2023-10-12 14:30:53
The new regulations called to update the polluting emissions from motor vehicles -cars, buses and trucks- continues to overcome stages. After the political agreement closed three weeks ago by the EU industry ministers, lowering ambition of the original proposal of the European Commission on the ‘Euro 7’ regulations, this Thursday it was the environment committee of the European Parliament that adopted its position with the support of popular, ultra-conservative and liberal and the vote against socialists, green and left. Like European governments, a majority of MEPs are inclined to soften the rule proposed by Brussels to protect the European automobile industry.
The European Parliament report, which once agreed with the governments will serve to update the limits of particle and nitrogen oxide emissions, has received 52 votes in favor, 32 against and 1 abstention. The main novelty of the proposal is that, for the first time, it establishes emission limits for tires and brakes and regulates the durability of batteries, although it maintains the ‘Euro 6’ test conditions for vehicles unchanged in order to prevent the industry from having to undertake additional investments in combustion engines when they will be prohibited from 2035.
“The agreement in the European Parliament is not worthy of being labeled ‘Euro 7’. It offers only minor improvements to current regulations, which will not significantly improve air quality,” lamented the socialist negotiator. Christel Schaldemose. “The green socialist left has been defeated. As a result, we will maintain the affordability of cars with internal combustion engines and we will keep people working in the automobile industry,” celebrated the Czech conservative and rapporteur of the report. Alexander Vondraa member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, which believes that another result would have endangered one of the main industries in the EU.
Conservative and liberal support
His report has received backing from the liberal Renew group and the EPP. “The Greens and Socialists in the European Parliament had successfully pushed for a ban on new combustion engine cars by 2035. Now, with the ‘Euro 7’ rules, they want to force car manufacturers to invest again in engines combustion. It is nonsense, it raises the price of cars and directs investments towards technologies that will soon be banned,” recalled the EPP negotiator. Jens Gieseke, on the reasons for the vote against the popular ones. On the other hand, the position approved by the environmental commission “will guarantee an improvement in air quality and give oxygen to the industry.”
Once the plenary approves the text, in the November plenary session, inter-institutional negotiations can begin to close a definitive agreement between the Council (European governments) and the European Parliament. “I hope to reach a final agreement that will allow Euro 7 to be approved during the Spanish Presidency of the Council, before the end of the year, or at least that only the last details remain. It would be a shame to start 2024 with the negotiation still pending because, after ours, it will be Belgium that holds the presidency of the EU Council, a country that has much less interest in defending the automotive industry,” explained the Ciudadanos MEP. and shadow speaker, Susana Soliswhich considers that the document coming out of the environment commission is “environmentally ambitious” and “realistic for European industry and employment.”
Before the end of the year
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“The proposal that we received from the Commission was unviable and would have caused the closure of a good part of the small combustion vehicle plants that we have in Spain. Our work reduces emissions, but with rational measures: we legislate on durable, not obsolete technologies, so that the industry continues investing in its transformation towards electric vehicles,” he explained. The adopted text proposes that the emissions standards currently in force (‘Euro 6’) be applied until July 1, 2030 for cars and vans, and July 1, 2031 for buses and trucks (compared to 2025 and 2027 respectively. , as proposed by the Commission).
The preliminary agreement of the MEPs has been received positively by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) because it better reflects the industry’s concerns regarding the European Commission’s initial proposal, although they still demand more improvements because it “falls short” in key aspects. “We have long been advocating for ‘Euro 7’ targets and testing conditions that do not make vehicles unaffordable or jeopardize the competitiveness of the industry, with little or no environmental benefit,” said ACEA CEO, Sigrid de Vries.
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