Cabinet plans to ban the sale of light petrol-driven mopeds by 2025 have fallen foul of EU internal market rules, news website Nu.nl said on Wednesday.
The plan to only sanction the sale of electric mopeds was part of the government’s efforts to reduce carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions, and reach climate targets by the end of the decade.
However, the infrastructure ministry has now confirmed that the ban would contravene EU rules covering the internal market. ‘Member states cannot simply ban the sale of something,’ a ministry spokesman said.
Ministers are now looking for ‘alternative measures to further stimulate the electrification of the light moped and thus achieve the climate agreement’ goals, Nu.nl said. Junior minister Vivianne Heijnen will brief parliament on the new options in the autumn at the latest.
Last week it emerged that the sale of more powerful electric mopeds had outstripped petrol-driven mopeds for the first time, but that petrol-driven light mopeds, known as snorfietsen in Dutch, are still more popular than the electric version.
From January next year, all moped users will have to wear a helmet, not just those with yellow plates and capable of faster speeds.
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Source: Dutch News
