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BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Sigh of relief in Brussels: the far-reaching ban on new cars with internal combustion engines is coming. After weeks of blockade by Germany, the EU states finally decided on Tuesday that from 2035 no new cars may be registered that fill up with gasoline or diesel. Berlin pushed through an exception. This will make it possible to buy certain internal combustion cars - provided they run exclusively on carbon-neutral synthetic fuels known as e-fuels.

"This final vote is an important step towards zero-emission mobility in the EU," said EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans. German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke welcomed the decision. "It gives the automotive industry the planning certainty it needs." She also emphasized advantages that electromobility currently has over e-fuels.

Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing did not initially comment on the vote on Tuesday. He had blocked the project on behalf of the German government. In the end, however, he negotiated a commitment with the EU Commission for an exemption for e-fuels.

Positive reactions also came from the automotive industry: "Our industry welcomes the planning certainty that today's milestone brings," the European manufacturers' association Acea announced. A technology-neutral approach is the best way to achieve the climate targets. At the core of this, he said, is electromobility.

At the end of October, negotiators from the EU member states and the European Parliament had actually agreed on a plan to only allow new cars in the EU from 2035 that emit no emissions during operation. In an unusual move, however, the German government made additional demands, delaying confirmation of the negotiation result by the EU member states by several weeks. In the process, the FDP in particular made a strong case for e-fuels.

These can be produced with green electricity from water and carbon dioxide extracted from the air. The carbon dioxide is then released again when the fuel is burned. Unlike gasoline or diesel, therefore, no additional climate-damaging gases are produced. Critics complain, among other things, that they are more urgently needed in shipping and aviation.

Austria's Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler said the path to 100 percent emission-free mobility is now clear. She said she was glad that the blockade had been resolved. Of the German government, the Green politician said, "The fact that it has now needed a loophole to take procrastinators along for the ride, I think that's a shame."

After the vote at the ministerial meeting, Italy and Poland, among others, took the floor. Italy wants to push for biofuels to be considered carbon-neutral as well, a representative of the country said. These are produced from biological residues and waste materials, for example. Poland's representative stressed, "I think that the impact on our economy, society and transport has not been sufficiently analyzed." In addition, she said, there are legal concerns. Poland voted against the project on Tuesday. Italy, Romania and Bulgaria abstained.

The background to the debate about phasing out internal combustion engines is the so-called fleet limits. These are guidelines for manufacturers on how many greenhouse gases new cars may emit during operation. The original plan is for this value to fall to zero in 2035, which would effectively mean the end of most new internal combustion vehicles.

Under pressure from Germany, exceptions for e-fuel cars are now to be included in the EU regulations by means of a so-called delegated act. This will be issued by the EU Commission, but the EU Parliament and EU states have two months to raise objections.

According to a communication from the EU states, the Commission will propose to allow e-fuel cars outside the fleet limits. The authority read the relevant paragraph in such a way that only special vehicles such as ambulances or fire trucks are affected. According to Berlin's reading, however, the exception should apply to all cars.

It remains to be seen whether a relevant number of internal combustion vehicles will be registered after 2035. Car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer cites the high cost of producing the fuels and the "terrible energy balance" - the production process consumes an extremely large amount of electricity - as arguments against such drives. The industry still has to build such cars first, and solutions must be found to ensure that vehicles only use e-fuels./mjm/DP/zb