ACEA UNHAPPY WITH COMPROMISE ON END-OF-LIFE VEHICLES.

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) believes the agreement reached within COREPER (the Committee of Member States' Permanent Representatives to the EU) on July 22 regarding the proposal for a Directive on the disposal of end-of-life vehicles takes only partial account of the motor industry's concerns and resolves nothing from either the legal or the economic standpoint (see European Report No 2427 for details regarding the content of the agreement). ACEA argues that the cost-free take-back of all vehicles after 2006 will impose a high financial burden on the car industry which is bound to affect the economic situation of the sector and its competitive position. Moreover, the Association claims this measure will remove any incentive for other sectors of industry concerned by the measure - dismantlers, recyclers, shredders - to...