ACTIONS LAUNCHED and RESULTS :

CEMA has primarily been founded in order to progress work on the harmonisation of legal provisions in Member states.

In this respect, CEMA – together with other European committees - was at the origin of the creation of the European Commission, as these committees had considered that an entity was necessary in order to coordinate their initiatives.


SECRETARIAT GENERAL ACTIVITIES :
Relations of the Secretariat General to other organizations

CEMA is in contact with UNICE, which federates employers’ associations in EU member countries, and with ORGALIME, which brings together the different national federations of European mechanical industries. ORGALIME asks the view of the European sector committees on various proposals issued by the Commission and submit the Industry position on these subjects.

Relations are maintained with AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers), based in Milwaukee, of which a great number of North American manufacturers are direct members.

CEMA also keeps in touch with the European farm machinery importers' federation (FECIMA) and with the European Farm machinery dealers' association (CLIMMAR).

Contacts with the Committee of European farmers’ organizations (COPA) began thirty years ago. The first meetings aimed at dealing with farm machinery safety for the users ; they then became more centred on problems which face European farmers further to the CAP reform and the new requirements in terms of sustainable agriculture and environment protection.

The safety of farm equipment from the users’ viewpoint led to a very close collaboration between CEMA and OECD in order to set up a guide concerning accident prevention, in particular the protective devices with which farm equipment must be equipped.
CEMA is also a corresponding member of ISO, CEN and FAO where it is represented by the Italian association.

Relations have been established in the past with UNIDO in relation with the projects of this organization in favour of developing countries. Manufacturers have indeed participated in such projects and delivered equipment.

TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
Work done in the technical field

CEMA has been most involved in this field since its foundation, preparing files and convincing the European Commission to form a special « agricultural and forestry tractors » Group dealing with the removal of obstacles to trade. At the same time, CEMA was taking part in the work of the Economic Committee for Europe in Geneva where a special group was also setting up proposals designed to be transposed in the national regulations of all countries worldwide.

Further to CEMA proposals the Directorate General « Enterprise » issued in 1974 the first framework directive (74/150/EEC). In the course of the years 25 particular directives were published, dealing with specific subjects : field of vision, driver’s seat, passenger’s seat, braking, lighting and signalling systems, electromagnetic compatibility, hitches, controls, noise at the driver’s ear, diesel engine pollutant emissions, etc. Simultaneously, CEMA was preparing adaptations of these directives to technical progress and requesting, in some cases, the equivalence between the Geneva regulations and the European directives. The Tractor Directive (now with reference 2003/37/EC) should have been in force on 1st July 2005 ; however issues are still under discussion to guarantee work safety. The slow progress of adaptation work results from the fact that the organization of meetings in Brussels is held in check due to the lack of meeting rooms and that Government delegations do not always follow the recommendations of CEMA experts.

These particular directives fell under the « old approach », which necessitated national type-approval and homologation procedures of the different components with which farm equipment originating in other Member states were equipped.
Following the publication of the White Paper on the implementation of the Single Market, the Commission has been led to substitute the « new approach » for the old procedure, which was time-consuming and costly. According to this new approach, issues are dealt with according to a global scheme which can apply to several categories of equipment, and Member states’ authorities are compelled to recognise the tests carried out in other Member states by notified testing bodies. The « Machinery » directive, dating back to 1992 is a first example of this new approach. However, the global concept leads to a number of disputes concerning the interpretation of the terms of the directive and its scope. In 1997 the Commission decided to revise this directive ; the revised directive has been issued in January 2001. Discussions continued on several issues until December 2005, when the European Parliament voted the final amendments in second reading
Proposals are also issued by the Directorate General Environment, in particular relating to outdoor noise which concerns among other equipment lawnmowers, and to diesel engine pollutant emissions. In the first instance CEMA works with the European association of manufacturers of outdoor power equipment (EGMF) and, in the second, the two working-groups of the CEMA Technical Committee concerned have prepared proposals to adequate noise levels and pollutant emission levels in relation to the production dates of equipment and the implementation dates of these directives, which makes it necessary to take account of both technical realities and selling possibilities of the equipment.

CEMA is also in charge of the secretariat of an ad hoc working-group of DG Enterprise preparing a revision of the « Tractor Braking » directive in order to include requirements relating to the braking of trailers and trailed equipment. Since 1994, working-group 2 of the Technical Committee prepares proposals to this end. In view of the slow progress of work at the Commission an informal meeting between Industry and Government experts has been organized in order to speed up discussions by preparing compromise proposals, the last one being to amend the title of directive 76/432 and include trailers definitions.

In addition to the proposed revision of the « Machinery » directive, working-group 3 of the Technical Committee deals with a draft directive prepared by CEMA in 1995 concerning the harmonisation of road traffic regulations for self-propelled mobile machines. As already mentioned, CEMA is in contact with other European committees or organizations. With regard to this draft directive, CEMA, FEM and CECE have prepared a joint Industry position. However the European Commission have asked an outside consultant to review the situation in member countries prior to any decision.

CEMA has also been concerned by electromagnetic compatibility and several meetings of working-group 4 of the Technical Committee took place, in particular at UTAC where devices have been shown. Having thus contributed to the preparation of the corresponding ISO Standards, work in this field has been discontinued.

As mentioned above, diesel engine pollutant emissions, which are studied by working-group 5 of the Technical Committee, are being discussed worldwide. Following the publication of directive 97/68/EC relating to non-road mobile machinery, the intervention of CEMA with Government delegations and the European Parliament led to the publication of directive 2000/25/EC relating to tractors.

It is obvious that the activity of CEMA in the technical field is intense and benefits since a long time from the excellent co-operation which has been established between member associations and Industry representatives. The results obtained by CEMA depend on its capacity to submit realistic and feasible proposals that are recognised as such by the Enterprise Directorate General of the European Commission. It is quite obvious that CEMA can only continue in this manner provided that Industry members of national associations actively participate in its work.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES :

Work done in the economic field

The main dossiers dealt with by CEMA at the beginning aimed at a better knowledge of the European market of agricultural tractors and machines. Statistical data include :
  • Overall statistics in value for complete tractors and agricultural machines ;
  • statistics in units for the production/sales and exports of tractors of domestic production ;
  • statistics in units on the sales of 10 selected machines (tractors, ploughs, mower-conditioners, combines, self-propelled forage harvesters, manure and slurry spreaders, sprayers, balers, front loaders and fertiliser distributors).These 10 machines have been selected after several enquiries with member associations have been carried out ;
  • statistics in indices representing the market situation in real terms (home market, import, export, apparent consumption) ;
  • sales forecasts for the 10 selected machines.

In addition, « reciprocal » exchanges (i.e. associations receive data from other associations only if they give information) exist to cover 25 machines.

As the setting up of statistical questionnaires depend heavily on existing nomenclatures, CEMA has been led since its foundation to participate in the setting up of these nomenclatures which the European Statistical Office revise regularly ; this has been the case with the Harmonised System, the Common Customs Tariff, the Combined Nomenclature, INTRASTAT and PRODCOM. With the implementation of the Single Market and the removal of borders, nomenclatures are lightened which result in a loss of statistical information. CEMA insists with EUROSTAT on keeping the necessary headings, but national statistical offices do not always follow its recommendations and furthermore national nomenclatures usually differ from one another. The Economic Experts are then very often compelled to do their own calculations in order to obtain reliable information.

As far as statistical exchanges are concerned, CEMA has been recently involved in the investigations that DG Competition had started ten years ago with a number of members of manufacturers’ and importers’ associations on the grounds that the statistical systems used were anticompetitive. After several actions with the European Commission, aimed at proving that the farm machinery industry was not a declining oligopoly, a proposal has been presented to the last Economic Committee held on 28 May 1999 in Copenhagen and then submitted to DG Competition, which has accepted not to limit non-revealing data to agricultural tractors.

The WTO negotiations, after the Kennedy Round and the Uruguay Round are followed with attention. The same applies to the EMU.

Among other subjects dealt with by the Economic Committee, the following are interesting :

  • the product liability directive ; the draft directive resulted in several discussions within CEMA, in particular concerning « development risks »,the principle of objective liability and the calculation of the pretium doloris, as well as the possibilities of insurance and re-insurance abroad, in particular in the United States from where we were hearing disturbing news at that time about resounding law suits. Further to the action of CEMA and other Industry sectors with the Commissioner in charge of Industry and with the European Parliament, directive 85/374/EEC was published with a few amendments.

The European Commission has recently proposed to complement this directive by extending its scope to agricultural products in view of the problems raised by BSE and dioxine. A Green Paper has been issued recently and the Commission will submit a report by the end of 2000 on the advantages and drawbacks of directive 85/374 (health protection, safeguard of the Industry competitiveness, ……..)

  • The Regulation relating to dealership agreements (sective and exclusive) : this draft which was both applicable to motor cars and other Industry sectors, led to hard discussions among member associations since the greatest number of their members did not produce tractors and as such rather favoured regulations 1983/83 and 1984/83. The General Assembly in 1985 however convinced all member associations of the interest to adopt the new regulation (123/85) considering that agricultural tractors were equipment goods and not consumer goods. Further to CEMA action with the Directorate General Competition CEMA obtained that its members would not be subject to one particular regulation but that they could choose between the three of them.

At the end of the implementation period of regulation 123/85 (10 years), the Commission prepared a « Green Paper on vertical restraints » which concerned all Industry sectors and introduced economic factors such as market shares, in order to assess the legal value of dealership agreements. The paper has been analysed during two special meetings : in May 1997 at SYGMA and in June of the same year at the time of the General Assembly in Madrid. CEMA had hired the services of a legal consultant who, after receipt of the comments of member associations, has prepared the CEMA position, sent by the President, Mr Niedersüss, to the European Commission. The number of comments from the Industry received by the Commission led it to organize a hearing during which Industry sectors expressed their views, and the great majority chose Option II, i.e. to re-conduct the previous agreements with a few amendments. CEMA has organized a seminar on the subject in October 2004 in Brussels.

LOBBYING

CEMA has always striven to highlight the farm machinery Industry and draw the Commission’s attention to the importance of this sector whose main customer is the farmer who is absolutely necessary to the European Union.

In this respect, in the 70s, the Commission and in particular DG Enterprise, agreed to finance a survey on the farm machinery market. CEMA obtained that this survey should be up-dated in 1987. A new survey, also financed by the European Commission, was carried out by an Italian consultant, TEPRO. In view of the results CEMA convinced the Commission to launch an in-depth study which has been conducted by ERECO. Several work sessions have been organized during meetings of the Economic Experts and the Economic Committee ; consultants have been mandated in major countries, such BIPE for instance in France, who visited a number of SYGMA members. The ERECO Study was published in 1994. Afterwards the European Commission undertook to extend this study to all Industry sectors, among which the farm machinery industry represented only a small part : this is the IFO Study (conducted by a consultant based in Munich) dealing with European Industry Competitiveness.

At the same time, CEMA gave a positive answer to DG Enterprise, to write the monograph of the farm machinery sector, which appeared in the « Panorama of the Industries of the European Union », a document which collated major data relating to all Industry sectors on the basis of a format imposed by the Commission : profile of the sector, international comparison, market, competition, production process, industry structure, regulations, outlook. This document, launched in 1989 in view of the implementation of the Single Market and for which CEMA perceived a slight financial contribution, has been discontinued in 1997.

During this period CEMA, taking account of the interest that the Commission was showing – and still shows – for SMEs, convinced DG Enterprise to organize a special meeting on 15 and 16 March 1994 in Brussels. Participants had to pay a lump contribution whereas the Commission covered major expenses. The subjects introduced by members of the Commission concerned the industrial policy of the Commission, the harmonisation of technical regulations, research and development, export promotion, sector studies, training. A question-answer session concluded this workshop which has been attended by 70 representatives of member firms.

Member firms had been particularly interested by export promotion, so that the Commission met the wishes of CEMA and organized a meeting to find partnerships between Western and Eastern European manufacturers during the Brno exhibition in September 1996, which around 20 member firms attended.
CEMA has again taken action with the Directorate General for External Relations in order to use Community funds. In autumn 1998, on the occasion of a meeting between the CEMA President, Mr Rahbek, and his 1st vice-president, Mr Morange, EXPOSIUM proposed to organize a seminar during the AGRO-FOODTECH exhibition in April 1999 in Beijing, which could be sponsored by the European Commission. Contacts were established between CEMA and this Directorate General. Within the frame of the market access strategy and taking account of the candidacy of China to the WTO negotiations, the Commission agreed to cover the organization costs of the AGRO-NEWTECH seminar and to refund 1.500 Euro to each representative of a European company.
Twenty participants, attended the seminar on 19 – 21 April 1999.
The enquiry carried out afterwards showed that the theme chosen and the quality of the speakers had been appreciated.
CEMA has also supported the initiative to organize meetings between European an Chinese winegrowers in October 2004 in Qingdao.

FUTURE ACTIONS

This summary of a 40 year-activity shows that if much has been achieved, work must continue in the interest of member firms of CEMA associations.