Just as MAG Ireland is facing a challenging climate here at home, so too are other European riders rights groups, and by extension our umbrella organisation FEMA – the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations.
FEMA – the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations.
As a founder member of FEMA, MAG Ireland representatives attended last weekends FEMA meeting in Brussels at which a new fee structure was put in place which will benefit smaller organisations such as ours. As a FEMA member, we in MAG Ireland pay a small portion (typically less than two Euro) of your MAG Ireland membership subscription to FEMA.
FEMA’s purpose is to enable all of the European riders rights groups to coordinate our activities, pool our knowledge, and learn from each other while lobbying at the heart of Europe on behalf of riders. In turn, information obtained by FEMA is distributed to all of the member organisations like MAG Ireland which allows us to focus our efforts on the real threats to motorcycling before they become law.
MAG Ireland – Protecting your rights
As a national organisation, MAG Ireland depends on FEMA for the inside track on much of what takes place at the heart of the EU decision making process in Brussels. Issues such as the contentious Type Approval regulations or the Roadworthiness Testing proposals are good examples of where FEMA serves national organisations such as MAG Ireland by preventing duplication of effort across multiple national organisations, and thus making us all more effective at representing riders.
At our recent AGM, members of MAG Ireland voted through significant changes to our organisation to put us on a more sustainable footing for the future. At last weekend’s FEMA meeting, we contributed to the changes which will help to put FEMA on a more sustainable footing for the future.
MAG Ireland is committed to promoting and protecting Irish motorcycling. FEMA acts as our eyes and ears in Brussels, and is the channel through which we share and exchange information with other national organisations across Europe. Together, we’re stronger.
Following last weekend’s meeting, FEMA have issued the following press release (Source):
Federation of European Motorcyclists’ AssociationsRue des Champs 62, Brussels, Belgium – +32 (0)2 736 9047 Facing a difficult economical situation, the riders of Europe band together What affects Europe affects all of its components, including the motorcyclists’ organizations. Yet the need to organize and defend themselves has never been so important, as more and more legislations concerning road users are designed at the European level – and not always with the citizens’ best interests at heart. In this context of global economical hard times, the whole two-wheelers market is down, the average age of users keeps going up, people have less time and resources to be involved in non-profit organizations… At the same time, the various expenses for running a federation increase, the administrative burdens are multiplying, and new costs come on top. Among them, for instance, the CEN (European Committee for Standardization, where FEMA is involved on the riders-friendly guardrails issue) starts charging NGOs to follow its debates, when it should welcome the users’ expertise and work with and for them! But the rider’s community is known for its solidarity. While FEMA’s only real resource is the membership fees from the national riders’ organizations that compose it, its committee voted at the last meeting on a generous gesture to lower the financial load of some of its members, who are actively contributing to the work but had some trouble keeping up due to the crisis in their own country. At the same time, the committee set up a new lower starting fee to allow smaller organizations, for instance those in Eastern Europe, to unite in the constant fight for riders’ rights. FEMA calls all road users in Europe to join their local organization, and for new organizations to join it, as we are stronger together. Find out more about the different ways of supporting FEMA: Times are hard for everybody, but the European riders prove once again that helping each other out matters the most. Even if it means tightening the belt even more, they keep working towards a better road safety, a proper integration of two-wheelers in transport policies, and above all to preserve the right to ride free, as responsible and passionate citizens. Press contacts: Frédéric Jeorge: +33 6 1103 1398 | Njáll Gunnlaugsson +354 898 3223 |
