behaviour in terms of more fuel-efficient
driving.
4 April 2008
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