PURPOSE : to present a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 98/70/EC.
CONTENT : the purpose of this proposal is to complete the environmental specifications for petrol and diesel fuels in accordance with Article 9 of Directive 98/70/EC. This Directive contains fuel quantity specifications which enter into force in two stages, the first on the 1 January 2000 and the second on 1 January 2005. However, the specification for 2005 is incomplete and so must be completed as a matter of some urgency in order to provide regulatory clarity to the fuel producers and vehicle manufacturers. In preparing this proposal the Commission has also undertaken an analysis of the need to reduce further the level of sulphur in petrol and diesel below the 50mg/kg (parts per million or ppm) level already mandated for 2005.
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