Scope:

Evaluation of Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels ('Fuel Quality Directive').

Article 7a related to greenhouse gas emission reduction was excluded from the evaluation because it is not yet fully transposed into national legislation. Articles 7b to 7e relating to the sustainability of biofuels were also excluded because they were the subject of an earlier evaluation.

Evaluation findings:

The Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) has been found generally fit for purpose. It is effective in ensuring high levels of environmental and health protection in relation to fuels used in road transport and non-road mobile machinery as evidenced by substantial reductions of the main pollutants from transport.

Nevertheless, the FQD allows certain margin for national measures related to transport fuels. In consequence, there is a diversity of fuel blends supplied across different Member States and there are some fuels for which the environmental specifications of the FQD do not apply. However, this does not compromise the overall objectives of the FQD and no evidence was found that national flexibilities provided by the FQD have led to severe market disruptions. No revision of the Directive is currently suggested.

Estimated savings and benefits

Within the limits of available data, it was not possible to undertake a full cost-benefit evaluation of the FQD. However, in the light of the available data on the main costs of complying with the fuels specifications as well as the estimated economic benefits obtained from avoided damage to the environment and human health it appears that the FQD is likely to be efficient in achieving its goals as the benefits significantly outweigh the costs.

The main administrative costs for Member States arise from the monitoring and reporting requirements for fuel sampling, with costs varying significantly across Member States ranging from €173 000 to 650 000 annually per Member State.

Compliance with the fuel specifications is associated with significant costs in the fuel production process, which is to a great extent associated with the FQD's limits on the sulphur content of fuels. No quantification of the overall costs for compliance were provided in the evaluation, but the EU Petroleum Refining Fitness Check indicated that, overall, average annual capital investment costs for refineries to meet the fuels specifications were estimated to be €3.4 million per refinery and year for petrol, and €4.9 million per refinery and year for diesel and gas oil (with a total of €8.5 million for all fuels) over the period 2000-2012. In addition, the increased annual operating costs attributable to the fuel specifications were estimated €8.9 million per refinery and year. The Petroleum Refining Fitness Check also states that the actual expenditures of the industry in the framework of FQD compliance are comparable to the expected expenditures estimated in ex-ante impact assessment for the 2009 amendment.

The reduction of the damage from the SO2 emissions avoided by complying with the transport fuel sulphur standards are estimated around €16.2 billion in total between 2001 and 2011 (i.e. €1.5 billion per year on average). The benefits to society arising from desulphurisation have also been estimated as being €197 million per average EU-28 refinery during the period 2001-2011. It is to be noted that the latter estimates apply for a broader period of time during which SO2 emissions declined more strongly. Correspondingly, the estimated benefits are therefore expected to be higher.

The fact that the FQD provides for a harmonisation of the environmental specifications of transports fuels is expected to have a beneficial impact as compared to a hypothetical situation, in which comparable specifications were set at national level. This would have led to a more fragmented market with associated higher costs for fuel suppliers to comply. This could also have led to additional costs to consumers resulting from incomplete compatibility of vehicles with non-harmonised fuels. These effects, as well as the impact of fuel specifications on costs in the development and manufacturing of engines and after-treatments could not be quantified in the framework of this evaluation.