“The European Commission is not considering delaying the ban on the sale of diesel and petrol cars”
European Commission Vice-President for Competition and Fair and Clean Transit Teresa Ribera categorically denies that there is a plan to delay the ban on the sale of diesel and petrol cars, scheduled for 2035. This was one of the main measures of the European Commission. The European Green Deal was promoted by Ursula von der Leyen’s first cabinet, and when its final approval was given it was met with stiff resistance to moving forward. Germany put this in jeopardy, and the European People’s Party and the far right opposed it in the European Parliament. Now, in the midst of a battle with powers such as China, which is flooding the European market with its electric vehicles, the pressure has increased.
“This is not something that the European Commission is considering, and it is not something that almost anyone is considering,” Ribera said when asked whether the community government was considering delaying the entry into force of the measure. As published by Italian newspaper La Stampa, von der Leyen convened a table with the transport sector to consider the “EU Industrial Action Plan for the Automotive Sector”. The German company’s intention is to set a broad long-term strategy on issues such as investment or development of electric vehicle infrastructure, but the industry will lay on the table the fines they will have to pay from 2025 for failing to meet emissions targets. and a review of regulations that would ban internal combustion engine vehicles within a decade.
The European People’s Party has been leading opposition to the measure for months. “We reject exclusionary policies such as those on internal combustion engines,” the party, led by German Manfred Weber, said in a manifesto ahead of European elections last June. This position represented an amendment to one of von der Leyen’s main policies during her first term: the Green Agenda. But pressure from industry and the right is largely dampening ambition. The implementation of a law aimed at combating deforestation was recently delayed, and measures such as reducing the use of pesticides were abandoned due to protests from farmers.
Now popular Europeans have gained strength in the EU. In the European Parliament, they can assemble together with the far right a majority, an alternative to the coalition with the Socialists and Liberals, which they have already used in some cases during the short period of the legislature. And in the European Commission, fourteen of its members, in addition to von der Leyen, belong to this political family, while four are socialists and five are liberals. There is also the vice-president of the far right, Georgia Meloni.
“The big question is how we can unite and accompany the European automotive industry in the transformation process that is in full swing and in the global industrial race that intensified many years ago,” explained Ribera, who rejected the possibility of delaying the car sales ban . cars with internal combustion engines: “Stability with respect to time horizons, the reasons for which these goals were set remain in force and, in principle, there is no intention to change them.”
A gesture with the steel industry in the process of complete decarbonization
Regarding the possibility of making fines for the auto sector more flexible from 2035 if they fail to meet emissions targets, it was less categorical. “The most important message today is how to develop strategies that will allow the entire European automotive industry to successfully emerge from a very difficult situation with very important production and entry into the European market of cars from third countries with the need to avoid new trade. wars, but at the same time with the need to guarantee the viability of an industry that is fundamental not only in terms of employment, but also in terms of innovation and solutions to mobility requirements that must be increasingly decarbonized.”
Ribera spoke about this at her first public event as vice-president of the European Commission, which she attended together with Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stéphane Sejournet. Both, together with Belgian Prime Minister Alenxander De Croo, visited the ArcelorMittal plant in Ghent, which is one of the largest in the European steel industry and faces problems precisely because of competition from China and which has decided to freeze investment in clean technologies in the EU until Brussels’ assistance plans will be known. Von der Leyen’s intention is to introduce a Clean Industry Agreement within the first 100 days of the mandate.
“We know that the reasons why we are pursuing an entire green strategy are more important than ever and are good drivers for innovation, adaptation and industrial renewal. However, we also know that there are many challenges ahead that need to be addressed in a coherent manner,” said Ribera, who admitted he was aware of “energy pressure” and “excess production capacity” for materials such as aluminum and steel, among other responsibilities . “We need to guarantee a level playing field and opportunity for development and ensure that these sites remain in Europe,” he said.