In a non-paper consulted by Agence Europe on Monday 18 May, nine European Union countries (Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia and Romania) call for the regulation on competitiveness and sustainable mobility for the greening of corporate fleets to be replaced by non-binding guidelines for businesses.
In mid-December 2025, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation aimed at stimulating demand for zero-emission vehicles from European businesses, by setting binding targets at Member State level (see EUROPE 13774/13). These targets are an important lever for the decarbonisation of the European automotive sector, since company registrations account for around 60% of all car registrations and around 90% of van registrations in the EU.
Last February, the Transport & Environment think tank called for the level of ambition of this legislation to be raised (see EUROPE 13814/23).
However, the nine countries behind this non-paper recommend using ‘incentives’ to encourage companies to invest in cleaner vehicles, rather than resorting to regulation.
The signatories have reservations about the effects of this proposal on the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, arguing that “a well-functioning framework for greener corporate fleets should preserve functioning markets and avoid unintended spill-over effects on SMEs and in particular microenterprises”.
Lastly, the nine capitals are calling for greater account to be taken of the realities of the automotive market in the various Member States, as well as the diversity of administrative systems.
To view the non-paper: https://aeur.eu/f/ly9 (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)