2023-05-22 18:59:49
What do France, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia have in common? These eight countries of the European Union (EU) expressed this Monday, May 22, their opposition to the tightening of automobile pollution standards proposed by Brussels.
The EU recently announced the end of sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, in favor of 100% electric vehicles. The aim is to reduce automotive CO2 emissions to zero to contribute to the continent’s objective of carbon neutrality by 2050.
On the pollution side, the European Commission presented its proposals for the new standard in November 2022. This, called Euro 7, should apply to all private vehicles from 2025 regardless of their engine, in order to reduce air pollution linked to road transport, the latter being responsible for 70,000 deaths each year. year in the EU.
A brake on investments?
“We oppose any new rules on exhaust gases (including new obligations on the conditions of tests or new limits of emissions) for cars and light commercial vehicles,” wrote in a working document. States opposed to this text, including France and Italy which are home to an important automotive industry. “These new rules would slow down the necessary investments by industry in the transition to zero emissions”, they believe, also judging the deadline of 2025 too close.
Germany, by far the leading European automotive power, did not sign the text, but it has repeatedly expressed concern about the impact of tougher standards for its businesses. The coalition government is struggling to find a common line between Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens.
According to calculations by the European executive, the Euro 7 standard would in particular reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 35% from passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and by 56% those from buses and trucks by to 2035, compared to the previous Euro 6 standard.
“Be reasonable and pragmatic”
This new standard is also contested by the automotive industry, which considers its environmental benefit limited in relation to its cost. Faced with massive investments to develop their new electric range in the face of formidable competition from Tesla and Chinese manufacturers, it wants to avoid additional investments in thermal engines that are anyway doomed to disappear. The automotive sector employs around 13 million people in Europe.
“Many countries have joined Italy in asking the Commission to be reasonable and pragmatic” on the future Euro 7 standard, Italian Minister of Enterprise Adolfo Urso said on Monday, quoted by Italian media. .
The hardening proposed by the European Commission was however considered insufficient by the defenders of the environment, who already accused Brussels of yielding to the automobile lobby. In particular, the Commission has proposed modifying the conditions for testing polluting gas emissions from vehicles to bring them more into line with real driving conditions, but without modifying the thresholds imposed on petrol cars and only slightly lowering those of diesel vehicles. These thresholds would however be significantly reduced for heavy goods vehicles, another point disputed on Monday by the eight signatory countries, which evaluate these objectives “too ambitious”.
The EU Member States, very divided on the subject, must try to find a common position before negotiations which promise to be very complicated with the European Parliament.
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