Road transport: ecopoints for heavy vehicles transiting through Austria for 2004

The Conciliation Committee reached agreement on the ecopoints system (the transit system for lorries travelling through Austria). Key points of the deal are: - the introduction of a transitional system to apply to the whole territory of Austria; - a ban on the most polluting lorries using more than 8 points (with an exemption for lorries from Greece and for specialised vehicles); - free transit for environment-friendly lorries using 5 points or less; - a quota system for lorries using 6, 7 or 8 points, the annual quota to be set at 6 593 479 points for 2004 with reductions of 5 % successively in 2005 and 2006; - an Interinstitutional Declaration specifying the number of transit points to be attributed to each of the acceding countries; - expiry of the regulation at the latest on 31 December 2006 and in any case when the "Eurovignette" system comes into force. The agreement was vehemently contested by the Austrian MEPs in the EP delegation, as well as by the Austrian government representatives in the Council. �