The Commission's amended proposal incorporated, in whole or in part, 11 of the 54 amendments
adopted by the European Parliament at first reading.
In the light of these amendments, the main changes made by the Commission concerned:
- taking into account primary air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, benzenes and other toxic
exhaust emissions and their secondary pollutants such as ozone;
- the need to secure in the short term a reduction, in urban areas, of polluting vehicle emissions,
particularly primary pollutants such as unburnt hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, secondary
pollutants such as ozone, toxic emissions such as benzene and particle emissions;
- the special position of captive vehicle fleets (buses, taxis, commercial vehicles) and the need to
propose levels of specifications for their fuels);
- the need to propose levels of specifications applicable to LPG, natural gas vehicle fuel and biofuels.
However, the Commission was unable to accept the amendments seeking to:
- alter the specifications proposed for fuels so as to take account of Arctic climates (however, the
Commission indicated that it would study this issue to ensure that its proposal would not cause
technical problems for vehicles used in such climates);
- indicate that the standards in the Directive were minimum standards;
- create a distinct fiscal framework (tax incentives) in the Directive;
- render more stringent the specifications applicable to fuels from the year 2000 in order to attain
acceptable standards of air quality in 2010;
- provide for the possibility of a five-year deadline for the introduction of the fuel standards;
- lay down mandatory standards applicable to fuels in 2005, without further scientific and technical
analyses;
- replace the principle of cost-effectiveness with that of cost-benefit.
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