Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Ordinary meeting
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ITRE European Parliament
Follow its sittingsYvan Verougstraete
Adopted. So we go to the final vote by roll call. I open the vote. Close the vote. Adopted.
Now the vote on the draft opinion on CBAM expansion, rapporteur Mr. Salini, by show of hand on the compromise amendment. Who is in favour? Against? Abstention? Adopted.
We go to the final vote by roll call. Open the vote. Close the vote. Adopted. Now the vote on the draft opinion on temporary decarbonisation fund from Mr. Salini.
So we start by the compromise amendment. Who is in favour? Against? Abstention? Adopted.
We go to the final vote by roll call. I open the vote. Close the vote. Adopted. Now the vote on amending regulation on Critical Raw Materials Act.
We start with the compromise amendment. Who is in favour? Against? Abstention? Adopted.
We go to the final vote by roll call. I open the vote. Close the vote. Adopted. So the vote on the, the next vote was postponed.
So we have to vote on the, sorry, we have to vote on the mandate to enter into interinstitutional negotiation, rule 72, by roll call. Open the vote. Close the vote. Adopted. So the item 11, the vote on this legislative report is postponed to the July the second.
So we go directly to item 13, mission to EUSPA. So we will have five minutes for this, so if you please, the ones who have to leave the room, please leave the room.
Okay colleagues, if you can slowly but surely take your place back. We will start with item 12, mission to the United States in Houston. We have five minutes for this item and since Chair Bupka, who had the delegation for this mission to Texas, is not present, I will give the floor to Ms. Miroslava Nikiel for a short report on the mission. Please, the floor is yours.
Mirosława Nykiel
Please take the phone because I would like to speak Polish, sorry. Szanowni państwo, chciałabym bardzo krótko podsumować misję delegacji ITRE do Teksasu, która była niezwykle wartościowym doświadczeniem z perspektywy bezpieczeństwa energetycznego, transformacji energetycznej oraz innowacji oraz konkurencyjności gospodarczej. Nasza misja koncentrowała się wokół trzech kluczowych obszarów: energii, technologii oraz innowacji. W obszarze energetyki szczególnie istotne było spotkanie z Cheniere Energy, ExxonMobil, Texas Railroad Commission oraz ERCOT, czyli operatorem sieci elektroenergetycznej całego Teksasu. Dzięki tym rozmowom mogliśmy lepiej zrozumieć, jak funkcjonuje jeden z najbardziej dynamicznych i konkurencyjnych rynków energetycznych na świecie.
Teksas pokazuje, że bezpieczeństwo energetyczne, konkurencyjność gospodarki oraz rozwój nowych technologii muszą być traktowane jako elementy jednego systemu. Szczególne znaczenie miało spotkanie z Cheniere Energy, największym eksporterem LNG w Stanach Zjednoczonych. Dla Europy pozostaje on kluczowym partnerem w kontekście dywersyfikacji dostaw gazu i wzmacnia bezpieczeństwo energetyczne, zwłaszcza teraz w tej obecnej sytuacji geopolitycznej. Równie ważne były rozmowy dotyczące odporności infrastruktury energetycznej, magazynowania energii, rozwoju technologii niskoemisyjnych oraz wyzwań związanych z rosnącym zapotrzebowaniem na energię, napędzanym między innymi przez rozwój AI i centrów danych.
Drugim niezwykle ważnym obszarem były nowe technologie i sektor kosmiczny. Wizyty w NASA, Axiom Space oraz Starlink pokazały skalę amerykańskich inwestycji w badania, rozwój i technologie przyszłości. Szczególne wrażenie robi tempo wdrażania innowacji oraz bardzo silna współpraca pomiędzy sektorem publicznym, uczelniami i biznesem. Widzieliśmy wyraźnie, że przewaga konkurencyjna Stanów Zjednoczonych wynika nie tylko ze skali inwestycji, ale również szybkości podejmowania decyzji i zdolności do komercjalizacji nowych technologii. Trzecim kluczowym obszarem były innowacje cyfrowe, sztuczna inteligencja oraz cyberbezpieczeństwo.
Spotkanie z Cloudflare, Capital Factory oraz Texas Advanced Computing Center pokazały, jak szybko rozwijają się dziś technologie cyfrowe i jak duże znaczenie mają dla przyszłej konkurencyjności gospodarek. Szczególnie istotnym wnioskiem było to, że rozwój AI, zaawansowanych mocy obliczeniowych oraz infrastruktury cyfrowej staje się jednym z głównych czynników wzrostu gospodarczego i strategicznej przewagi państw. Jednym z najważniejszych wniosków z tej misji jest to, że Teksas buduje swoją przewagę konkurencyjną w oparciu o trzy filary: szybkie procesy decyzyjne, przewidywalne otoczenie regulacyjne oraz silne wsparcie dla inwestycji i innowacji. Dla Europy i Polski jest to bardzo ważny sygnał. Transformacja energetyczna i cyfrowa musi być nie tylko ambitna, ale również pragmatyczna.
Potrzebujemy regulacji, które z jednej strony zapewniają bezpieczeństwo i stabilność, ale z drugiej wspierają innowacje, przyciągają inwestycje i wzmacniają konkurencyjność naszych gospodarek. Misja do Teksasu pokazała również, że przyszłość należy do gospodarek, które potrafią skutecznie łączyć bezpieczeństwo energetyczne, rozwój technologiczny, odporność infrastrukturalną i konkurencyjność gospodarczą. A teraz moje dwie kluczowe uwagi, moje takie osobiste. Czas i tempo podejmowania decyzji administracyjnych dla biznesu jest zawrotne w porównaniu z europejskimi uwarunkowaniami. Skala inwestycji, drugie takie moje wrażenie, to przykład tylko czterech firm: Microsoft, Amazon, Google i Meta, tylko w tym roku zainwestują 700 miliardów dolarów w infrastrukturę.
Dziękuję bardzo.
Yvan Verougstraete
Thank you. Thank you very much. If there is no comment or question, we will go to item 13, admission to EUSPA. We have five minutes for this and I will give the floor to Ms Niebler as head of the delegation for a short report on the mission. Please, the floor.
Angelika Niebler
Thank you, Mr Chairman, dear colleagues. Let me briefly inform you about our mission to EUSPA, which has taken place at the end of May. So before starting, you know, let me first of all thank very much our ITRE secretariat for the really excellent preparation and organisation of the whole mission, where we really covered a wide range of strategic sectors and we met quite a lot of stakeholders. So thank you so much for that. The focus of our mission laid on the Union space activities and in particular on the flagship programs such as Galileo, Copernicus, EGNOS and GOVSATCOM.
The mission was timed to coincide with ITRE committee work on both, first of all the Space Act, which we are right now discussing, and also the EU EUSPA regulation. Overall, I'd like to say that, you know, the meetings were very positive and highlighted the growing strategic importance of the EU space program for Europe's security, competitiveness and technological sovereignty.
And what was really good is that we had really the chance over two days to get into depth also on all topics which were of interest for us. On the first day we concentrated more or less on the institutional aspects and what is important for us as legislators.
Yvan Verougstraete
Could you could you just slow down a little bit because for the translation it's a bit difficult. Thank you very much.
Angelika Niebler
A significant part of the discussion focused on Europe's position in the global space sector, particularly in comparison with other major blocs such as the United States and China. Some of the participants discussed how cooperation is organized between the EU institutions, Member States and national authorities. This is also a key issue which we are discussing right now when we work on the Space Act. Then security was a recurring theme throughout the whole meetings. We received an excellent overview of the Security Accreditation Board and its role as the independent security authority for all components of our EU space programs.
Particular attention was also given to cybersecurity and the importance of ensuring that operational capabilities keep pace with expanding responsibilities. We also received updates on EUSPA's operational activities including Galileo, EGNOS, GOVSATCOM, the Earth Observation Security and Space Surveillance and Tracking services. And let me stress, you know, after the first day we already found out this is a very important agency and our feeling was, you know, that this agency is very well capturing all necessities and all all all demands from the legislative side. Then we come to day two. We focused on day two mainly on the market development and user engagement.
So EUSPA is not only an agency taking care of of running and managing our space programs, but they want also to to strengthen the the market outreach. And that is done in a very very good way. We got a lot of presentations and real-world demonstrations and we saw how space technologies are being translated into practical applications and commercial services. So security on the one side, but also, you know, market ramp-up, fostering SMEs and scale-ups, helping companies developing innovative downstream services, that is also a part of EUSPA's activities and that was very very good to learn about about that activities as well. Discussions highlighted the challenges these companies face in accessing growth finance and the importance of creating conditions that enable them to scale and remain within the European Union.
So, coming to the summary, I think the meeting demonstrated a strong need for a strengthened EU Space Programme and a shared commitment to upscale Europe's capabilities, security and competitiveness in space. Once again thanks to all colleagues who joined the mission and once again thanks to our excellent team also in the secretariat and all our advisors who came with us. Thank you so much.
Yvan Verougstraete
Thank you very much. I don't know if there are some questions or comments, remarks? No. So I propose we pass to item 14.
So we have 40 minutes for this discussion on the simplification of technical requirement and testing procedure for motor vehicles. The rapporteur Mr. Gori will present the draft opinion. He has two minutes for this. After that I will invite the shadow to take the floor, one minute each, and we continue with a catch the eyes, one minute each, followed by replies. I invite all members who want to take the floor to put their nameplate vertically in their holders.
I will also invite, if times allows, the commission representative Mr. Mark Niklas, head of the unit for mobility DG GROW, for his comment for one minutes. I remind everybody, even if we are on time so far, to please stick to the time. I will now give the floor to Mr. Gori to make his presentation for two minutes. Thank you very much.
Giorgio Gori
Thank you chair. Dear colleagues, the European automotive sector is facing a complicated phase. The regulatory simplification package proposed by the commission aims to ensure greater predictability, coherence and reduction of burdens as well as to further promote the diffusion of electric vehicles starting from vans. The commission's proposals are broadly speaking acceptable in my opinion, but through the opinion that our committee is called upon to give, I wanted to introduce some amendments. First of all, I consider a review clause appropriate so that the commission can monitor and assess the effects of this simplification and make adjustment if necessary.
I then included an explicit reference to the adoption of a European social leasing, a scheme that can ensure accessibility to small electric vehicles through subsidized lease payments and low-income families and thus increase demand levels, unlocking economies of scale. I consider positive the creation of a new specific subcategory of small, less expensive electric vehicles and consistently with this, I've proposed the introduction of a new subcategory of small and affordable light commercial vehicles, so further facilitate their diffusion, especially in urban context with positive implication for the reduction of emissions and improvement of air quality. Finally, in order to ensure the effective measurement of the real emissions of plug-in hybrid vehicles and to incentivize the use of their electric component, I've proposed two specific measure closely interconnected with each other. On the one hand, the commission should update the utility factor curve every two years in order to best reflect driving behaviors and real emissions based on updated data corresponding to the latest technological developments, considering that the latest available data dates back to 2021. On the other hand, I believe that manufacturers must contribute to ensuring that the electric component of these cars is used as much as possible.
I therefore propose that the installations of software devices be made mandatory, such as geofencing technologies and inducement systems which limit the power of the internal combustion engine should the battery not be recharged with a certain frequency, which can be easily implemented and induce greater use of plug-in vehicles. Thank you.
Yvan Verougstraete
Thank you Mr. Gori. I now give the floor to Ms. Niebler. Please take the floor.
Angelika Niebler
Vielen Dank, Herr Vorsitzender, liebe Kollege Gori, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen.
Vielen Dank an Herrn Gori zunächst für seinen guten Entwurf einer Stellungnahme, die ich sehr begrüße. Ich glaube, es ist ganz wichtig, dass wir den europäischen Automobilstandort und unsere Industrie entsprechend stärken. Nur zwei Zahlen: Europas globaler Marktanteil ist von 2012 bis 2023 von 19,4 % auf 15,9 % gefallen. Also es ist wirklich ein... wir haben wahnsinnig Marktanteile verloren und wir müssen alles dransetzen, um das wieder hier auszugleichen. Und in meinem Heimatland in Deutschland alleine haben wir... werden wir bis 2035 etwa 225.000 Arbeitsplätze hier in der Industrie verlieren.
Also es ist wirklich eine dramatische Situation. Ich möchte zwei Prioritäten hervorgreifen, die mir wichtig sind. Das eine ist, dass wir den Utility Factor einfrieren. Ich denke, und es ist vom Kollegen Gori angesprochen worden, die Daten, aufgrund dessen der Utility Factor errechnet wurde, sind veraltet, sind nicht mehr up to date. Ich begrüße das auch, wie der Kollege Gori sagt, dass man hier die Kommission auffordert, also mit den neuen technisch verfügbaren Daten hier zu arbeiten und nicht die alten Daten als Referenz heranzuziehen.
Und deshalb wäre mein Vorschlag eben Freezing the Utility Factor und dann in der Zwischenzeit kann man die entsprechende Anpassung vornehmen. Und der zweite Punkt, der der EVP-Fraktion besonders wichtig ist, ist auch, dass die Frage, welche Kriterien man für die Smaller Affordable Cars anwendet. Da glaube ich, ist es gut, nicht nur oder nicht auf die Fahrzeuglänge abzustellen, sondern das Effizienz-, Energieeffizienzkriterium hier heranzuziehen. Wenn man fürs... für die Umwelt, für das Klima was machen will, dann muss man bei der Energieeffizienz ansetzen und das wird mein Vorschlag und Änderungsantrag sein. Dankeschön.
Paolo Borchia
Thank you, thank you, Chair. I will have the floor in Italian. Innanzitutto ringrazio il relatore per il lavoro svolto finora su un dossier complesso e tecnicamente molto impegnativo. L'obiettivo di questo dossier è un obiettivo condivisibile: eliminare procedure obsolete, ridurre le duplicazioni normative e rendere più semplice l'omologazione dei veicoli in Europa. E proprio per questo abbiamo evitato di smarrirne la finalità originaria.
Alcuni emendamenti riteniamo vadano oltre la semplificazione tecnica. Penso, ad esempio, al geofencing obbligatorio sugli ibridi plug-in e sistemi che dimezzano automaticamente la potenza del motore se l'utilizzatore non ricarica entro 1.000 km. Noi riteniamo che una cosa sia fissare degli standard tecnici, un'altra sia installare nel veicolo uno strumento che decida al posto del guidatore. Inoltre, va notato che questo dossier introduce per il calcolo delle emissioni dei plug-in un meccanismo di aggiornamento del fattore di utilità che esiste già separatamente nel regolamento sugli standard CO2 delle auto e lo si duplica dentro il regolamento Euro 7. Sopra questa duplicazione si aggiungono geofencing e inducement, due strati di obbligo che la proposta della Commissione non prevedeva e che l'obiettivo dichiarato di questo provvedimento, la semplificazione, non richiede.
Io non vorrei che rischiassimo la stessa contraddizione vista in altri omnibus: si annuncia la semplificazione e poi invece si finisce per stratificare nuovi obblighi. Per questo siamo pronti a sostenere le misure che vadano a rimuovere oneri inutili senza creare nuovi vincoli. Chiediamo che il resto rimanga fuori da questo dossier. Abbiamo bisogno, e qui concludo, Presidente, di regole semplici e stabili e non di nuovi strumenti per decidere al posto del mercato o del consumatore come si dovrebbe guidare.
Yvan Verougstraete
Grazie.
Thank you Mr. Borchia. I give the floor now to Mr. Krutílek on behalf of Ms. Donáth. Donáth sorry. Thank you.
Ondřej Krutílek
Thank you chair. Yes I'm here today on behalf of Ms. Anna Donáth. Our shadow rapporteur would like to thank the rapporteur Mr. Gory for his work on this file and highlight a number of issues which will be reflected in our amendments which we will table as ECR. The regulation was designed as a simplification package and we support that objective. However we believe some of the provisions currently on the table risk steering the text away from the original purpose towards a prescriptive technology choice rather than a genuine reduction of regulatory burden.
Our main concern relates to plug-in vehicles plug-in hybrid vehicles mandatory geofencing inducement systems and the regular revision of utility factor are not simplification measures at all. These impose new and selective technical obligations on a technology that industry and also customers still consider a meaningful part of the transition pathway particularly for light commercial vehicles for urban environments with insufficient charging infrastructure and for households that cannot yet access affordable battery electric vehicles. As ECR we are committed to genuine technological neutrality. The legislator's role is to set emission targets not to pick the technology. Renewable fuels plug-in hybrid and alternative propulsion technology must remain viable options within a competitive and predictive regulatory framework.
We will therefore table amendments in this direction because we think that regulatory certainty is a precondition for industrial investment. A simplification package that introduces new selective technical burdens sends the wrong signal to an industry and also to the customers and that's why we look forward to cooperate with everyone who is able to support this cause. Thank you very much.
Yvan Verougstraete
Thank you very much. As the other speakers are not present I don't know if they are other catch the eyes or someone who wants to take the floor. Otherwise I will give the floor to the commission Mr. Nikolas head of unit DG Grow. Please the floor is yours.
Mark Nicklas
Thank you chair good morning everyone. And some of the speakers said it already the automotive industry in Europe is in a challenging situation. We have made proposals for very targeted simplification measures that maintain the high level of safety and of environmental performance of the vehicles but that reduce the regulatory burden for the industry so that they can save costs. We have calculated 700 million cost reductions and they better have their engineers focusing on innovation and developing new models. In that context we support we welcome the support here from the ITRE members for this simplification objective and I would really encourage ITRE as I also did to the lead committees to focus on this simplification objective and not put other well-intentioned proposals in the automotive omnibus be it requirements on plug-in hybrids be it something on the utility factor that for those measures the automotive omnibus is not the right place in our view because what the automotive omnibus should deliver is really simplification for the automotive industry.
Thank you.
Yvan Verougstraete
Thank you very much. I will now give the floor to Mr. Gori back for the closing remark. Please, Mr. Gori, the floor is yours.
Giorgio Gori
Voglio ringraziare i colleghi per i loro contributi. Mi fa piacere che sia stato colto lo spirito costruttivo di questo draft. Mantengo l'opinione che attraverso la regolamentazione Euro 7 il tema dell'utility factor entri a pieno titolo nella discussione dell'omnibus e che quindi bilanciare l'aggiornamento di questo utility factor con prescrizioni che ottimizzino l'utilizzo della componente elettrica dei veicoli rispetto ai dati vecchi che avevamo sia una buona soluzione. Grazie.
Yvan Verougstraete
Thank you very much. Please note that the deadline for amendments is June 13 at noon, and with this we will finish the agenda of today. So thank you very much and have a nice time and we see each other back at 2:30 today. Thank you very much.
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