FDP General Secretary defends last-minute blockade and criticizes von der Leyen

FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai has rejected criticism of his party in the dispute over the planned end for new combustion cars from 2035. “Various forms of climate-neutral mobility must be possible in Europe. Numerous European partner countries have this attitude,” said Djir-Saai in Berlin. The German last-minute blockade of the planned end for new combustion engines was met with a lack of understanding among European partners.

"We are still waiting for a proposal from the EU Commission on how synthetic fuels can be used in cars after 2035," said Djir-Sarai. And: "It is not surprising that the CDU politician and commission chief Ursula von der Leyen shows so little commitment on this issue: despite assertions to the contrary, the Union parties have never done enough to prevent the end of combustion engines in the years they have been in government."

Actually, it should have been decided since Tuesday that from 2035 only new cars that do not emit greenhouse gases during operation may be sold in the EU. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU states had already agreed on this in October.

At the end of February, around a week before the planned vote by the EU states, FDP Transport Minister Volker Wissing expressed concerns and threatened not to approve the result. He demands that the EU Commission must submit a proposal as to how new private cars that use climate-neutral, synthetic fuels, so-called e-fuels, can still be registered after 2035.

The EU states will not make a final decision next Tuesday on the blanket ban on new cars with combustion engines from 2035, as originally planned.

Source: WORLD

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