The conflicts between Germany, France and Italy<\/b> are delaying decisions on 2035<\/b>, prolonging uncertainty<\/b> in the European car industry<\/b>. <\/p>\n
As the European Union<\/b> approaches one of one of the most important decisions for the future of transport<\/b> and its industrial policy<\/b>, the front around the post-2035<\/b> CO\u2082 emissions targets<\/b> is becoming increasingly complex<\/b>. The different approaches of Member States<\/b>, the controversies between political groups in the European Parliament<\/b> and pressures from the automotive industry are shaping an environment of increased uncertainty<\/b> for an industry already facing the high costs of the energy transition<\/b>, intensifying international competition<\/b> and the challenges of electric mobility<\/b>. Against this backdrop, the processes to revise the European regulatory framework<\/b> are progressing slowly<\/b>, while the upcoming elections in leading European countries<\/b> threaten to further entangle a debate with immediate implications for investment<\/b>, employment and the strategic direction of the European automotive industry<\/b>. <\/p>\n
The review of the regulations<\/b> on emissions from cars<\/b> is one of the most critical dossiers for the European car industry<\/b>. Unfortunately, with topspeed.gr<\/b><\/b><\/b>, the procedures are only short<\/b>. <\/p>\nThe timeline<\/h3>\n
Last December, the European Commission unveiled its long-awaited Automotive Package, which includes an “indirect” revision of the 100% emissions reduction target by 2035. This marks the start of a process that has so far made little progress. The Brussels proposals must first be examined by the European Parliament’s Environment Committee. This body will formulate the position to be put to a vote in the plenary session of MEPs. The Council of the EU will then be invited to take a position, and the Trilogue procedure may also be followed in order to reach a compromise between the three main institutions of the Union. <\/p>\n
For now, the parliamentary vote is scheduled for November, but Vavasori did not rule out the possibility of further delays. In short, uncertainty prevails, especially in light of the developments of the last few days, as a clear divergence of opinion has emerged between the main political forces supporting the current European Commission and its president, Ursula von der Leyen.<\/span> <\/p>\n The electoral factor<\/p>\n The only certainty concerns the major 2027 elections: the presidential elections in France will be held in April, the general elections in Spain in August, and in between (probably at the end of May) the parliamentary elections in Italy are expected. In this context, Jens Giesecke, a German CDU MEP, EPP representative on the Transport Committee and member of the Environment Committee, told Automobilwoche:<\/p>\n “Everything must be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2027.”<\/p>\n From November onwards, a race will essentially begin to avoid paralysis of the process due to electoral cycles in three important European countries, which have long taken a clear stand against Brussels’ policies for the automotive sector. Just a few days ago, France and Spain, among other countries, sent a letter to the European Commission calling for the maintenance of pro-electricity policies and, in particular, the zero emissions target by 2035.<\/p>\n This position is in clear contrast to that of Germany and Italy, which are in favour of a substantial revision of the rules to take into account the social and economic consequences of European legislation.<\/p>\n The divergence of views among member states is also reflected in the parliamentary groups of the majority supporting Ursula von der Leyen. One only has to look at the draft reports that have been submitted to the Environment Committee.<\/p>\n The first, signed by Massimiliano Salini of the European People’s Party, proposes a number of amendments to the Automotive Package, including a “real 90% reduction” in emissions by scrapping the carbon credit mechanism proposed by Brussels. The Commission does indeed propose a 90% reduction – that is, to around 11.5 grams of CO\u2082 – but ties the remaining 10% to two conditions: the use of “green” steel (7%) and the use of alternative fuels (3%).<\/p>\n This mechanism is extremely complex, but there is an even more controversial issue: the treatment of company vehicle fleets. In this context, Tiemo Velken and Fran\u00e7ois Velken of the Socialist Group have tabled a second draft report with even stricter measures than those of the Commission.<\/p>\n To accelerate electrification in the fleets of large companies (with 250 or more employees or a turnover of more than \u20ac50 million), the European Commission has set binding targets per Member State. For example, for Germany, a minimum of 54% of zero-emission vehicles by 2030 and 95% by 2035 is foreseen. The new plan increases these targets to 65% and 99% respectively.<\/p>\n For Italy, the targets increase from 45% to 54% by 2030 and from 80% to 84% by 2035. Overall, the EU should achieve a 54% share of electric vehicles in corporate fleets by the end of the decade, up from the 45% envisaged in the Commission’s proposal.<\/p>\n At the same time, the Velken plan calls for member states to end tax incentives for fossil-fuel-powered company vehicles from 2028 and to favour only battery electric vehicles produced in Europe.<\/p>\n German discontent<\/h3>\n The Social Democrats’ report has already provoked strong reactions, not only within the European People’s Party. The German automotive industry association VDA has rejected the plan, dismissing any possibility of further increases to the already ambitious targets previously discussed.<\/p>\n The powerful organisation, chaired by Hildegard Miller, has called the new measures counterproductive, arguing that they risk making an already costly economic transition even more difficult and increasing the bureaucratic burden on businesses and fleet managers.<\/p>\n Miller also recalled the position of Berlin, which has already expressed its opposition to the Automotive Package measures affecting corporate fleets, reiterating its call on Brussels to improve conditions for electrification by upgrading networks and reducing energy costs.<\/p>\n Of course, Germany plays a key role. The European People’s Party could in theory seek support from more radical political forces to secure approval for its proposals. However, according to some estimates, German Chancellor Friedrich Murch is seeking an agreement between the EPP and the other parties in the governing majority in the European Parliament, namely the Social Democrats and the Liberals of Renew Europe.<\/p>\n In that case, however, there is a risk that a compromise will emerge that will not satisfy the European car industry and will not be able to lift the current climate of regulatory uncertainty. <\/p>\n .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \n Conflicts between Germany, France and Italy are delaying decisions on 2035, prolonging uncertainty in the European …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Draft reports and counter-proposals<\/h3>\n