Last Monday, the 27 EU member states substantially softened the Commission’s proposition for new Euro 7 emissions regulations by 2025. Led by France and Italy (amongst others), the member states feared that this would cost the EU car industry too much and even retard investments in electrification.

The member states are hereby responding to the cries of distress by the European car manufacturers (ACEA). The latter seems, of course, very happy with the decision: “The position of the EU member states is a serious improvement on the Commission’s proposals, which were a complete disproportion,” says a happy Sigrid de Vries, CEO of ACEA.

The text was accepted last Monday despite opposition from member states like Germany and the Netherlands (and others). It was a Spanish proposal (presiding over the EU Council for the moment) that was accepted.

Strongly attenuated…

In the proposal, the emission standards and testing procedures will remain mostly unchanged compared to those in effect now (Euro 6). The only things that change more fundamentally are stronger emission rules for trucks and the introduction of emission standards for particulate emissions produced by tires and brakes.

France has welcomed the decision: ” As we all have decided to abandon ICE cars in 2035, we don’t need to add other emission regulations anymore for these ‘dying species’,” said French Industry Minister Roland Lescure.

“We need to prepare the (electric) transition without overloading the manufacturers with regulations. It would hinder them in their investments in green technology and delay our ecological goals,” confirmed Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso. The Paris/Rome ax was endorsed by other (mostly eastern) member states like Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Czechia, Romania, and Slovakia.

…but also criticized

Apart from Germany and the Netherlands, several western member states regretted the decision. “The ICE cars sold until 2035 will be on the road for a long while after,” said the Irish Minister Dara Calleary, “the European market is risking to get seriously retarded in comparison to China, the US and Canada.”

“The current commission proposal was seriously weakened,” said the German state secretary Sven Giegold,” with emission standards that are barely different from the current Euro 6 ones.”

“This proposal is a disaster for air quality,” confirms Ana Krajinska from the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). “It favors record profits for car manufacturers at the expense of the health of all European citizens.”

The EU Commission wanted to reduce more drastically NOx and particulate emissions because air pollution is causing 70 000 additional deaths yearly in the entire European Union, according to the latest research data.

The proposals, both that from the Commission and the softened one from the member states, still have to be discussed and eventually approved in the European Parliament. The latter hasn’t emitted any official reaction yet on the matter.