BRUSSELS/BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - In the dispute over the planned ban on new cars with internal combustion engines in Europe, the EU Commission has proposed a solution to the German government. In a draft available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the authority defines criteria for the approval of new vehicles that can run exclusively on CO2-neutral fuels. The Ministry of Transport did not explicitly comment on the proposal on Tuesday. Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), however, made it clear that he was interested in a quick clarification.

But this must be resilient and binding, a spokeswoman said Tuesday in Berlin. "We are carefully examining that right now." She said the ministry was in close exchange with the commission to find a solution that would show a reliable way for cars with internal combustion engines to be newly registered even after 2035, provided they run exclusively on e-fuels.

Wissing himself had submitted a proposed solution to the EU Commission last week. Der Spiegel" reported on Tuesday that the minister had already rejected the EU Commission's proposal. The FDP, on the other hand, said that this was a good first step, but not yet sufficient. One wants to work further on a solution. From the Federal Environment Ministry it was said that nothing more should stand in the way of an agreement by the FDP.

Actually, negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU states had already agreed in the fall that only zero-emission new cars would be allowed to be registered in the EU from 2035. However, confirmation of the deal by the EU states, which was scheduled for the beginning of March, was canceled due to additional demands from Germany. The FDP in particular is pushing for new cars with internal combustion engines that run on climate-neutral e-fuels to still be allowed to be registered after 2035./wim/DP/ngu