 STILL
WAITING FOR THE SINGLE MARKET
by Rob Oliver
Chief Executive, FMCEC
Remember
1992? Eight years ago Europe’s Single Market was meant to
be substantially complete and the benefits of a common trading
area would cut costs and stimulate growth. That it didn’t
really happen in full, at least for the construction equipment
sector, was made clear by Sir Anthony Bamford in his address
to the CBI National Conference this year. The JCB Chairman
and MD pointed out that, "very little progress has
been made on pan-European legislation for the type of machinery
we make" whilst the industry is beset by "bad
regulations" which can become a form of protectionism.
Member State regulations covering on-road speed and double
taxation penalties in Italy are examples. In Italy, Sir
Anthony explains, "all oil and lubricants in imported
machines are charged excise duty even though duty has been
paid in the UK. In 1994, a judgement was issued against
the Italian Government and the Commission threatened to
take them to the court of justice within two months. And
yet here we are six years later, and nothing has happened.
As a result, we’ve had to pay more than £1 million in double
duty." That such nonsenses are allowed to persist,
ironically shows that European institutions are not strong
enough in bringing Member States to book. We know this too
in our long running campaign to attempt to get the UK authorities
to fully implement safety and environmental directives to
ensure a level playing field throughout Europe. Certainly
if we are looking for New Year resolutions let’s redouble
our efforts to press, via the Committee for European Construction
Equipment, for common European road regulations for construction
equipment. Success here would be a real boost for European
manufacturers - even though it would be nearly 10 years
late!
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