The fate of internal combustion engines in the coming decades has caused friction between European countries and will force the search for new approaches to balance emissions reduction and the interests of car manufacturers, writes Politico.
On Monday, the 13th of March, the community of car-friendly countries led by Germany heated up discussions in the fight against the European Union’s (EU) planned changes in the legislation, which envisages stopping the production of cars with internal combustion engines. It is part of the fight against climate change and efforts to reduce carbon emissions. After the meeting in Strasbourg, the ministers from the countries that support internal combustion engines indicated that the law, which has already been approved by the European Parliament and which the member states agreed in principle, needs changes. The law provides that after 2035, cars with internal combustion engines will no longer be sold in Europe.
Meanwhile, France has no intention of giving up. Paris has made it clear that it will support the EU’s 2035 Zero Emissions Plan, and Madrid has also joined in the support.
Thus, two of the bloc’s countries with the largest number of cars have joined the group of smaller countries that have already committed to reducing emissions from passenger cars to zero.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told French media outlet France Info that he was ready to fight and that delaying the law would be a mistake.
On the opposite side, along with the German government, are Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic, which are calling for some sort of backlash by allowing the use of synthetic fuel, a somewhat «greener» alternative to fossil fuels that can also be used in internal combustion engines. Together, these countries have enough power to veto new legislation.
The European Commission had planned to present a proposal that would tighten the wording of the law, but this angered Berlin, where the Transport Ministry is controlled by Transport Minister Volker Wissing’s car-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP). FDP believes that a potentially painful political issue has been touched upon.
Discontinuing the production of internal combustion engines will mean the end of companies that specialize in the production of spare parts for internal combustion engines, as most of these products will no longer be needed in the world of electric cars.
The EC has little room to maneuver to reach the compromise demanded by the auto powers. The EP has refused to open the text of the law approved last year for revision. FDP representatives want a completely separate law that would apply to synthetic fuels. However, the draft law takes time to prepare and there is no guarantee that the EP and other countries will approve it.
France is reluctant to make changes to the law, which took two years of agonizing debate to craft. It was completed last year and now only needs formal approval from ministers of the bloc’s countries. Regarding plans to delay the adoption of the law, Le Maire said that it is not in anyone’s interest, and most of all, it is not in the interest of the planet.
Divisions among European countries threaten the EU’s plan to become a world leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pave the way for discussions about the balance of political power in the bloc.