The Financial Times reports that Mario Monti, the European competition commissioner charged with proposing controversial reforms to car distribution rules in Europe, has criticised the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, for his opposition to the plans.
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The report says that Mr Monti – speaking to MEPs – wanted to remind Mr Schröder that German carmakers have been punished in the past for anti-competitive practices.
Earlier this year the German economy minister Werner Mueller, wrote to the European Commission to voice German government opposition to EU plans to scrap the exclusive distribution networks of car companies in Europe.
The FT says that Mr Monti told MEPs that ‘the new rules would benefit European consumers in general and German consumers in particular’, pointing out that German carmakers have been found guilty of anti-competitive practices in the past.
The report adds that Mr Monti also hinted that the Commission is planning to tackle other elements of the competitive framework that impede a genuinely single market for cars, including tax differentials among member states. Taxes on new car acquisition vary from the 15% VAT rate in Luxembourg to over 200% in Denmark when special taxes applying to cars are included.
