The ban on new cars with combustion engines in 2035 will be revised

The European People's Party wants to change the rules

Review the ban on combustion cars by 2035

By: Eleonora Lilli

Published by: Brian Potter

Jul 4, 2024 at 5:06am ET

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The European People's Party (EPP), the largest legislative group in the European Parliament, wants to rethink the stop of new cars with combustion engines in 2035. This is nothing new, but now, after the elections, this is the path the European leadership is taking.

The first earthquake was a year ago, when Frans Timmermans, the Green Deal hawk, left the European Commission. Now that the EPP won the largest share of all the legislative groups in last month's European Parliament elections (188 seats out of a total of 720 legislators) their influence in the EU assembly is strong and in a draft of priorities for action that major news agencies have read (Reuters and ANSA) it is written that one of the first goals is**"to revise the CO2 reduction rules** for new cars and vans to allow the use of zero-emission alternative fuels beyond 2035".

The role of e-fuels

Let's take a step back: last year the European Union approved a policy that will ban the sale of new cars emitting CO2 from 2035. However, the European Commission, spurred on by Germany, pledged to create a legal way to sell new cars powered exclusively by e-fuels even after 2035.

This would allow car manufacturers to continue to sell cars with internal combustion engines, but with a new generation, which would run on certified CO2-neutral fuels.

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What changes now

The draft document does not specify how exactly the policy will be revised. Ursula von der Leyen, who belongs to the EPP group, is seeking the approval of the majority of EU lawmakers for a second term in her role and needs the support of the EPP group to secure a majority.

Convincing groups like the Socialists and Democrats, who oppose the weakening of European policies to combat climate change, will not be easy and much depends on the political balances that are settling in recent weeks. Keep following us to find out what will happen.