STRASBOURG (dpa-AFX) – From 2035, no new passenger cars with internal combustion engines are to be registered in the EU. The EU Parliament approved the new CO2 requirements in Strasbourg on Tuesday, according to which only new cars that do not emit greenhouse gases during operation may be sold in the EU from 2035. Negotiators from the Parliament and EU countries had already agreed on the compromise in October. The MEPs have now approved the agreement, which many see as the end for classic combustion engines in cars. The member states still have to agree, but this is considered a formality, as is the approval of the Parliament.
The Social Democrats celebrated the agreement as a success for more climate-friendly road transport. “The decision secures the path to conversion to cars without internal combustion engines, which car manufacturers have been on for a long time,” said the climate policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Tiemo Wölken. At the same time, the decision will ensure that key competencies such as the production of battery cells are kept in the EU, he added.
CDU MEP Dennis Radtke criticized the decision, saying, “Greens, Liberals and Leftists voted for the combustion car ban in the EU Parliament today, even though they know they are endangering around 1.4 million jobs in Europe. The European traffic light is undermining Germany as an automotive location and thus bumping the Chinese competition into pole position.” FDP member of parliament Jan-Christoph Oetjen stressed, “The final end of the combustion engine is likely with the adoption.”
The compromise is to be able to be reviewed again in 2026. There had also been prolonged disputes in the German government over the issue of the end of the internal combustion engine. Mainly Greens and Liberals held different positions. The Green-led Federal Environment Ministry, for example, had spoken out in favor of a clear phase-out of internal combustion engines. The compromise paper also includes a request to the EU Commission to examine whether so-called e-fuels could be considered for cars in the future. The FDP in particular had pushed for this in the German government./rew/DP/men
