The 27 Member States remain divided over zero-emission cars

Brussels – There is still no agreement on the revision of the regulation on zero-emission cars and vans. The 27 Member States remain divided between those who support promoting electric vehicles and those who wish to retain combustion engines (albeit running on alternative fuels). These differences emerged yesterday (25 June) at the Environment Council meeting held in Luxembourg. Among the countries most strongly in favour of revising the regulation are France and Spain, while Poland has asked the Commission to work on a better proposal. 

On this issue, the Council therefore confined itself to highlighting “the good progress made on the provisions relating to vehicle labelling,” i.e. the rules that will oblige car and van dealers to inform consumers of the CO₂ emissions of the vehicles they supply. Therefore, both the emissions reduction targets proposed for 2030 and 2035 and the new flexibility measures introduced in favour of manufacturers remain unresolved. These measures were created to help the automotive sector navigate the transition to clean energy and include the super-credits for small electric vehicles “made in the EU”, credits for low-carbon steel (also produced within the Union), and fuel-related credits.  

For the time being, according to what was reiterated at a press conference by the Cypriot Minister for the Environment, Maria Panayiotou, “our Irish colleagues,” who will take over the presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 July, “will carry on the work.”