A bit of a round up on issues and articles put up on the Right To Ride and Right To Ride EU website and facebook pages

Most important is the issue around the European Commissions Road Worthiness Testing proposal concerning motorcycles. Our article “Down to the Wire” rounds what has been discussed on the European stage regards this but covers the last few days running up to tomorrow’s, (Monday 1st July 2013) debate and the subsequent scheduled vote on Tuesday in the European Parliaments Plenary session in Strasbourg.  

The position adopted by both council and the parliamentary committees, is the deletion of the requirements to introduce mandatory road worthiness testing for motorcycles throughout, which would thus leave this decision to member states to keep testing procedures for motorcycles or to introduce them.

This position was adopted by the European Council (representatives of democratically elected governments), the TRAN (Transport and Tourism) Committee, in charge of the Road Worthiness Proposal, and the IMCO (Internal Market and Consumer Protection) Committee, both committees of MEPs, democratically elected by European Citizens, that is you and me!  At the eleventh hour ALDE rapporteur and Lib Dem MEP Phil Bennion broke ranks and added amendments to re-introduce the inclusion of 2 and 3 three wheeled vehicles. 

The Green party representatives have included further amendments of a similar nature. We can only speculate why at this point in time these MEPs have evidently thrown a spanner in the works and whilst using the procedures that are allowed in the European Parliament, because they did not get their way in the democratic procedure through debate and voting, they have now made all the efforts of the TRAN and IMCO Committee and the European Council appear to be futile.  

This is effectively sticking two fingers up at the democratic process, to fellow MEPs, to governments and to the rider organisations who have lobbied fair and square and a process in which Mr Bennion took an active part.   We respectfully request that our UK MEPs do not to support any amendments which would reintroduce mandatory road worthiness for motorcycles across Europe and to support the previous position of the Council – TRAN and IMCO Committees in this matter and to encourage their colleagues to do likewise.  

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