Berlin remains blocked on ratification of the agreement to retire combustion engine cars by 2035, a key part of the European Union’s plan to meet emissions reduction commitments.
The approval has been suspended before the opposition, expressed at the last minute, after the agreement between the Council and the European Parliament was closed, due to the discrepancies in the German Government coalition, where the liberal party supports the requests of the German car industry, who claim to be able to continue selling cars with combustion engines that run on synthetic fuels. Without Germany’s vote, there is not enough support to approve the rule, which has also been rejected by Italy 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 already closed agreement between the co-legislators after two years of debates and has proposed to Berlin to create a new category of vehicles with engines of combustion that work from synthetic fuels, known as e-fuels, which could indeed be commercialized from 2035, with conditions. The Brussels olive branch has not succeeded, however, in getting the German Transport Ministry, led by the liberal Volker Wissing, to lift its opposition to the regulations on emissions.
“The manufacturer shall ensure that all vehicles fueled exclusively with carbon neutral fuels are equipped with induction fuel supply systems”, which will not allow them to start “if fueled with fuels other than carbon neutral”, details the draft proposal to prevent the system from being susceptible 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 rule to retire combustion engines in the EU, which is currently blocked. Berlin, on the other hand, wants guarantees that synthetic fuels will not be left hanging and asks that their requests 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 close the matter before the European Council that starts today in Brussels, as intended . Although Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is not aware that Germany’s change of stance has upset its European partners, the impatience is palpable in public statements from Paris and Madrid, who fear other countries will take note of the tactics of Berlin and later hijack other proposals for internal reasons.
“The decision on 2035, to which we have all collectively committed ourselves, including Germany, must be maintained,” claimed French Transport Minister Clément Beaune, who believes it would send a bad signal to the industry if it opens the door to combustion engines that use certain fuels. “I have no doubts that the Germans will reach an agreement within their coalition”, added the head of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, who made it clear what the problem is, while the Vice President of the Spanish Government, Teresa Ribera, accused Berlin of creating “noise and confusion” on a crucial issue.
