On Friday 8th of April 2011 ETRA the European Twowheel Retailers’ Association, the only trade association in the European Union that actively represents specialised motorcycle dealers and lobbies the European institutions in their interest, announced that it is to develop a fully-fledged European motorcycle department.
Up to now ETRA has focussed more on bicycles than on powered two wheelers, yet there is definitely a role to play for a fully-fledged motorcycle department.
European motorcycle dealers/repairers have some 37,000 enterprises. With 100,000 jobs they represent 2/3 of total employment in the motorcycle sector. According to ETRA, there is a need for a strong and active motorcycle department.
Today, 85% of legislation no longer originates from national institutions but comes from the EU.
A European trade association can defend the interests of motorcycle dealers at EU level, allowing national dealers’ organisations to inform their members about European issues. Manufacturers, users and the sports world have had their European associations for a long time.
Dealers would also benefit from a European dealer association to communicate and cooperate on a level playing field. It would definitely strengthen the motorcycle lobby in Brussels.
Finally, a fully-fledged motorcycle department within ETRA would offer the national associations a platform to exchange experiences and transfer know-how.
Breathing New Life
The ETRA Committee has now decided to breathe new life into the motorcycle side of the organisation by creating a fully-fledged motorcycle department.
For that purpose, ETRA has entered into a cooperation with Filippo Marino, a passionate motorcyclist with expertise in motorcycle lobbying.
In a first phase, the Committee has assigned Filippo Marino with two major tasks: recruitment of members and lobbying for motorcycle dealers’ interests in major motorcycle issues on the European agenda such as the type-approval review, the Communication on Road Safety and the White Paper on Transport.
Recently, Filippo Marino has finalised ETRA’s position paper on the review of the type-approval relating to motorcycles.
He is now in the process of lobbying EU Parliament for this position as well as consulting with ACEM and FEMA on lobby work.
At the same time, he will be contacting dealer associations across the European Union with a view to presenting them with ETRA’s plans for the motorcycle department.
At Right To Ride EU we welcome a new “player” in the field of motorcycle representation and having worked with Filippo in the past at EU level, his input into a structured and strong dealers’ association at European level at this critical time of the Commission’s proposals on anti-tampering and type-approval is welcome to enliven the debate.
For further information, please contact Filippo Marino, tel. +32 498 80 27 40, E-mail filippo@fmconsultants.eu or ETRA Secretary General, Annick Roetynck, tel. +32 9 233 60 05, E-mail etra@pandora.be
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