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Did You Miss The Start of the Demo - What Next
 Our sincere apologies to those who missed the start of the Demo.
Unfortunately the Belgian police moved everybody on from the original start point, leaving MAG Belgium with a logistical nightmare.
Our MAG Belgium colleagues had their riders sweeping the area to pick up those UK riders that had got lost and stayed behind at the original starting point as long as possible to help but had to leave to marshal the run.
We greatly appreciate the time effort and money that you have spent to defend your rights in Europe.
So we can only repeat our apologies for those who did not make it in time.
Our Thanks
Our thanks to all those that attended and enjoyed the rare pleasure of sunshine in Brussels.
Also our thanks to Mike Nattrass, MEP from UKIP and his staff for their support of the demo and an offer to join him in Europe in the future on a "tour" of the EU Parliament.
What Next
The action on the Licence Directive is not over yet and will extend into 2006 as the Europe Institutions and UK Government seem intent in drawing out the process of the Directive.
As the UK Government have the Presidency of the EU at the moment we will need to act and a Mass Lobby of Parliament could be on the cards.
You may have already contacted your MEP regarding the directive and the demo in Brussels but some MEPs have failed to respond to any lobbying which has been ongoing since January 2005.
A letter reminding them would not go amiss.
We will be publishing on the MAG website a short list of responses from MEPs and those that have not responded or still need to be contacted.
The Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) in the UK have voiced their opinion on the economic impact of this directive which will have a seriously detrimental outcome in the UK for manufacturers, dealers, trainers and other sectors in the industry.
For example, Triumph Motorcycles is a significant player in the UK bike market and a large exporter to Europe of motorcycles over 650cc.
Employing more than 1,000 workers it is the last remaining UK-owned volume producer of motor-vehicles.
The MCIA has also pointed out that the European Commission is attempting to reduce its excessive bureaucratic activity by withdrawing 68 of the 183 directives which are currently under consideration.
The Commission argue that it will only propose legislation in the future that will add value.
The European Commission has identified three tests:
- Does the regulation have a potentially adverse effects on competitiveness?
- Have impact assessments been carried out? Or is a more thorough impact assessment necessary?
- Do substantial new scientific evidence, market developments or societal changes justify a review of the approach chosen?
In all cases, the motorcycle aspects of the 3rd Driving Licence Directive fails these tests.
A fair point we think and well worth mentioning in the future.
Watch this space for our next steps!!!!!!
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