Agreement between the People’s Party, Socialists, and Liberals in the EU Parliament on the automotive package

Brussels – The People’s Party, the Socialists, and the Liberals – the three groups that form the pro-European majority in the European Parliament – have reached an agreement on the automotive package currently under consideration by the European Parliament. This was announced by the leader of the Renew group, Valerie Hayer, at a press conference on the sidelines of the plenary session in Strasbourg. According to initial reports, the agreement reached by the EPP, S&D, and Renew Europe undermines the target of zero emissions for new registrations from 2035 and lowers the actual tailpipe emission reduction required of manufacturers to 87.5 per cent compared with 2021 levels, while the remaining 12.5 percentage points will be covered by a 7.5 per cent allowance for green steel produced in Europe and a 5 per cent unconditional margin. “I’m not entirely sure how official it is, but an agreement was reached last night between the various parties involved to move forward together,” said Hayer. “I am therefore confident in our ability to continue reaching agreements, even on complex and sensitive – yet absolutely necessary – issues such as this,” she added.

Massimiliano Salini, MEP for Forza Italia and vice-chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, rapporteur on the revision of the regulation on CO₂ emissions from cars and vans, goes into more detail. “A thoroughly Italian victory is the introduction, from 2030, of the new VEEF (Vehicles running Exclusively on Eligible Fuels) category, dedicated to vehicles powered exclusively by renewable fuels that comply with the requirements of the RED Directive. These vehicles will be recognised as zero-emission, on a par with electric vehicles. This is a decisive step because it enshrines a principle we have been fighting for for years: decarbonisation does not mean imposing a single technology,” explains Salini.

“For cars, the new scheme provides for an 87.5 per cent reduction in tailpipe emissions by 2035, supplemented by a 7.5 per cent offset through the use of low-carbon steel. The remaining 5 per cent, however, will be unconditional: this would therefore leave open the possibility of registering cars with internal combustion engines without any offsetting obligations, safeguarding technological freedom and restoring prospects for the entire supply chain,” he confirms. For vans, the reduction target will be set “at 35 per cent in 2030 and 80 per cent in 2035,” and “a five-year averaging mechanism is envisaged, for the periods 2025–2029 and 2030–2034, which will offer manufacturers greater flexibility in meeting the 2025 and 2030 targets.” Furthermore, “low-carbon steel made in Europe may be used as a flexibility mechanism from the moment the regulation comes into force, up to a limit of 3 per cent. This creates a concrete link between decarbonisation and industrial policy, rewarding European production and strengthening the Union’s strategic autonomy,” Salini goes on to explain. Finally, “small cars manufactured in Europe will benefit from a super-credit of 1.4 until 2034, with no further time limits”, while “for small vans made in the EU, a specific super-credit of 1.2 is provided for until 2035, set to rise to 1.4 thereafter.”

For Salini, the agreement reached between the People’s Party, the Socialists, and the Liberals is “important” and “set to mark a turning point for the European car industry,” as it goes beyond both “the ban on combustion engines from 2035” and “the requirement for 100 per cent electric vehicles.” All this “is the result of lengthy negotiations in which the Italian proposals played a decisive role.” An agreement that “demonstrates how it is possible to pursue climate targets seriously without sacrificing industry, jobs, innovation, and citizens’ freedom of choice.”

The next steps include a parliamentary vote on 4 November, followed by a plenary vote by the end of December.

For the Forza Italia MEP, Salvatore De Meo, “the agreement reached between the EPP, the Socialists, and Renew to overcome the total ban on internal combustion engines from 2035 represents a significant political success” because “it paves the way for moving beyond ideological bans and upholding the principle of technological neutrality, recognising the role of renewable fuels and the possibility of retaining internal combustion engines even beyond 2035.” For De Meo, this is “a fundamental shift in approach to protect the European automotive industry, guaranteeing businesses the freedom to invest and innovate and citizens the freedom to choose, without impositions, the technology best suited to their needs.”