EU signs deal to end gasoline and diesel cars – 03/27/2023 – Market

The countries of the European Union (EU) reached an agreement this Monday (27) that validates the end of cars with internal combustion engines as of 2035, one of the pillars of the bloc’s ambitions in environmental matters.

The text will oblige new cars to stop emitting CO2 —in practice eliminating engines that run on fossil fuels— and will be included on the agenda of the Energy ministers’ meeting on Tuesday (28) for its formal adoption.

The announcement of the agreement was made by the delegation of Sweden, the country that holds the six-month presidency of the EU Council. The delegation did not provide details of the meeting of the permanent representatives of the bloc’s countries in Brussels and barely mentioned that there was “broad support” for the document resulting from the agreement.

This regulation to end CO2 emissions in the car fleet is one of the pillars of the EU’s ambitious plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The text had even been approved by the European Parliament in February and determined 100% of electric motors for new cars sold from 2035 in the block.

The giants of the European automobile sector have already advanced their factory conversion plans. Virtually all companies, including luxury ones, offer electric models.

However, Germany surprised everyone by changing its position and demanding a proposal from the European Commission (the Executive arm of the EU) to open the way for vehicles powered by synthetic fuels.

Questioned option

Synthetic fuels are questioned by environmental NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) who consider them expensive, large consumers of electricity for their production and polluting, for not eliminating nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

These fuels are still being developed, although the idea has been tentatively supported by some builders to maintain the sale of internal combustion engine cars beyond 2035.

At the same time, many experts doubt that this solution can prevail in the market compared to electric cars, whose price should fall, according to forecasts for the coming years.

In any case, the abrupt change in position of the German government took the rest of the EU countries by surprise and generated discomfort. The issue became a mandatory topic in the discussions during a European summit held last week.

On Saturday, the commission and Germany announced a way to reach an agreement on the wording of the text. This understanding would leave the already approved document unchanged, but the commission would undertake to open a more explicit path for synthetic fuels in a separate proposal, which should be validated around September 2024.

However, the head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, found himself in this difficult position to maintain the unity of his government’s coalition.

In a Twitter message, the German transport minister noted that “combustion engine vehicles will be able to be re-registered after 2035 if they use CO2-neutral fuels”.