At the request of seven Member States (see EUROPE 13533/20), European industry ministers discussed ways of helping the automotive sector during the EU ‘Competitiveness’ Council on Thursday 28 November. Many agreed on this point and asked the European Commission to intervene.
During the public debate, the ministers from seven countries - Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia - defended their joint proposal for a ‘Renewed Automotive Policy’, in which they called for an investment plan for the sector, the adoption of the principle of technological neutrality, the advancement of the analysis of CO2 standards for light vehicles and the postponement of fines.
The Czech minister, Lukáš Vlček, deemed these measures necessary in order “to better reflect current market conditions and provide the automotive sector the sufficient time to adapt without endangering its global standing”.
His Italian counterpart, Adolfo Urso, spoke of US support for their companies, protectionism and unfair competition from other continents. He even spoke of a “trade war”. “We need to make a decision now to avoid falling behind, and we need to be realistic”, he warned. In his view, European businesses are waiting for political decision-makers to take action, because their survival is at stake. “We must also bear in mind that, at the end of the day, it is strategic autonomy that awaits us, because if we move from independence from Russia to dependence on other powers, well, in the end we will have achieved nothing”, he added.
Ministers and representatives from Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Croatia and Belgium openly supported the proposal. Jurģis Miezainis, Latvia’s Parliamentary Secretary, expressed his concern about factory closures, the social impact of this situation and the loss of the technological base. “We need to keep innovation here”, he said.
Other members also supported the proposal, but stressed the importance of maintaining the climate objectives. Malta’s Silvio Schembri affirmed his support for technological neutrality “in principle”, but with a clear focus on reducing CO2 emissions. Germany’s Bernhard Kluttig welcomed the proposal for a ‘strategic dialogue’ on the future of the European automotive industry, announced the previous day by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13533/1).
Other ministers insisted instead on the need to stimulate demand. Matevž Frangež, Slovenia’s Secretary of State, said he shared these concerns, but stressed that “you cannot move forward if you go backward”. “We stay loyal to the climate goal set, and call for support to the industry so that it can adapt; this is not a question of denying our climate ambitions”, he stressed. Marc Ferracci, the French Minister Delegate, proposed the mandatory greening of commercial fleets.
Finally, other countries - Spain, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden - claimed that carmakers had been given enough time to adapt or that a stable political framework needed to be maintained. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)