Brussels – On the issue of cars, the political groups within the so-called Ursula majority in the European Parliament must reach a compromise. The call comes from the President of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, who organised a meeting on the automotive sector at the European Parliament, a “Car Summit”, to continue raising public awareness of a sector that accounts for “over 38 million jobs.” Joining him at the press conference were Ola Källenius, CEO of the Mercedes-Benz Group and president of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), and Matthias Zink, President of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) and CEO of Schaeffler Chassis & Powertrain.
At the heart of this is the recognition that the European Union is at “a turning point for the automotive industry” and that it must “decide which direction to take.” Weber acknowledges that “progress has been made” in Brussels. “Two years ago, during the election campaign, we promised to lift the ban on internal combustion engines, and now we are keeping that promise. The European Commission proposed in December a revision of the regulation, based on the EPP’s promises,” Weber emphasises. “We must maintain an ambitious approach: a 90 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035 is an ambitious target, even if we are aiming for greater flexibility,” which is what he describes as the “weak point” of the current legislation, which suffers from “poor market integration.”
In February, the MEP from Forza Italia—and therefore a member of the EPP family—Massimiliano Salini, was appointed rapporteur for the review of CO2 targets: he himself had described the review as a “historic opportunity” to “correct a course which, in the last parliamentary term, had effectively imposed the phasing out of the internal combustion engine through the requirement for zero tailpipe emissions by 2035.” A revision that the Commission put forward as early as last December, abolishing the ban on the registration of petrol and diesel cars from 2035 and replacing it with a target to reduce emissions from new cars and vans by 90 per cent, offsetting the remaining 10 per cent through the use of low-emission steel or sustainable fuels. As rapporteur, Salini has been tasked with working on this text. And according to what has emerged from an initial draft of his report—which is due to be presented on 2 June to the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI)—the Italian MEP’s proposal would be to raise the share of alternative fuels (such as biofuels and e-fuels) from 3 to 10 per cent and to increase that of clean steel to 7 per cent.
In this context, therefore, Weber is reaching out to socialists and liberals, with the aim of building “a common approach within the centre of the political spectrum, and a lasting legislative consensus on the issue.” “We must admit that mistakes have been made, but ours is an offer: let us now listen to what socialists and liberals have to say on these issues, and then sit down together and try to find a compromise,” urges the president of the European People’s Party. “I want to appeal to the Socialists: on the issue of cars and productivity, we must find a compromise within our political family. On this dossier, I hope to find a stable, long-term agreement: we cannot continue to have political debates on transport and mobility. I am addressing Socialists, Liberals, and Greens: please follow the EPP’s approach. And if you do not want to listen to us, listen to the car manufacturers, the needs of the sector and the trade unions,” he says.
Finally, on the issue of competitiveness, Weber points out that the EU must address “fundamental issues such as unfair Chinese competition, the question of innovation, and the issue of research infrastructure,” concerns that are also shared by Källenius. The CEO of Mercedes-Benz reiterates the urgency of amending the Regulation introduced in 2020, calling on “policy-makers to be open to dialogue and pragmatic, avoiding becoming entrenched in ideological positions that conflict with market realities.”
The stakes are high, confirms Zink, a representative of automotive suppliers. “We are talking about approximately 1.7 million related jobs: last year, 30 per cent of these jobs were lost due to insolvencies and bankruptcies. So the situation is very critical from the suppliers’ perspective,” he explains. “The commitment to decarbonisation is there, without a doubt. But we need to be more pragmatic, more realistic, as you said, in turning well-intentioned regulation into a reality, a pragmatic reality for our Europe,” concludes Zink.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
