AUTOMOTIVE

EUROPE: EU strategies for the European automotive industry.

European Union President José Manuel Barroso stated in February 2007 that, "The EU car industries are at the core of our economies. By positively taking up the climate change challenge, they will preserve and enhance their competitiveness in the long term. This is of crucial importance for consumers and workers alike. The strategy we adopted today covers the strategic issues - from road safety to the environment to research - that if addressed in a timely fashion will make sure that the EU car industries will remain strong and innovative world leaders."

The strategy he refers to involves the reduction of administrative burdens, reduction of CO2 emissions (incorporating both technological changes and the increased use of bio-fuels), research and development (clean renewable fuels and vehicles and intelligent vehicles and roads have been identified as core research priorities within the EU), trade (proposals to assess the potential of using bi-lateral trade agreements, particularly in the Asian region, to improve market access and reinforce the need to enforce intellectual property rights globally).