Germany and France agree on the EU sanctus for their key interests under the slogan of “technology openness”.
Brussels/Vienna. The escalation surrounding the already decided ban on new registrations of cars with combustion engines from 2035 could be resolved as early as next Tuesday in a typical Franco-German horse trade. At their Council meeting in Brussels, the 27 energy ministers should then agree to an amendment to the directive on renewable energy, classifying hydrogen produced using nuclear power as sustainable in order to be able to count it towards the EU’s target values for renewable forms of energy. This is in the interests of France and its nuclear industry.
In return, France is not opposed to the creation of a new category of motor vehicles that run exclusively on e-fuel, i.e. synthetically produced petrol, which will continue to be allowed to be newly registered in the EU from 2035. That should satisfy the German transport minister and bring some relief to the German auto industry. Because it has long slept through the electrification of private transport and is now struggling to catch up, especially with high-speed sports cars. “I am confident that we will find a good solution,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, on Thursday evening during the EU summit in Brussels. But the details still have to be worked out, stumbling blocks cleared away.