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Elhuyar Fundazioa

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2010/3/18

Basque Government taking part in group marking European policy on electric car

The Basque Government has participated in the working group that is drawing up European policy to launch the electric car. The Director of Energy, Oskar Zabala, took part in a meeting called by the European Commission to gather contributions for the future European Strategy for clean and efficient vehicles - from the energy perspective that the Community Executive is concerned with.

The formal meeting took place following the United Nations Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted in Geneva the first international norm on the safety of electric vehicles and of hybrid vehicles. This historic decision will facilitate the introduction of this type of vehicle as it will simplify its marketing and sales, not only in the EU, but also in important markets such as Japan, South Korea and Russia.

It is anticipated that, for the beginning of May, the European Commission will propose a Strategy for clean and efficient vehicles, and subsequently embark on a plan of action aimed at favouring the implantation of these vehicles on to the market. The Strategy will have two pillars: promotion of technologically advanced vehicles that are clean and economical on internal combustion engine-based fuel; and the promotion of and contribution to the absorption by the market of alternative propulsion technologies for vehicles. This second pillar will focus on the totally electric vehicle and the hybrid vehicle that can be plugged in at supply points.

With the aim of contacting and getting to know interested bodies, of evaluating future scenarios in terms of technology and market development, as well as of determining the role of the Community Executive vis-à-vis these advances, the Commission called a meeting to exchange ideas by interested parties in which the representative of the Basque Government’s Department of Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism was present. At the meeting 70 international bodies were present, such as energy and automobile associations, as well as the main vehicle manufacturers.

In order to organise the contributions and the debate, the Commission proposed a questionnaire to identify the opportunities and risks linked with the market development of green vehicles. The questionnaire also asked about measures that should or could be taken at regional, national, European or international levels to promote the technological development of these vehicles.

The Basque Government made its contribution to the European Commission, highlighting the agreements signed with Mercedes-Benz for the manufacture of electric vans and with Repsol for the implementation of a network of supply points. Also, both the energy cluster and the automobile sector cluster have formed an alliance for the development of the electric vehicle.

The Basque Government also gave their contributions to the future European Strategy for clean and efficient vehicles, through the ‘Crisis in the Automobile Sector’ intergroup of the Committee of the Regions.

Likewise, the electric vehicle is one of the priorities of the (Spanish) President of the European Union, who opened the debate on the topic at the Informal Meeting of Minister responsible for Competitiveness, held in Donostia-San Sebastián in February. The question will continue to be discussed at the Council of Ministers responsible for Competitiveness at the end of May once the Commission has presented the European Strategy for clean and efficient vehicles.