On Tuesday 14 March, the day after a meeting of transport ministers from several Member States in Strasbourg (see EUROPE 13140/13), the S&D, Renew Europe and Greens/EFA groups reiterated that the agreement to end the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles in 2035 should not be called into question (see EUROPE 13134/1).
“We have a clear, reaffirmed group position: we support the Parliament’s position. I am blamed in some groups, I return the collective responsibility. We have contacts with the German FDP; they have always been out of step, this is not new and there have been discussions throughout all of the negotiations”, Stéphane Séjourné (Renew Europe, French) defended at a press conference.
Earlier in the day, EPP President Manfred Weber had indeed “underlined that this is a liberal problem”. “Minister Borne in France, who has strongly attacked the German government and Minister Wissing in Germany, is also a liberal. So both are liberals and it would be good if Stéphane Séjourné and the EU liberal party could tell us whether they are for or against”.
From the Greens/EFA group, Philippe Lamberts (Belgian) stressed that his group – including German MEPs – support the agreement.
“We are in contact with the German Greens, they are amazed at what is happening (...) As a reminder, when the German government takes a position at EU level, it must first do so at national level. The German government has therefore given a mandate as a whole on the text. The German signature must be ‘AAA’ quality and that is what we expect”, Mr Lamberts reacted.
“We have always defended the objectives. I hope that the transport ministers can find a solution with the European Commission to resolve this blockage. The European Parliament defends the compromise”, said Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, Spanish).
Conversely, the German U-turn, which, as a reminder, makes its support for the agreement – formally adopted by the European Parliament on 14 February – conditional on the European Commission presenting a new legislative proposal allowing the continued registration of new vehicles running on e-fuels, which are supposed to be carbon neutral (see EUROPE 13131/6), seems to be working out well for the EPP group.
“The ministers’ meeting is over and the conclusion is that more and more Member States agree with the position of the EPP group. (...) It is now up to the European Commission to propose a solution to save the future of the European car industry”, said Jens Gieseke (EPP, German).
On Monday 13 March, the transport ministers of the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Hungary met in Strasbourg to discuss this thorny issue. They are expected to send a list of common demands to the European Commission in the next few days and to publish a common position on the issue shortly. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)