France wants no fines on CO2 targets 2025, EU Commission reluctant

On Sunday, the new French Economy Minister Antoine Armand pleaded to postpone the fines for car manufacturers exceeding the EU CO2 targets. A spokesman for the European Commission responded on Monday that such initiatives are premature.

“Talking already about a change in the Commission’s position on these matters is really premature,” he said in Brussels. “There have been measures taken in 2019 to help the industry in this transition. At the end of 2025, we will see how many cars are sold and what will be their emissions.”

The French government affirms its determination: “Huge efforts have been made by the car industry,” said Armand. We are looking into all possible flexibility measures to ensure that our manufacturers aren’t penalized when they need all their investments for the industrial transition.”

Yesterday, the German Ministry for the Economy, represented by State Secretary Bernhard Kluttig, met with the French Minister of Industry Marc Ferracci. He announced that Germany was also open to postponing the consequences of the EU CO2 regulations.

Nevertheless, Kluttig emphasized that the German government has not officially taken a position yet. The differences between the different coalition partners in Germany (Greens, Socialists, and Liberals) are still growing, especially between the Liberals and both other parties on this matter.

The fines foreseen in the EU regulations on CO2 emissions are severe: €95 per gram of CO2 exceeding the limits multiplied by the number of cars sold in the year. According to the automotive sector, these fines could exceed €10 billion.

Divided

Also, the car manufacturers are divided on this subject. Renault boss Luca de Meo, currently the President of the European Car Manufacturers Association ACEA, has pleaded to postpone the CO2 targets to avoid certain huge fines for some European manufacturers.

Stellantis boss Tavares, on the contrary, is against the postponement and stresses the progress his group has made on the matter over the past several years.

Several NGOs have also severely criticized the French initiative. Transport & Environment (T&E) was very clear on the matter: “France is being pushed around by the manufacturers and opens the box of Pandora. This could be a dangerous precedent weakening the Green Deal.”

“Many manufacturers will soften their push to sell EVs and concentrate on short-term wins if these measures come through,” T&E continues. “The energy transition will surely suffer from it, and European manufacturers will be surpassed even more by their competitors on other continents.”