Letter to Commission
Wissing proposes EU solution for burner dispute
03/16/2023, 8:50 p.m
The Federal Transport Minister is confident of resolving the conflict with the EU Commission over the end of combustion engines. In a letter, Wissing explains how e-fuels can be legally anchored as motor fuels – without the need for the approval of several EU institutions again.
In the dispute over the end of new cars with internal combustion engines, Transport Minister Volker Wissing has submitted a proposal for a solution to the EU Commission. As can be seen from a letter from the minister’s office to the cabinet of Vice-Commissioner Frans Timmermans, Wissing is pushing for a path that does not require the approval of the European Parliament and the EU states. At the same time, he calls for “short-term legally binding steps,” as the letter says.
Specifically, Wissing proposes a so-called delegated act that would supplement the currently blocked combustion engine agreement. A delegated act is adopted by the Commission and has no legislative character. This is a change or addition to non-essential provisions of laws. The Commission must be commissioned by the Council of Ministers or the European Parliament to do this. The compromise reached would therefore not have to be changed. The European Commission can pass such a legal act, after which Parliament and EU states have two months to raise objections.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU states had actually already agreed in autumn that only emission-free new cars may be registered in the EU from 2035. A confirmation by the EU states that was scheduled for last week was canceled due to additional demands from Germany. In particular, the FDP is urging that new cars with combustion engines that use artificial fuels produced with green electricity, so-called e-fuels, may still be registered after 2035.
“E-fuels only” vehicles should be counted
The approach of the Wissing-Haus now envisages creating the possibility for a new vehicle category only for e-fuels within the framework of the existing Euro 6 emissions standard. When the law to phase out combustion engines comes into force, a delegated act should allow these “e-fuels only” vehicles to be offset against the fleet target values.
The so-called fleet limits are specifications for manufacturers as to how many greenhouse gases newly built cars are allowed to emit during operation. It is actually intended that this value should drop to zero in 2035, which de facto means the end of new combustion engines. However, there are exceptions, for example for special vehicles such as emergency vehicles or wheelchair-accessible cars.
Finally, “in a suitable legal framework”, a definition for completely CO2-neutral fuels should be created, according to the letter. The Ministry is asking the Commission to “develop an ambitious and binding schedule”.