BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - In the dispute over the future of new cars with internal combustion engines, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing is confident that a viable solution will now be found. The FDP politician told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that close consultations had been held with the EU Commission and that, after careful consideration, a constructive proposal for a solution had been submitted to it. "We assume that not only all substantive but also the legal questions have been sufficiently answered with this."

Wissing added: "There should thus be nothing to prevent the approval of newly registered vehicles with internal combustion engines that are fueled exclusively with synthetic fuels, even after 2035." It was now expected that the EU Commission would make a corresponding declaration, specify clear time targets and initiate the process for corresponding legal acts.

The ministry had sent a letter of response to the EU Commission's latest proposals for a solution to Brussels on Thursday evening, according to government sources in Berlin. At the beginning of the week, their proposals had become known. According to it the authority defined criteria for the permission of new vehicles, which are operated exclusively with CO2-neutral fuels, in a draft.

The background to this is a fundamental agreement by the European Parliament and EU member states, according to which only zero-emission new cars may be registered in the EU from 2035. However, Germany is insisting that even after this date, new cars with internal combustion engines that run on e-fuels will still be permitted.

- climate-neutral artificial fuels generated with green electricity.

generated with green electricity. A confirmation of the agreement by the EU states, scheduled for the beginning of March, was therefore initially prevented by Germany./sam/DP/stk