Berlin had stunned its European partners in early March by blocking at the last moment a regulation aimed at reducing CO2 emissions to zero.2 new vehicles. The European Commission and Germany announced on Saturday March 25 that they had reached an agreement to unblock this key text of the European Union’s climate plan on CO emissions.2 cars, by relaxing the ban on internal combustion engines after 2035.
This text had already been the subject of an agreement in October between Member States and negotiators of the European Parliament, with the consent of Germany, and had been approved in mid-February by MEPs meeting in plenary session.
To justify its volte-face, extremely rare at this stage of the procedure, Germany demanded that the Commission present a proposal opening the way to vehicles running on synthetic fuels. This technology, still in development, would consist of producing fuel from CO2 from industrial activities. Defended by high-end German and Italian manufacturers, it would extend the use of heat engines after 2035.
Vote by member states scheduled for Tuesday
The Commission has been negotiating in recent weeks the terms of a way out of the crisis with Germany, which demanded a firmer commitment on synthetic fuels, certainly already mentioned in the initial text, but in terms deemed legally too lax. “We have reached an agreement with Germany on the future use of synthetic fuels in carsEuropean Commissioner for the Environment Frans Timmermans announced on Twitter on Saturday. From now on, we will work to have the regulation on CO standards adopted.2 cars as soon as possible. »
The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU immediately announced that the regulation on CO2 emissions2 cars would be submitted to ambassadors from the 27 member countries on Monday in Brussels for the legislation to be finally adopted at a meeting of energy ministers on Tuesday. “Vehicles equipped with a combustion engine can be registered after 2035 if they only use neutral fuels in terms of CO2 emissions2 »welcomed the German transport minister, Volker Wissing, still on Twitter.
Synthetic fuel technology is contested by environmental NGOs, who consider it expensive, energy-intensive and polluting. “Big anger! The Commission therefore lies down in front of Germany! », protested the ecologist MEP Karima Delli, calling on the European Parliament to prevent the opening to synthetic fuels. Many car experts also doubt that they can impose themselves on the market against electric cars, the prices of which are expected to fall in the years to come.
“The text is unchanged”, says Pascal Canfin
The blockade of Berlin was an initiative of the liberals of the FDP. This small party, credited with around 5% of voting intentions in national polls, has lost five consecutive regional elections. He hopes to assert himself against environmentalists as a defender of the automobile, betting on the hostility of a large part of the population to the ban on combustion engines.
To ensure the unity of his coalition, the Social Democratic Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, preferred to align himself with the FDP’s request. Mr. Scholz was optimistic Thursday evening on this release of the European regulation. ” It’s going well. It’s just a matter of finding the right way to deliver on that promise.” on synthetic fuels, “made for a long time by the Commission”he said.
Eventually, “the text is unchanged. The rule of 100% zero-emission cars by 2035 is therefore maintained.reacted the president of the environment committee of the European Parliament, Pascal Canfin (Renew, liberals), assuring that he would be vigilant on the respect of the “climate neutrality” thermal engines which will be authorised.
The image of Germany tarnished in Brussels
The industry, for its part, largely anticipated European regulations and invested heavily in electric vehicles. Even if they prove their worth, synthetic fuels, which do not exist today, “will not play a significant role in the medium term in the passenger car segment”said Markus Duesmann, the boss of Audi (Volkswagen group), to the weekly Spiegel.
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Due to their cost, they will only make sense for a few luxury cars “like Porsche 911s or Ferraris”underlines Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, expert of the Center Automotive Research in Germany, who does not see “no significant change” for the green transition. But, according to him, the poor management of the file by “the European Commission has harbored new doubts” in public opinion and creates “investment uncertainty”.
“It’s bad for the European car industry, because the Chinese and the Americans will widen the gap in the electric vehicle”, he assures. The affair also damaged Germany’s image in Brussels and undermined the credibility of the institutions, believe many observers. “A member state threatens to provoke a constitutional crisis in the EU (non-respect of the result of a legislative procedure) and gets nothing substantial in return, a real disaster”denounced the German Social Democratic MEP René Repasi.