Brussels proposes a solution

Brussels presents a proposal on how cars with combustion engines can be registered after 2035 if they are fueled with e-fuels. It remains unclear whether Transport Minister Wissing is enough. Whether it is legally resilient, too.

GIs there still a quick solution to the dispute over the end of combustion engines in 2035? Or does Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) have to face uncomfortable questions from the other bosses at the EU summit that begins on Thursday because of the German blockade? European Minister of State Anna Lührmann (Greens) at least said on Tuesday at a preparatory ministerial meeting in Brussels that she was assuming a solution before the summit. There is also a suggested solution. As it became known on Tuesday, EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans has these transport ministers Volker Wissing (FDP) outlined in a letter last Thursday.

According to information from the FAZ, the Commission wants to create a new type of vehicle that can only be operated with climate-neutral synthetic fuels, so-called e-fuels. They could then also be approved after 2035. The new vehicle category could take place in a special legislative process based on the applicable EU regulation on type approval. This would have the advantage for Wissing that he would not have to organize a majority. However, the Commission intends to present the concrete proposal for this legal act only when the Council of Ministers has approved the regulation for the CO₂-limit values ​​for cars has also been finally adopted. Wissing would therefore first have to give up the blockade that was announced shortly before the vote, which was actually considered a formality.

The of Timmermans The proposed solution requires manufacturers to find ways to prevent the new type of vehicle from being fueled with diesel or petrol. Above all, however, according to the Commission’s assessment, it would be legally problematic. Since the CO₂-Rules for cars were not changed, it would remain the case that a new car after 2035 would not produce any CO₂ allowed to emit more. However, cars powered by e-fuels do. So there are two EU laws side by side that contradict each other. The Ministry of Transport announced on Tuesday that it was in close contact with the Commission to find a reliable way for cars powered by e-fuels to be re-registered after 2035. “We are interested in quick clarification, which must be resilient and binding.”