"Our proposal to the EU Commission is the end of the combustion engine end"

In the dispute over the future of new cars with combustion engines, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has submitted a new proposal to the EU Commission. Wissing told the dpa news agency that they had consulted closely with the EU Commission and, after careful consideration, submitted a constructive proposal for a solution. "We assume that this not only satisfactorily answers all content-related, but also legal questions."

Wissing went on to say: "There should be nothing standing in the way of the approval of newly registered vehicles with combustion engines that are fueled exclusively with synthetic fuels even after 2035." It is now expected that the EU Commission will issue a corresponding declaration, with clear time targets name and start the process for corresponding legal acts.

On Friday, Wissing added to the online service Twitter: “We want cars that run on climate-friendly fuels to be able to be newly registered in the future. Our proposal to the EU Commission is the end of the combustion engine," he wrote.

On Thursday evening, the ministry sent a letter in reply to the EU Commission's latest proposed solutions to Brussels, as the dpa learned from government circles in Berlin. The news portals “Spiegel” and “Politico” also reported on Friday night about an email from the Ministry of Transport to the EU Commission.

At the beginning of the week, the proposals of the EU Commission became known. Accordingly, the authority defined a draft of criteria for the approval of new vehicles that are operated exclusively with CO₂-neutral fuels.

The background to this is a fundamental agreement between the European Parliament and EU states, according to which only zero-emission new cars may be registered in the EU from 2035. However, Germany is urging that new cars with internal combustion engines that run on e-fuels – i.e. climate-neutral artificial fuels that are produced with green electricity – be permitted after this. A confirmation of the agreement by the EU states, which was planned for early March, was therefore initially prevented by Germany.

According to "Spiegel", Minister of Transport Wissing has backed down from his earlier call for the planned fleet limits to be renegotiated so that cars with combustion engines can still be approved after 2035. The news magazine reports that he is now demanding “in the course of the acceptance” of the new CO₂ limit values ​​that the Commission issue another statement. In it, she is supposed to assure that the registration of cars powered exclusively by so-called e-fuels will also be possible after 2035. Such a passage is already in the planned law on the new CO₂ limits, but only in the form of a legally non-binding so-called recital.

The Ministry of Transport is asking the Commission to commit itself in its declaration to presenting a so-called delegated act by autumn of this year. It is intended to determine how cars powered exclusively by e-fuels can contribute to the EU targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Politico" reported, citing two EU diplomats, that it was unlikely that Brussels would agree to the German proposal.

FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai said on Friday in the ZDF morning show that he could not confirm that the dispute was off the table. This will only be the case if the EU Commission presents a “very clear legal requirement”, according to which combustion engines with e-fuels should also be in operation after 2035.

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