Seven EU member states – Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden – have called on the European Union to maintain a clear and ambitious path toward electrification.
The countries oppose any further easing of the regulations included in the EU’s auto package due in December, despite calls from Germany and others for additional concessions.
The countries oppose any significant weakening of the original target, requiring all newly registered vehicles from 2035 onward to emit zero grams of CO₂ per kilometer, a measure often referred to as the ICE phase-out.
The countries warn that any further deviation from the planned phase-out of internal combustion engines would represent a strategic mistake. In a joint letter written at the beginning of the month, they instead call on the EU to maintain its ambitious course toward battery-electric vehicles. The French news agency AFP got a copy of it.
“Any further weakening of CO₂ targets in the automotive sector would undermine the integrity and predictability of regulations designed to reduce emissions from motor vehicles. The ongoing energy crisis clearly demonstrates that reducing Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels is an absolute necessity. Electrification is not only a climate policy objective, but also necessary for our energy security.”
Automotive Package
Under the Automotive Package, some hybrid and combustion-engine vehicles could still be registered after 2035 if their CO₂ emissions are fully offset through a credit system. This could include the use of clean fuels, green steel produced in the EU, and/or supercredits for small electric vehicles with a maximum length of 4.20 m.
In practice, it means that CO₂ emissions must be formally reduced by 90% rather than 100%, though offsetting the remaining 10% through the credit system is expected to be challenging. In addition, the package includes plans for high electric vehicle quotas for large company fleets.
Some countries, particularly Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic, have long opposed the European Commission’s plans. Their demands include less stringent requirements for plug-in hybrids, changes to the planned compensation mechanism for CO₂ emissions after 2035, and more flexible interim targets.
At the same time, the German government rejects both the European Commission’s proposed supercredits for electric vehicles under 4.20 m in length (backed by the VW Group) and the planned regulation for company fleets with strict electric-vehicle quotas.
The EPP Group in the European Parliament also seeks to amend the Automotive Package, demanding genuine 90% CO₂ reductions without a credit system. This would effectively secure a future for gasoline and diesel passenger cars.
Ministerial reactions
France’s Climate Minister, Monique Barbut, recently repeated that her country had formed a ‘blocking minority’ to prevent any further weakening of the European Commission’s December proposal on CO2 emission targets for cars. “It would be a terrible signal to go back on this car regulation,” she stated.
Sweden’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Romina Pourmokhtari, has also reiterated this position: “Sweden will remain steadfast on the goal remaining for 2035,” she insisted.
As always, the Belgian government is late in its reaction, and the Belgian Federal Climate Minister, Jean-Luc Crucke, runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds. Belgium wants to consider a ‘pragmatic’ relaxation of the ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars, effective from 2035.
“Electrification must be the way forward; that must be stated clearly,” Crucke emphasized. “But on this issue, Belgium is prepared to give preference to a pragmatic and balanced approach that reconciles climate ambition with the competitiveness of the automotive sector,” the minister added.
Crucke described the Commission’s proposal as “a basis for discussion”. However, he insisted on preventing car manufacturers who have already invested heavily in electrification from being disadvantaged. The minister also expressed his support for incentives for the production of small electric cars, which he labeled “socially indispensable.”
European Commissioner for Climate, Dutchman Wopke Hoekstra, calculated that the switch to electric cars has already led to savings of approximately €4.5 billion per year on the import of fossil fuels.
