On Wednesday 15 July, members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) debated the draft report on CO2 emission standards by 2030 and 2035 for cars and vans (see EUROPE 13889/19).
Like the Member States, Members of the European Parliament remain deeply divided over the revision of these targets, as well as over the flexibilities proposed for car manufacturers. The thousands of amendments tabled are evidence of this. “We have received […] a total of 6,000 amendments. This truly reflects the current political situation and sends a message from a technical point of view”, commented the rapporteur on the text, Jens Gieseke (EPP, German).
According to the EPP group, achieving a European fleet made up of 100% electric vehicles in 2035 was never a realistic objective. In the opinion of the far right, the very objectives of the European Green Deal are the cause of the difficulties currently facing European industry. This argument is hard for the left wing of the hemicycle to conceive. Lena Schilling (Greens/EFA, Austrian) referred to strong Chinese competition and “management errors” as the main causes of these difficulties.
Mentioning the redundancy plan at Volkswagen, which is currently threatening to cut thousands of jobs in Germany, Vivien Costanzo (S&D, German) called for rapid progress on this text and the automotive package as a whole. She also noted the need for consistency between the various texts. This will not be an easy task since discussions are stumbling over several key points.
Technological neutrality and super-credits. As regards the text on CO2 emissions, divisions mainly relate to the principle of technological neutrality, defended by the centre and the right. The Left opposes this: it is calling for an ambitious electrification target to be maintained and for certain technologies – whose carbon-emission neutrality is contested – not to be included. The inclusion of plug-in hybrid vehicles is still to be determined.
The idea of credits granted to manufacturers to encourage them to produce affordable small electric vehicles does, however, seem to be a convincing idea to a majority of Members of the European Parliament. This is not the case for credits that would be granted to manufacturers using ‘green’ steel to produce vehicles.
“It will certainly not be possible to produce ‘green’ steel, at least not in Europe. It is simply not viable from a competitiveness point of view”, declared far-right Member of the European Parliament Volker Schnurrbusch (ESN, German).
“As regards semi-trailers, nearly 70,000 additional jobs are also at risk of being lost”, warned Jens Gieseke, who concluded the debate. “You may have heard that this regulation was going to be postponed until 2027, but the EPP is ready to carry out the necessary work”, he said.
Work will continue after the summer recess, with the co-legislators hoping to reach an agreement by the end of the year. (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)