EU postpones vote on combustion engine phase-out

Contrary to what was planned, the EU member states will not make a final decision next Tuesday on reducing vehicle emissions by 100 percent in new cars starting in 2035, which would effectively mean phasing out internal combustion engines. A spokesperson for the responsible Swedish EU Council Presidency announced this on Friday in Brussels, as reported by DPA, among others. Prior to this, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had emphasized in Berlin that Germany cannot agree to the planned ban at this time. He insisted that the EU Commission must present a proposal on how climate-neutral synthetic fuels could be used in internal combustion engines after 2035, and sees this as fulfilling a corresponding commitment. Without Germany's approval, the vote was at risk of failing because the adoption of the law requires the approval of 15 out of 27 member states, which together represent at least 65 percent of the total EU population. Apart from Germany, Italy, Poland, and Bulgaria had also indicated a refusal. Without Germany, the 65 percent threshold will not be reached.

Initially, negotiators from the EU Parliament and the EU member states had already agreed in October that starting in 2035, only new cars that do not emit greenhouse gases during operation would be allowed for sale in the EU. The vote scheduled for Tuesday was actually the last step in the process and was considered a formality. However, at the beginning of the week, Transport Minister Wissing surprisingly expressed concerns and threatened that Germany would not be able to agree, arguing that the EU Commission had not yet presented a proposal on how "vehicles that can be demonstrably fueled only with climate-neutral fuels such as e-fuels" could be approved after 2035. This was also part of the agreement in the Council of EU Member States in June 2022 as a so-called "recital," to which the FDP had agreed at the time, and Transport Minister Wissing had also recently reaffirmed his approval.