France’s transport minister on Wednesday urged Germany to once again support a ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines in the European Union by 2035, lamenting a “slingshot shape” from Berlin. “We must maintain this objective. It is very important, including for our industrialists, in France, in Germany,” Clément Beaune told the LCI news channel, the day after the indefinite postponement of a vote by the 27 member states on this crucial part. of the EU climate plan, due to the abstention announced by Germany.
“Yesterday I had my German counterpart, the Minister of Transport (Volker Wissing, editor’s note), since it is he, in particular, who led this form of revolt against the 2035 target,” confided Clément Beaune.
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The blockade of Berlin is an initiative of the liberals of the FDP, of which Volker Wissing is a member. This small party, which is credited with close to 5% of voting intentions in national polls, has lost five consecutive regional elections. He hopes to assert himself against environmentalists by posing as an advocate of the car, betting on the hostility of a large part of the population to the ban on combustion engines.
“There are concerns, I think there are internal discussions in the German coalition, to be very clear also a bit of political positioning,” Clément Beaune commented. But he warned: “if we do not maintain this ambition we will be wiped out industrially and ecologically (…) it is not by giving passwords how we will be able to create this electric car accessible to all”.
The text, which will de facto impose 100% electric motors, was the subject of an agreement in October between the Member States and the European Parliament negotiators, and was formally approved in mid-February by the plenary session of MEPs. It can no longer be changed. “This signal was clear, it had been supported, including by Germany. It had been registered under the French presidency of the European Union as a great ambition (…) we must, I think, return to this goal which is very important,” Clément pleaded. Beaune.
Source: BFM TV
