The Czech, German and Italian transport ministers aim to gather like-minded counterparts in Brussels on Monday to figure out a way to save the combustion engine from an EU ban in 2035, two diplomats told POLITICO.
Germany — backed by Italy, Poland and Bulgaria — has blocked the final approval of a law that would mandate only zero-emission cars and vans can be sold in the EU from 2035. Berlin wants the European Commission to first put forward an option allowing cars to use synthetic fuels known as e-fuels, but the blockade is leading to broader questions about the whole 2035 measure.
The meeting of a clutch of transport ministers is supposed to forge a joint position on the Commission’s Euro 7 non-CO2 emission standards — a separate measure that deals with things like carbon monoxide emissions and pollution from brakes — said a diplomat from the Czech mission to the EU.
In addition to Germany’s Transport Minister Volker Wissing and his Czech counterpart Martin Kupka, Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini will also attend, according to the Czech diplomat.
“We have not yet received an invitation to a meeting from the Czech minister of transport,” said a spokesperson for Wissing.
Two national diplomats said that the meeting will also tackle the 2035 issue, in addition to general talks on car emissions.
One German government official said the plan was to fix a common view on the car and van zero emissions mandate among the three countries in time for agreement ahead of Monday’s meeting.
Ministers from France, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Finland have also been invited to the meeting, said the Czech official.
All their countries have at some point expressed concern over plans to set an outright ban on sales of new polluting vehicles — something that will essentially force the Continent’s car industry to switch to electric vehicles.
The list excludes countries like the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Austria and Ireland that back the 2035 phaseout.
Monday’s planned meeting follows a bilateral between Kupka and Wissing late last week.
After that discussion, Kupka tweeted that besides sharing objections to the Euro 7 proposal on non-CO2 emissions, the Czech Republic — like Germany — would “not support the limitation of combustion engines after 2035, unless there will be a clear and binding exemption for synthetic fuels.”
Germany, Italy, Poland and Bulgaria already form a blocking minority, preventing the final adoption of the 2035 measure which was supposed to be signed off on by EU ministers on Tuesday. That vote has now been postponed by the Swedish Council presidency.
If the German-led alliance widens, it spells potential trouble for the car-ban legislation which is a key part of the EU’s effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transport.
Germany’s last minute balk — prompted by fissures within the ruling coalition as the liberal Free Democratic Party has turned saving the internal combustion engine into a political issue — is very unusual at this late stage in the legislative process.
“The deal was agreed and we thought everyone would keep their word,” said one diplomat from a carmaking country not invited to Monday’s talks.
