Germany does not agree the European decision to cap the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union (EU) by 2035. This has delayed the final decision on the proposal in the EU Council.
EU wants to allow only the sale of new passenger cars with zero CO2 emissions by 2035. In practice, this means that sales of petrol- and diesel-powered cars will be banned from that year.
Only applicable to large manufacturers
measure only applies to large car manufacturers. Manufacturers producing fewer than 1,000 passenger cars annually are exempt. Also, the ban applies only to new vehicles. Used passenger vehicles with petrol or diesel engines will still be allowed to change hands after 2035.
European Parliament and EU member states already agreed on the proposal in October 2022. The European Parliament approved the agreement in February 2023. Ministers of all EU member states spoke on the plan on 7 March.
Germany abstains from vote
So now it appears that Germany is not backing the plans. Germany's ruling FDP party does not support the law. In Germany, the government must be unanimously behind an EU decision to agree to it. Now that this is not the case, Germany is abstaining.
Decision means the plan does not have enough supporters. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen reportedly still tried to convince Germany, but was reportedly unsuccessful.
Synthetic fuel
There have long been rumours that Germany does not agree with the European plans. Among other things, the Germans want the sale of passenger cars running on synthetic fuel to continue to be allowed. The European Commission promised to investigate whether these so-called e-fuels are a sustainable alternative. However, it does not want to offer any guarantees. The German government is dissatisfied with this and wants commitments on this issue. For the FDP, this is reason to block the decision.
German decision is causing irritation among other EU member states. NOS EU correspondent Ardy Stemerding points to fears that the move will set a new precedent and other countries will also come up with new requirements in the future while the legislative process is already over. The European Commission is still looking for a way to accommodate Germany. It wants to avoid having to reopen negotiations for this.
Presumably, this mainly means that the European Commission will rephrase its earlier commitment to examine e-fuels. However, it is unclear whether this will be a godsend for Germany.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: Free-Photos via Pixabay
