{"id":458573,"date":"2026-07-01T13:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T11:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2026\/07\/01\/auto-da-confindustria-e-ppe-appello-a-neutralita-tecnologica-e-carburanti-alternativi\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T12:42:32","slug":"cars-confindustria-and-epp-call-for-technological-neutrality-and-alternative-fuels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2026\/07\/01\/cars-confindustria-and-epp-call-for-technological-neutrality-and-alternative-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"Cars: Confindustria and EPP call for technological neutrality and alternative fuels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels \u2013 The European Commission, with its<\/span> automotive package unveiled at the end of 2025<\/a>, which the co-legislators, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, are currently working on, has shown only superficial flexibility with regard to the sector\u2019s needs, and a shift in approach is now required to ensure a balance between industrial, environmental, and economic needs. Once again, Forza Italia MEP, Massimiliano Salini<\/strong>, called for pragmatism yesterday (30 June) <\/span>on the sidelines of the conference “The future of mobility in Europe: combining decarbonisation, competitiveness and European industrial excellence”, organised by Confindustria, Confindustria Energia, and the National Association of the Automotive Industry Supply Chain (ANFIA) at the European Parliament. <\/span><\/p>\n

Salini explained that “the aim is to use the work on the package<\/strong> \u2014 the proposed revision of the CO\u2082\u2011emissions regulation for light vehicles and vans \u2014 as a lever to overturn the approach <\/strong>of the 2023 regulation, which in our view contains too many errors. It dismantles a fundamental principle behind the EU\u2019s prosperity: competition among the best technologies when pursuing major goals such as decarbonising mobility while keeping a globally competitive industry.\u201d In particular, according to Salini, \u201cthe flexibility introduced in the revision proposed by the Commission\u201d last December \u201cis not enough.\u201d Moreover, it is \u201cmere window-dressing,<\/strong>\u201d which<\/strong>, \u201cin particular, does not meet our vision of adequate competition between electric vehicles and vehicles powered by alternative fuels<\/strong> in a way that strikes an appropriate balance between the imperatives of industrial competition, decarbonisation, and the interests of citizens\u2019 pockets, who need a transition that is not forced.\u201d And, as rapporteur for the<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font> \u2060European Parliament on the proposed revision of the regulation on CO\u2082 emissions<\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font> <\/a><\/span><\/font>for cars and vans, Salini highlighted that \u201cwhat happened at Volkswagen\u201d \u2013 namely, the announcement of possible 100,000 jobs cuts \u2013 \u201c<\/span>shows how forced transitions do a great deal of harm.<\/strong>\u201d <\/p>\n

This issue concerning the German giant was also highlighted by Stefan Pan<\/strong>, vice-president of Confindustria responsible for European Union affairs. \u201cIf politics dictates everything, we run the risk of what Volkswagen has described as being just the tip of the iceberg,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cWe are a very dynamic, very active industry, keen to invest, so let us get on with it; we\u2019ll spread our wings, and we can win the battle. But we need technological neutrality to do so. What we are asking for is to be open to all technologies that help us decarbonise,\u201d Pan insisted. And this does not concern \u201cjust electric engines, but also carrying out research into fully sustainable fuels, e-fuels, and biofuels\u201d. Given that \u201cno one in Europe invests as much in research and development as the automotive sector,\u201d we must \u201cmaintain and grow 13 million jobs,\u201d while remaining open to \u201call technologies that help decarbonise: not just the electric motor, but also, for example, research into fully sustainable fuels\u201d, he argued. <\/strong>As far as businesses, the principle translates into \u201callowing companies to choose the best path to achieve the objective, harnessing our great capacity for innovation with gradual approaches that enable us to survive and overcome the challenge posed by competitors such as China and the United States, who have changed the rules of the game.\u201d <\/p>\n

The debate was divided into two round-table discussions \u2013 ‘The European strategy for the future of the automotive sector: striking a balance between climate ambition and competitiveness\u2019 and \u2018Powering the future of mobility: harnessing the untapped potential of renewable and sustainable fuels\u2019. Among the participants was Forza Italia (EPP) MEP Letizia Moratti, <\/strong>who stressed the technology-neutral approach. \u201cLarge companies can relocate production to adapt to new regulations, but workers, families, and SMEs throughout the supply chain cannot do so. This is therefore the main problem we must address, and the key solution is to ensure that SMEs and families are not put in a difficult position. This is where we must restore a technology-neutral approach. Electrification will remain central; there is no doubt about that, but it cannot be the only solution,<\/strong>\u201d she explained in her speech. According to Moratti, \u201cbiofuels, e-fuels, range-extending technologies and any innovation capable of contributing to decarbonisation should find a place within the regulatory framework, both before and after 2035.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

According to ANFIA president Roberto Vavassori<\/strong>, yesterday\u2019s meeting itself, dedicated to discussing the revision of the Regulation, \u201cshows that the forecasts made in 2019 have not fully materialised, for reasons unrelated to the automotive sector\u2019s commitment to the transition.\u201d For example, \u201cthe market share of electric vehicles continues to grow, but at different rates compared with those estimated by the European institutions.\u201d However, \u201cit is unacceptable that a strategic sector \u2013 which has already invested over 250 billion euros in converting production facilities, processes, and skills \u2013 be penalised for failing to meet market targets over which the industry has no full control. China itself, which is often used as a benchmark, has not set itself any targets and will probably never reach the percentages of electric cars that we are imposing on ourselves in Europe,\u201d Vavassori added. For the president, therefore, \u201crevising the targets is not a step backwards in relation to the investments already made<\/strong> by manufacturers and component suppliers: it is, instead, a necessary step towards achieving climate targets without compromising industrial competitiveness and employment.<\/strong>\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the event \u2018The Future of Mobility in Europe: Balancing Decarbonisation, Competitiveness and European Industrial Excellence\u2019, discussions centred on how to strike a balance between industrial competition and the energy transition. Salini (FI): \u201cWhat happened at Volkswagen shows just how damaging forced transitions can be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7908,"featured_media":458535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25705,30805],"tags":[26324,25871,34684,25810,25916,29083,26190,33120,26147,30256,25755,32551,34685,25853,34686,26326],"class_list":["post-458573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-industry-markets","tag-biofuel","tag-auto-en","tag-cina-en","tag-emissioni-co2-en","tag-confindustria-en-2","tag-diesel","tag-emissions-en","tag-transition-energetics-en","tag-news-parliament-en","tag-furgoni","tag-letizia-moratti","tag-massimiliano-salini-en","tag-stefano-pan","tag-states-united-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7908"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458574,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458573\/revisions\/458574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}