Jean-Louis COLSON

What Jean-Louis COLSON has said (3)

• “We know that the Parliament doesn't like that. And we fully understand. Well, the current exemption expires on 31st of December 25. And we are speaking here of a directive. So member states must have time to transpose this change by 31st of December 25. This is why there is, in a way, a urgency, and especially for the member States, which do already apply the exemption, because if they cannot transpose the directive by 31st of December 25, then there will be an obligation for for zero emission vehicles to pay the tolls, which will mean changes to IT systems of toll charges. New IBU uh system in the trucks for hauliers and all that for a short period of time, uh, between 1st of January and the date on which it will have been transposed. So a lot of, uh, administrative costs for, uh, little. So this is why indeed it is urgent as far as the commission is concerned. As you know, uh, this is part of the automotive Action plan. So this measure was decided on 5th of March 25. And, um, in the automotive action plan, the commission, um, and the diverse and diverse. Sorry to decide to make the proposal. By the end of June 25th, and indeed we made this proposal on 27th of June 25, so it took three months, a bit more than three months for the commission to draft, adopt and translate the proposal. It is indeed short, so we did everything we could in the time which was allowed to us. But we fully recognise that for the Parliament it is always delicate to legislate in urgency. And in this context we very much thank you for the vote which has just taken place. Thank you very much.”
  Road transport environmental policy · EV charging infrastructure
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I will be very quick. Well, indeed. Member States are not obliged to put tolls on their on their roads. It's only a possibility that they have. But if they use this possibility, then the directive obliges them to follow a certain number of rules. And indeed, among these rules was that the possibility to exempt entirely zero emission vehicles expires at the end of this year, 31st of December 25. So if they want to prolong assuming that they have tolls, it's not an obligation. Again, if they want to prolong, then there is a need for the directive to be modified in order to allow them to exempt. So this is what we are proposing at. As regards the link with ETS two. This is not in contradiction with the link regarding regarding ETS two. There is indeed the possibility for the Commission to do a new proposal when the directive related to ETS two enters into force and applies to road transport. And of course, we reserve the right to do such a proposal in due time. Thank you very much. ***Joint ENVI-TRAN Committee procedure (Rule 59) - Accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services”
  Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme · Road transport environmental policy · EV charging infrastructure
• “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Good morning to you. And good morning to the honourable members of this of this committee. I will say a few words on the proposal itself and then a few words. Why, indeed we requested urgency. Mrs. chair, honourable members, you know that the uptake of zero emission high duty vehicles is, for the time being, very limited, and we would like to accelerate this uptake. For example, currently, while currently at the end of 2023, only 1% of the fleet of heavy goods vehicles was zero emission vehicles, and only 2.5% of the fleet of buses was zero emission vehicles, and in 2024, only 3.9% of new heavy duty vehicles put into circulation were zero emission vehicles. And the exemption of tolls in this context can indeed play a role by reducing operational costs and build a stronger business case for investing in zero emission vehicles. For the time being, member states can only exempt zero emission vehicles from tolls until the 31st of December 25. It's not an obligation. It is an option which is given to Member States. And this proposal is simple. It just allows member States to prolong this exemption until 30th of June 31. So at the end of the 2030 reporting period by EU manufacturers according to the CO2 Standards Regulation. So we propose to extend the possibility for member states to exempt zero emission vehicles by 5.5 years. So nothing else. It is very targeted. It remains an option for member states. It's not an obligation. It's not a proposal for an exemption forever, because it would be contrary to the principle of the recovery of Infrastructure costs and road transport has to pay for this recovery. So it's only 5.5 years. Why is it urgent? First of all, of course I have to apologise for this urgency.”
  Energy (green transition) · Road transport environmental policy · EV charging infrastructure