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The European Commission and Germany announced a deal Saturday morning that will allow the continued sale of combustion-engine cars running exclusively on synthetic e-fuels even after legislation comes into force mandating a policy of zero-emission sales only as of 2035.
“We have found an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars,” the European Commission’s Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans said on Twitter, confirming an accord had been reached. “We will work now on getting the CO2-standards for cars regulation adopted as soon as possible.”
Timmermans added that the Commission would “follow up swiftly” with “legal steps” needed to turn a non-binding annex to the law, introduced at the insistence of the EU’s car-marking titan Germany, into a concrete workaround to allow new vehicles running on e-fuels, which do emit some CO2, to be sold after 2035.
It is unclear exactly how the Commission plans to do that, but it has agreed to carve out a new category for vehicles running on e-fuels inside the existing Euro 6 automotive rulebook and then “integrate” that into the contentious CO2 standards legislation that mandates the 2035 phase-out date.
“We want the process to be completed by autumn 2024,” said the German Transport Ministry, which is run by Germany’s Free Democratic Party. The party, the most junior in Germany’s three-way governing coalition, had wanted fixed legal language to guarantee a loophole for e-fuels, which can theoretically be CO2-neutral but which wouldn’t normally comply with the emissions legislation since they do still emit tailpipe pollutants.
The issue dominated discussions on the sidelines of this week’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels, but a deal was only struck at 9 p.m. on Friday.
The crux of the standoff was that Germany demanded binding legal language that would ensure the Commission would find a way to satisfy its demands even if the European Parliament or courts moved to block any tweaks or legal annexes to the 2035 zero-emissions legislation covering cars and vans.
“The way is clear,” said German Transport Minister Volker Wissing in announcing the agreement. “We have secured opportunities for Europe by keeping important options open for climate-neutral and affordable mobility.”
The deal means Germany has effectively dropped its last-minute opposition to the car engine ban law, collapsing a blocking minority that had put a roadblock in front of final ratification by ministers of a firm deal reached last October between the three EU institutions.
It remains unclear as to whether Italy’s attempts to find a separate workaround for biofuels has also been secured. However, without Berlin’s support, Rome doesn’t have a way to block the legislation by itself.
The deal means energy ministers could potentially sign off on the proposal during a meeting on Tuesday.
