Berlin maintains its blockade on the ratification of the agreement to retire combustion-engine cars in 2035, a key piece of the European Union's plan to meet emission reduction commitments.
The approval has been left in the air before the opposition, expressed at the last minute, after closing the agreement between the Council and the European Parliament, due to discrepancies in the German government coalition, where the liberal party supports the demands of part from the German automobile industry who claim to be able to continue selling cars with combustion engines that run on synthetic fuels. Without the vote of Germany, there is not enough support to approve the norm, which Italy has also rejected since Giorgia Meloni came to power, as well as Poland and Hungary, among others.
Following the criteria of the majority of member states, the European Commission refuses to reopen the text of an agreement already closed between the co-legislators after two years of debates and has proposed to Berlin to create a new category of vehicles with combustion engines that work based on synthetic fuels, known as e-fuels, which could be marketed from 2035, with conditions. The olive branch of Brussels has not, however, managed to get the German Ministry of Transport, led by the liberal Volker Wissing, to lift its opposition to the emission regulations.
"The manufacturer will ensure that all vehicles powered exclusively by carbon-neutral fuels are equipped with refueling induction systems" that will not allow them to start "if fueled with fuels that are not carbon-neutral," the draft details. of the proposal to prevent the system from lending itself to fraud. The high cost of synthetic fuels, 2.8 euros per liter according to a study by the environmental association Transport
But the new initiative proposed by Brussels would only be processed after ratifying the approval of the standard to retire combustion engines in the EU, currently blocked. Berlin, on the other hand, wants guarantees that synthetic fuels will not be left behind and asks that their demands be accommodated more immediately. Meanwhile, the Italian government has taken advantage of the situation to ask the EC for an exception also for biofuels.
Despite the reassuring messages from the German chancellery, talks with the European Commission have been going on for three weeks without success and it has been impossible to settle the matter before the European Council that begins today in Brussels, as was intended. Although Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is not aware that Germany's reversal has upset its European partners, the impatience is palpable in public statements from Paris and Madrid, who fear other countries will take note of Berlin's tactics and Later they hijack other proposals for internal reasons.
"The decision on 2035, to which we have all collectively committed, Germany included, must be maintained," claimed the French Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, who believes that it would send a bad signal to the industry if the door is opened combustion engines that use certain fuels. "I have no doubts that the Germans are going to reach an agreement within their coalition," added the Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, making it clear where the problem is, while the vice president of the Spanish Government, Teresa Ribera, accuses Berlin of create “noise and confusion” on a crucial issue.
