“The way is clear”: the federal government and the EU Commission settle a dispute over the end of combustion engines

The federal government has reached an agreement with the EU Commission in the dispute over the end of new cars with combustion engines. This was announced by Transport Minister Volker Wissing and EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans on Twitter on Saturday.

“We have reached an agreement with Germany on the future use of e-fuels in cars,” wrote Timmermanns. Work will now be done to ensure that the regulation on CO2 standards for cars is passed as soon as possible.

“The way is clear: Europe remains technology-neutral,” commented Wissing on Twitter. Vehicles with internal combustion engines could also be newly registered after 2035 if they only refueled with CO2-neutral fuels. Wissing announced that the agreement was reached late on Friday evening.

According to Wissing, concrete procedural steps and a concrete schedule have been fixed in a binding manner. “We want the process to be completed by autumn 2024.” The Federal Transport Minister had made the agreement a prerequisite for his approval of moving away from vehicles with fossil-fuelled combustion engines.

The European Parliament and EU states had already agreed in October that only emission-free new cars may be registered in the EU from 2035. For Germany, however, it is important that new cars with combustion engines that fill up with e-fuels can still be registered afterwards – i.e. climate-neutral artificial fuels that are produced with green electricity.

A confirmation of the agreement by the EU states, which was planned for early March, was therefore initially prevented by Germany. Since then, the Federal Ministry of Transport and the EU Commission have been negotiating a compromise.

Many EU partners had reacted with irritation to Germany’s behavior in the dispute. On Thursday, for example, the Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins spoke in front of the cameras on the sidelines of the EU summit of a “very, very difficult sign for the future”. It is surprising that a government suddenly decides differently after an agreement has already been reached.

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Karins warned: “The entire architecture of decision-making would fall apart if we all did that.” Diplomats in Brussels were more explicit behind the scenes. They accuse Germany of a breach of trust.

Greenpeace criticizes “lazy compromise” in combustion cars

Greenpeace has sharply criticized the agreement. “This rotten compromise undermines climate protection in traffic and it harms Europe,” said the environmental organization’s mobility expert, Benjamin Stephan, on Saturday in Berlin. The “urgently needed focus of the automotive industry on efficient electromobility” will be watered down with the agreement.

Stephan accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz of not having stopped the FDP’s “ruthless blackmailing of the EU”. “After this disappointing result, it is all the more clear that Scholz must persuade the FDP to take effective measures to protect the climate in traffic at tomorrow’s coalition committee,” he said. “Instead of traversing the country with more climate-damaging motorways, the federal government should now concentrate fully on expanding the railways.”

Greens in the European Parliament announce the review of the combustion engine deal

MEPs from the Greens have meanwhile announced that they will take a close look at the compromise reached between the EU Commission and the federal government on the future of cars with combustion engines. “We will examine the proposal very closely, both legally and politically,” announced the spokesman for the German Greens in the European Parliament, Rasmus Andresen, on Saturday.

But he also emphasized that it was good that the impasse was finally over. He also said, with a view to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP): “Wissing has disgraced the federal government. It’s unbelievable that Chancellor Scholz covered up this chaos for weeks.”

According to Terry Reintke, leader of the Greens group in the EU Parliament, the blockade has caused great damage. The Green MEP Michael Bloss made a similar statement, as reported by the editorial network Germany (RND). (dpa/Reuters/AFP)

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Source: Tagesspiegel

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