The European Commission’s Industrial Action Plan for the automotive sector was judged either too unambitious by some MEPs or inappropriate by others during the plenary session debate on Wednesday 12 March (see EUROPE 13592/4 ; 13593/14).
Part of Parliament is questioning the ‘all-electric’ approach and wants to reverse the ban on internal combustion engines, in particular the EPP, the ECR, the PfE and the ESN. “The industry needs flexibility, clear objectives and a commitment to technological neutrality”, defended German MEP Jens Gieseke, the EPP Group’s chief negotiator on the automotive industry. “We are calling for a review of the ban on internal combustion engines before the end of the year”, he added.
Klara Dostalova (PfE, Czech) criticised the EU’s dependence on China for imports of battery materials. “How can the transition be fair if we ignore traditional technologies, hydrogen-based solutions and hybrid models, and penalise those who cannot afford to buy an electric car”, she asked rhetorically, calling for “respect for economic reality”.
Carlo Fidanza (ECR, Italian) was critical of the fact that no derogation was provided for heavy vehicles. “The electrification of these markets is not sustainable, which is detrimental to a sector in which we are competing with companies from outside Europe”, he stated regretfully.
On the other hand, Mohammed Chahim (S&D, Dutch) expressed concern about the technological gap that Europe risks opening up if it takes too long to switch to electric vehicles. “With these delays in switching to zero-emission vehicles in Europe, I can only see two winners: the companies that are lagging behind, which are only looking for short-term gains, and China, which is already leading the electric vehicle market and is seeing the competition sabotage itself”, he highlighted. “We need to promote an electric company fleet and introduce social leasing to make electric vehicles accessible to all Europeans”, he added.
Michael Bloss (Greens/EFA, German) accused the European Commission of becoming weak and attacking the Green Deal by opening “Pandora’s box”. “You are creating insecurity among investors in the consumer industry and you don’t even intend to keep up with China. Great job! That’s how you destroy an industry!”, he scoffed.
Jonas Sjöstedt (The Left, Swedish) also expressed concern about workers in the automotive sector. “The jobs of the future in the automotive sector are not going to be created with yesterday’s technology”, he said. “It’s high time we supported the automotive industry. Tax exemptions are needed for those who buy electric cars”, he argued.
Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, the Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, has mentioned the use of alternative fuels to enable the transition to ‘all electric’. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)