“I want to check carefully”
Wissing sees no hurry to stop the combustion engine
3/23/2023 5:06 am
Federal Transport Minister Wissing is blocking the end of combustion engines after 2035 at EU level. The FDP politician is calling for an exception for e-fuels. He does not expect the dispute to be resolved quickly.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing has dampened hopes of an early agreement in the dispute over the EU Commission’s plan to phase out combustion engines. “Technology bans have never brought the country any further,” said the FDP politician to the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. Regarding calls for a quick agreement with the EU Commission, he said: “We are talking about regulation for the year 2035. I don’t understand why we shouldn’t be able to take the time to look at things more closely now.”
An EU summit begins today in Brussels. Wissing wants the EU Commission to show a reliable way for new passenger cars with combustion engines to be registered after 2035, provided they are only operated with so-called e-fuels. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU states agreed in autumn that only emission-free new cars may be registered in the EU from 2035. A confirmation of the deal by the EU states, which was scheduled for early March, was canceled due to additional demands from Germany.
“The FDP should now stand firm”
Wissing emphasized on ZDF that he didn’t want to delay anything: “I want to check carefully – and that’s also in the interest of the Federal Republic of Germany.” He wants a binding agreement “that we get technology-open regulation and not a concentration on just one mobility offer”. He was ready to clarify these questions quickly, said the Minister of Transport. “But I am not willing to sign agreements whose scope and content I have not finally checked for the Federal Republic of Germany.”
The Greens parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann asked the federal government on Wednesday to end the course of the “blockade” in the dispute. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transport had emphasized that the talks were well advanced. The goal remains to reach an agreement as quickly as possible. However, the procedures are “extraordinarily complicated” and require “a careful examination by both sides.”
Wissing receives support from the Union: “The FDP should now remain steadfast,” said the deputy leader of the Union faction, Jens Spahn, of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.