In the middle of opinions, Germany believes it has won by preventing the European Union’s planned end to internal combustion engine car production by 2035, but there is still a lot of resistance in Brussels, suggesting that Germany may be celebrating too soon, writes Politico.
Clarity will come on the 16th of December, when the European Commission is due to present a package of draft laws on the car sector. It also includes a revised version of the 2035 law that was planned to effectively end internal combustion engine car production. The plan to end internal combustion engine car production has caused quite a stir, especially from Germany. Manfred Weber, the head of the German branch of the center-right European People’s Party, has already boasted that he and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz managed to secure a concession from the EC.
Weber told German media on the 11th of December that a ban on internal combustion engine cars was no longer on the agenda. Brussels, however, does not believe so. Many EC officials have indicated that they do not yet know the content of the announcement planned for the 16th of December.
The stakes are high. The auto industry accounts for about 9% of EU GDP and provides about 7% of all jobs. The industry and countries where car production is a major part of the economy have raised an uproar and called for a relaxation of the law that would ban the sale of new cars that emit carbon dioxide after 2035.
The auto industry is currently facing a trio of crises:
a tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump, increasing competition from China and lower sales at home. Representatives of the sector have indicated that they cannot increase production of electric cars fast enough to survive. These arguments are being used by countries where the auto industry is a major player – the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Germany. Months of resistance have led EC President Ursula von der Leyen to promise changes to the draft laws.
Von der Leyen met with Weber and Merz to work out the details, which prompted Weber to announce that an agreement had been reached to reduce the 2035 target. Instead of a 100% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, they would be reduced by 90%.
Merz and Weber held a press conference on the 12th of December, at which Merz said that Germans were not questioning the targets, but that they needed to choose a different path to achieve them. A victory on this issue is important for Weber. But despite Weber’s triumphant statements, two officials familiar with the matter told Politico that the deal is not set in stone, with other commissioners opposing it. The EC did not respond to a request for comment.
Commissioners are reviewing the proposed changes in the bill before approving or rejecting them. Climate campaigners also say that revising the 2035 targets could destroy the bloc’s emissions reduction goals. EC officials have warned that lowering the emissions reduction target from 100% to 90% would mean that
about a quarter of cars sold after 2035 would still have internal combustion engines in some form.
Whatever the EC proposes on the 16th of December, the proposal will still have to be debated in the European Parliament and the EU Council, and many are expected to oppose the changes to the plan.
Spain sent a letter to von der Leyen on the 11th of December urging her to stick to the goal of phasing out internal combustion engine cars by 2035, noting that the EC had already granted significant exemptions from the requirements this year, allowing carmakers to avoid paying fines. The letter said that any further exemptions would significantly hinder modernization, increasing the likelihood of factory closures and large numbers of job losses.
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