The Commission postpones the proposal for a relaunch plan for the sector to a later date, with the possible revision of the block on the sale of internal combustion cars: “We will take into account all the technologies, we are still working on it, but it will still take time” anticipates Transport Commissioner Tzitzikostas
There won’t be no ads nor any form of meeting to discuss the future of the car in Europe. Even though without official communicationsthe long-awaited appointment previously scheduled for has been postponed to a later date December 10, 2025. On that date the Commission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen should have presented a recovery plan for the sectorbut above all respond to pressing requests to review or postpone the absolute block to the sale of cars with combustion engines, starting from 1 January 2035 (last September the former prime minister and former president of the ECB also expressed his opinion on the subject, Mario Draghi). Automotive Europe thus finds itself on the high seas, despite the pressure from the German and Italian governments, the resistance of the French and Spanish governments together with the Nordic countries, but above all the now openly critical position of the major continental car manufacturers. “It will still take time, a few weeks”, summarizes the Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas in an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblattpartially denied by rumors coming from Brussels and which refer to the need for much longer times to arrive at a shared agreement to be approved by the member states. Commissioner Tzitzikostas, for his part, anticipates contents that would be a real revolution.
Brussels and Berlin
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“The European Union will take into account all technological advances when it re-evaluates emission limits, including combustion engines powered by e-fuels and biofuels”, reiterates Tzitzikostas to the Handelsblatt newspaper, clearly predicting that cars with “highly efficient” combustion engines could continue to be sold in the 27 EU countries even beyond January 1, 2035. As is known, by December 2026 the Commission will in fact also have to formally enter into one review stagea phase of analysis on the progress made on a technological level, but also on the delays in the creation of one charging network electricity, also carefully considering the social and employment impacts of the transition process towards sales only battery-powered cars. The meeting on December 10th marked the first step of this phase. Its cancellation instead signals that the process evidently still encounters reservations from representatives of the Commission itself. “We are still working on it. We want to present an automotive package that is truly complete and includes all the necessary aspects”, reiterates Tzitzikostas, but it is a fact that the position of extreme intransigence now taken by the chancellor Friedrich Merz you don’t leave much room for negotiations anymore. The German government, with an unconventional harshness towards Brussels, has asked in no uncertain terms to guarantee the sale of cars with combustion engines, even if electrified, after 2035. Brussels is taking its time, for now it is not satisfying anyone, looking for the formula to satisfy Berlin.
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