(updated version)
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The EU decision on the planned phase-out of cars with internal combustion engines from 2035 is becoming a hanging matter. Against the backdrop of subsequent demands by Germany, a final vote has been postponed indefinitely, according to a spokesman for the responsible Swedish EU presidency in Brussels on Friday. Shortly before, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had said in Berlin that Germany could not agree to the planned blanket phase-out of internal combustion vehicles from 2035 at the current time.
Wissing reiterated the demand that the EU Commission submit a proposal on how "climate-neutral" synthetic fuels can be used in internal combustion engines after 2035. The Brussels-based authority would have to fulfill a corresponding commitment.
Without Germany's approval, the vote actually scheduled for Tuesday could have failed. Necessary for the adoption of the law is the approval by 15 of 27 member states, which together must represent at least 65 percent of the total population of the EU. In addition to Germany, countries such as Italy, Poland and Bulgaria recently refused to approve the plans. The 65 percent hurdle would then not be reached without Germany.
A spokeswoman for the EU Commission said on Friday that it would now take another close look at what was being demanded of it. According to diplomats, the authority has so far taken the view that it cannot propose exemptions for normal cars with internal combustion engines under the currently planned text of the law. Accordingly, these could only exist for special vehicles such as fire engines.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU member states had actually already agreed in October that from 2035 only new cars that do not emit greenhouse gases during operation may be sold in the EU. The pending vote by the EU states is the very last step in the legislative process and is actually a formality.
However, Wissing had already announced opposition to the plan at the beginning of the week. He justified this by saying that the EU Commission had not yet submitted a proposal on how, after 2035, only vehicles fueled with climate-neutral fuels such as e-fuels could be approved. This was part of the agreement in the Council of EU states in June 2022, with which the FDP could be persuaded to agree within the federal government.
Wissing reported on Friday from a conversation with the responsible Commission Vice Frans Timmermans. "The conversation had to the result that Mr. Timmermans has seen no perspective for himself to fulfill the commitment of the EU Commission within the now short time." Wissing added: "Of course, it has also not escaped us that the EU Commission has expressed itself to the effect that there is only limited interest in making a corresponding proposal." In the Bundestag, Wissing spoke of a "conflict" with the EU Commission.
On Sunday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected at a closed meeting of the federal cabinet at Meseberg Castle, the federal government's guest house in Brandenburg. The talks could include the phasing out of internal combustion engines. The official topic during von der Leyen's visit will be economic prospects for Germany and Europe.
The Federal Environment Ministry of department head Steffi Lemke (Greens) had explained with regard to Wissing that the EU member states had already voted in June with an overwhelming majority for only cars and light commercial vehicles that do not emit CO2 to be newly registered from 2035: "Germany also has a European responsibility here." He added that the car companies needed planning certainty: "Many car companies want to achieve the switch to e-mobility much earlier than 2035."
German MEPs were even more critical on Friday. "Today's postponement of the vote to phase out the internal combustion engine is an embarrassment for Germany, in front of the EU and globally. We are creating chaos, making ourselves completely untrustworthy and becoming a brake on climate protection," commented Green Party politician Michael Bloss. The transport policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU group said, "The German government is presenting itself as a chaos troupe in Brussels." He said he supported Wissing's course, but one should have doubts whether he could make his position capable of gaining a majority within the federal government.
The FDP has long called for the use of e-fuels and openness to technology, stressing that one should not rely only on electric cars. "We need synthetic fuels for the existing fleet," Wissing said.
E-fuels are artificially produced fuels. Technically, hydrogen is usually produced from water with electricity. Combined with carbon dioxide, the fuel can have the properties of diesel, gasoline or kerosene - depending on the type of chemical compound. E-fuels are controversial, however, because of high efficiency losses and costs in production.
Audi CEO Markus Duesmann warned against turning away from the planned internal combustion engine phase-out for passenger cars. He told Der Spiegel that synthetic fuels would not play a major role in the passenger car segment in the medium term. "Audi has made a clear decision: We are phasing out the internal combustion engine in 2033 because the battery-electric vehicle is the most efficient method for individual mobility." E-fuels, he said, are significantly more inefficient to produce and thus considerably more expensive. Greenpeace transport expert Benjamin Stephan spoke of a "blackmail attempt" by Wissing. This would jeopardize key progress in European climate protection./wim/DP/he
