British automotive body, the SMMT, is calling for a pause in the regulation pipeline from Europe as continued economic uncertainty has seen speculation one or more countries could exit the Eurozone.
Europe is currently being rocked by financial tensions with Spain the latest country to come under sustained market pressure, but it is Greece on which most speculation has centred about a possible Euro departure back to the Drachma.
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“My concern is if countries default or fall out of the Euro, we will have an extended period of instability, which is no good to anyone,” SMMT chief executive, Paul Everitt, told just-auto. “What we would like to see more generally is an embracing of an industrial agenda on a European level that would see the European Commission recognise the continually rising regulatory burden on industry.
“They should take a pause, to take a more rigorous approach to the pipeline of regulation – we could do with a period of relative calm. I am not talking about C02 regulation…but noise regulations, further rounds of Euro standards and other regulations which we know are out there somewhere.”
The SMMT chief highlighted how he felt EU countries were more “rigorous” in applying standards than competitors such as Russia, China and the US, putting Europe at a disadvantage.
UK government interest in the auto sector earned Everitt’s praise however, with the chief executive focusing on the “effective relationship” it enjoyed with the British administration and the Regional Growth Fund in particular that has helped the vehicle manufacturing sector.
