Ministers from several European countries reluctant to end the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2035 and concerned about the draft Euro 7 anti-pollution standard for cars, under negotiation and highly contested by the industry, will meet Monday in Strasbourg, he said. Germany. on Sunday.
“The Czech Republic has convened a specialized ministerial meeting on (the future standard) Euro 7 and the emission limit values (for the automobile sector) on Monday in Strasbourg, together with the European Commission,” a spokesman for the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Relations Transport.
German minister Volker Wissing (FDP, Liberals) “will gladly respond to this invitation,” organized in the eastern French city shortly before the start of a plenary session of the European Parliament, he added.
Poland and Italy are expected to participate in the meeting.
Poland will also take part in the discussion, diplomatic sources told AFP. According to the Politico site, a representative from Italy is also expected.
The meeting comes as Germany blocked a vote on Tuesday by all 27 member states, supposedly a formality, to ratify a ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines by 2035.
This vote was postponed indefinitely, Germany refusing to give the green light. As Italy and Poland had long opposed the text, and Bulgaria wanted to abstain, the required qualified majority (at least 55% of the states representing 65% of the EU population) was not more united.
The text, which would in fact impose 100% electric motors, had already been the subject of an agreement in October between the Member States and the European Parliament, before being formally approved in mid-February by MEPs.
To justify its radical change, extremely rare at this stage of the procedure, Berlin demanded that the European Commission come up with a proposal that would pave the way for vehicles running on synthetic fuels, even after 2035.
This technology, still in development, is advocated in particular by high-end German manufacturers, with a view to extending the use of internal combustion engines.
An anti-pollution standard that is also worrying
Another concern for these countries: the Euro 7 pollution standard, proposed in November by the European Commission and which would be imposed on the automotive industry from 2025.
Brussels proposes, in particular, making vehicle emissions tests more in line with real driving conditions and setting limits on the emission of particles caused by brake and tire wear, in order to reduce by 35% Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from passenger cars and light vehicles. commercial vehicles compared to the previous Euro 6 standard.
This proposal is fiercely rejected by manufacturers, who want a minimum standard for these heat engines that are supposed to disappear by 2035.
According to them, the proposed Euro 7 standard would lead to a sharp increase in vehicle prices, risking further crippling an already struggling European market.
Source: BFM TV
