Poland wants to use the courts to block the ban on the sale of new fossil-fuel cars and small commercial vehicles by 2035. The EU member state argues that the social consequences and impact on the car market have been underestimated.
Synthetic fuels
The European Union wants no new passenger cars running on fossil fuels or synthetic fuels to be sold by 2035. The issue is a hot topic in the EU. Similarly, the European Commission wanted to curb the sale of passenger cars and small commercial vehicles running on synthetic fuels.
However, it backed down at the last minute under pressure from Germany. In March, the European Commission and Germany reached an agreement on an exemption for CO₂-neutral synthetic fuels. These are synthetically produced fuels manufactured using sustainably generated electricity.
Poland wants a line drawn through sales ban
However, Poland believes the plan goes too far, even with this exception. Reuters reports that the Polish Minister for Climate and the Environment, Anna Moskwa, intends to challenge the European Commission’s decision before the Court of Justice. This is the highest judicial body within the EU. Moskwa confirmed the reports to Radio Zet.
Poland is expected to go to court in the near future. It argues that the sales ban on new cars running on fossil fuels has far greater market and social consequences than the European Commission assumes. The minister says he hopes other EU member states will join the lawsuit.
It has long been known that Poland opposes the sales ban; the EU member state was the only one to vote against the European plan. Other EU member states are also not in favour, but opposed less vehemently. Bulgaria, Italy and Romania, for instance, abstained.
Opposition too to Euro 7 standards
Poland is also part of a group of EU Member States seeking to water down the proposed Euro 7 emissions standards. In an open letter to other EU Member States, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic stated that this standard does not support the transition to a zero-emission automotive industry.
Among other things, the countries argue that the plans around the Euro 7 standard are unsustainable in practice. For instance, car manufacturers would spend a lot of money on making combustion engines cleaner. They say this money could be better spent on developing zero-emission vehicles.
The letter was addressed to other EU member states. Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic called on EU member states in the letter to also oppose the Euro 7 plans.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: Arek Socha via Pixabay
