European Office VDMA Response to the Public Consultation Towards a 7 th EU Environmental Action Programme Registration number in the register of representative bodies: 976536291-45 May 2012
1. Introduction The German Engineering Association VDMA (www.vdma.org) is the largest association representing the capital goods industry in Europe. It accounts for over 3,000 German and international member companies, approximately 947,000 employees (October 2011) in Germany, and a turnover of around 200 billion euro (2011). The capital goods industry has a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); about 86% of all VDMA members are SMEs (according to the EU definition), and two-thirds of them have fewer than 100 employees. With an average export quota of 75%, the sector is highly export-oriented and extremely successful on an international level. VDMA member companies are global market leaders in 18 of 32 engineering product areas. Mechanical engineering is the backbone of European industry. In Germany, this sector directly employs around 900.000 people (around 3 million in Europe) and produces machinery and equipment for the entire manufacturing sector. Furthermore, it is a research- and innovation-intensive sector, which contributes around 9% to the overall private R&D expenditure in Germany, invests approximately 11 billion euro in innovation each year (2009) and employs more than 167,000 engineers. 2. Comments on the Consultation as such The 7 th Environmental Action Programme will have a profound influence on the EU s environment, economy and society. VDMA considers that this important initiative merits a fair, objective and transparent discussion based on the three pillars of sustainable development: environment, society and economy. The mechanical engineering industry already contributes significantly to environmental protection, and in the future, as a supplier of technology to all major sectors of the economy, it will be a driving force in environmental protection. This is one of the reasons, why VDMA has initiated Blue Competence, the sustainable initiative of the engineering industry (http://www.bluecompetence.net/pages/index.html). We consider our industry as a solution provider for many of the environmental and social challenges our society is currently facing. We welcome the opportunity to submit stakeholder comments on the 7 th EU Environmental Action Programme. However, after having diligently analysed the multiple choices questionnaire, we came to the conclusion that this questionnaire is not suited to achieve the main target of a consultation: to gather complete, meaningful and comprehensive information on the topic. For instance, the questionnaire strongly implies that environmental policy has not delivered satisfactory results and implicitly suggests that such a result could be achieved with new and even stricter environmental legislations. Whilst it would, of course, be possible to reply no opinion or do not agree (see for example question 2.1) we feel that these answers would not appropriately reflect our point of views on the individual questions. We therefore would like to contribute to the public consultation in a more nuanced way than simply by replying to the multiple choice questions contained in the questionnaire.
3. VDMA s Reply to the Consultation Added Value of a new EAP and major challenges (Part 2) We agree that a new EAP could add value by developing a strategic agenda for the environment with clear priorities and by providing a coherent framework (section 2.1). Companies and SMEs in particular need a stable regulatory environment and predictability. However the value of a strategic agenda depends on the content and the circumstances: the objectives have to be clear and proportionate. Stimulating a public debate is also important but has to be based on scientific facts and evidence. In our view it is impossible to rank the environmental challenges listed under 2.3 as they are all important. We agree that it is important to address these challenges. However this does not necessarily mean that new legislation is necessary. The legislative environment is already dense and complex, in particular for SMEs. We therefore call upon the European Commission to always consider carefully if new legislation is necessary and always undertake a proper impact assessment. Environmental policy must be sustainable, i.e. ecological, economic and social, but the right balance must be struck. An innovative environmental policy promotes ecological targets and strengthens the innovative strength and competitiveness of companies. Likewise, in order to meet these environmental-policy goals, economic efficiency and ecological sustainability must go hand in hand. Politicians must therefore create reliable and sound conditions at national and European level and give market-based instruments clear priority over regulatory interference. With regard to unsustainable consumption patterns in particular we would like to highlight that smart regulation in the field of product policy is essential. The ErP Directive 2009/125/EC is a good example to illustrate our concerns: Capital goods thrive on the innovative capacity of designers. Implementation measures under the ErP Directive must aim to stimulate this innovative capacity through clearly defined objectives. However, they should not suppress this innovative capacity through overly stringent technical provisions or even through the exclusion of certain technologies. It is imperative that these implementation measures take a neutral stance on technology. If certain technologies are assessed as "bad" in comparison to others, the technological neutrality of the directive is no longer ensured. Innovations are put at risk by this "design control" because manufacturers can no longer use a certain technology and hence there is no incentive to develop the technology further. The danger of design control, in the view of VDMA, is given especially on application of the ErP Directive to the field of resource efficiency. Instead of prescribing a specific technology or discriminating against it, rather these measures should only determine "ecological target values", such as efficiency ratings, for example. Until now the legislator has made little use of the possibility to determine product specific generic Eco design requirements in accordance with Art. 15, 6 and Appendix I of the directive ( generic Eco design requirements ) and to substantiate them with product related European standards. VDMA supports the approach of, in the future, once again returning to product-specific generic requirements and standards. New integrated Approaches (Part 3) Concerning sustainable mobility (part 3.3) we would like to highlight in particular: The ever growing need for individual mobility is confronted by the need to reduce CO 2 emissions significantly and rapidly. It is necessary to reduce energy consumption across all transport modes. Legislative requirements for vehicle fleet emissions must reduce environmental impacts in a targeted fashion. To that end, the political world is
currently focussing on technical optimisation of vehicle technology and on new process technologies in the area of mechanical and plant engineering for developing fuels other than those based on mineral oils. Technological innovations in the mechanical engineering sectors are making genuinely sustainable mobility possible. One example is the continued development of electric engines for vehicles: If the electricity required to operate them is obtained regeneratively, electrically operated bikes, passenger cars, rail vehicles and mobile machines are climate-neutral. The innovative leaps achieved in the area of electric mobility also benefit other applications far beyond the road transport sector, and more specifically in mechanical engineering (construction machinery, agricultural machinery, materials handling, etc.). Sustainable mobility must be produced. For new developments in the necessary production technologies such as the automation of production processes for batteries, electric motors, mechatronics components and lightweight constructional components risky investments are necessary. The legislator should therefore improve the general conditions for investment in the long term. It would make particular sense to reintroduce degressive depreciation, which is well suited to the broad-based and multi-tech dimension of electric mobility. Making Change happen (Part 4) We agree that correct implementation of EU environmental law by Member States has to be strengthened. The 7 th EAP needs to ensure that existing environmental legislation is implemented and enforced before any proposals for new legislations are taken into consideration. The poor implementation record of EU environmental legislation at national level clearly shows that some Member States are unable to cope with the legislative and administrative burden resulting from the 6 th Environmental Action Programme. The lack of implementation is of great concern to our sector since it leads to serious distortions in the EU internal market. In order to improve implementation and ensure a level playing field we suggest Choice of regulative instrument: A regulation might be more appropriate than a directive as it is directly applicable in all Member States. The legislator should therefore always check if a regulation would be the better instrument than a directive if legislation is necessary Improve quality of legal texts: Clear provisions, in particular with regard to the scope of a directive/regulation makes it easier for authorities and companies alike to implement legislation. For example, non exhaustive lists of products are not appropriate to define the scope of a directive/regulation. Strengthen market surveillance: legislation does not have an effect if the market surveillance is not effective and allows free riders on the Internal Market. We need better market surveillance in all EU Member States also with regard to environmental legislation. Market surveillance concerning ErP implementing measures seems to be an issue for example. We hope that the European Commission s market surveillance package expected in autumn will improve the situation.
This contribution may be published under the name given. Contact: Dr. Claudia Schöler VDMA European Office Bd. A. Reyers 80 B - 1030 Bruxelles Phone +32 2 706 82 17 Fax +32 2 706 82 10 Email mailto: claudia.schoeler@vdma.org Web http://www.vdma.com/europe>