MEP urges quicker path to sulphur-free fuels

Green MEP Heidi Hautala has issued a challenge to the European Commission and Europe's oil refiners by calling for all EU petrol and diesel to be free of sulphur three years earlier than the 2011 deadline proposed in a draft EU fuels directive earlier this year.

The Commission suggested the date in May after wide consultation with industry and environmental campaigners following pressure from several member states - notably Germany - for a zero-sulphur fuel standard. This is defined as a limit of ten parts per million (ppm). The proposal forms part of the EU's auto/oil programme (EED 11/05/01).