Automotive: Forza Italia MEP Salini named rapporteur for CO2‑target revision: “A new phase is beginning”

Brussels – Forza Italia MEP and Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP) group, Massimiliano Salini, has been appointed rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Environment Committee for the revision of the Regulation on CO₂ emission standards for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. In a press release, Salini stressed that the revision “is a historic opportunity to correct a course that, in the last legislature, had effectively imposed the cancellation of the internal combustion engine by requiring zero exhaust emissions by 2035”. According to the MEP, therefore, “a new phase is beginning” in this context. “We are moving from a perspective that is enslaved to a hyper-ideological Green Deal, based on forced electrification, to a new European industrial deal that we want to be realistic, pragmatic, and sustainable for the automotive industry in economic, social, and environmental terms,” he clarified. 

With the new automotive package, presented at the end of 2025, the Commission is lifting the ban on new registrations of internal combustion engines from 2035: car manufacturers will have to meet a target of a 90 per cent reduction in exhaust emissions (no longer 100 per cent), while the remaining 10 per cent of emissions will have to be offset by the use of low-carbon steel produced in the EU or e-fuels and biofuels. In other words, this opens the door to plug‑in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), range‑extender vehicles, mild hybrids, and internal‑combustion‑engine vehicles even after 2035, alongside fully electric (EV) and hydrogen vehicles. “The new automotive package must mark a clear and pragmatic change of direction: defending the excellence of the European sector and putting it in a position to continue innovating, thriving along a trajectory that is truly sustainable from an economic, social, and environmental standpoint,” Salini said.

The MEP’s task “is not to dismantle the decarbonisation target”, but to “adapt European regulations to the socio-economic context of the automotive industry and guarantee citizens effective freedom of choice,” because “the past few years have revealed all the technological and industrial limits of dogmatic, top‑down impositions — detached from reality and designed at the drawing board.” Furthermore, Salini credits the steps taken last year by the Commission, but calls for further action. “The initial flexibility on the 2025 targets for light vehicles and the Industrial Action Plan were not enough to restore visibility and confidence to the supply chain. The EU Commission has brought forward the review, which is positive,” he acknowledged. “But the recognition of technological neutrality remains partial: today it has been postponed to 2035 and accompanied by an overly restrictive threshold of a maximum of 3 per cent for renewable fuels, assigning these technologies a still marginal role, well below market availability,” he explained.

For this reason, “we need to introduce a pragmatic approach right away — one that takes into account the difficulties in the rollout of electric vehicles, such as insufficient charging infrastructure, high costs and limited range, and that explicitly recognizes the decarbonization potential of other technologies,” he noted. According to Salini, “the integration of electric propulsion and internal combustion powered by renewable fuels can in fact guarantee a significant reduction in emissions, preserving employment, skills, and European production capacity.” He noted that “this is the way to safeguard the supply chain, defend millions of jobs, and support industrial competitiveness throughout the EU.”

 Finally, the rapporteur explained that he welcomed “tools such as super credits for small zero-emission vehicles and new flexibilities,” which he considers “a first step on the path to decarbonisation tailored to industry and consumers.” Therefore, “on this point, we will work to include further measures capable of addressing the structural critical issues in the sector and promoting its competitiveness,” he concluded.