François Bausch has deemed the recent diesel emissions scandal unacceptable, rejecting arguments that current legislation allows too broad an interpretation.
On Tuesday 7 June 2016, the Luxembourg Minister of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure joined the European Council of Transport Ministers held in Kirchberg.
At the meeting, to which transport ministers were invited to discuss specific issues related the implementation of current regulations, Minister Bausch reminded his colleagues that the limits for harmful emissions and CO2 have been fixed, countering the argument put forward by other Member States that the current legislation is too loose.
"This is to protect our health and our climate," he insisted of the limits. "It is therefore to protect one of the most important values we have."
He put the onus on the car manufacturers, such as Volkswagen, who he said consciously violated emissions thresholds. He was supported in this argument by the European Commission and other delegations, who confirmed that the regulation was very clear about the prohibition of defeat systems to rig emission values.
The Luxembourg Minister also took advantage of the opportunity to put forwars the question of the future of individual mobility choices. He attacked fossil fuels and expressed his belief that the scandal could help revise guidance more globally and particularly the policy of fuel promotion.
Ministers unanimously awarded four mandates to the Commission to negotiate the comprehensive aviation agreements with the countries within ASEAN, Turkey, as well as Qatar and the UAE.
Luxembourg, which holds a liberal regime based on its bilateral air agreements, supported the opening of talks with ASEAN with the expectation that a further opening of this major Southeast Asian market could bring benefits to Luxembourg air cargo operators.
Minister Bausch, who has been heavily involved in previous debates, welcomed the fact that several of his points had been followed, including the right to veto for Member States. However, he claimed that the agreement between the EU and Brazil, negotiations for which have been underway for several years, should be finalised first.
Regarding professional qualifications in inland navigation, the ministers reached an agreement on a regulation which aims to facilitate the mobility of workers in the sector, given that it is primarily cross-border, through a common system of qualification certificates for seagoing personnel on inland waterways in the EU. This is significant in that the sector is currently facing serious recruitment problems.
Commissioner Violeta Bulc announced progress made on the implementation of the various elements put forward in a statement initiated by Luxembourg on the bicycle, adoped during the informal Transport Council held under the Luxembourg Presidency in October 2015. The Commissioner confirmed that a person at the Commission has been appointed the focal point for cycling and that the Commission is working on a strategy to promote cycling as a mode of transport in Europe.
The minister welcomed the Commissioner's remarks: "The designation of a bicycle focal point is an excellent first step towards the full integration of the bicycle in multimodal transport."
Photos by the European Union
