Decision on CO2 standards for trucks and buses in the EU postponed
Published: Wednesday, Feb 7th 2024, 17:20
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There is a dispute within the German government about new CO2 emission standards for buses and trucks - a vote in Brussels has now been postponed.
Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit confirmed in Berlin on Wednesday that the German position on the plans was still being negotiated. Instead of this Wednesday, as originally planned, the issue is now on the agenda of the responsible EU body for Friday. It is uncertain whether the votes required for the project will be achieved without Germany.
It was actually firmly assumed in Brussels that the German government coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP would agree to the plans for the new CO2 emission standards. According to the German Press Agency, however, the FDP has now surprisingly vetoed the plans and wants to prevent a German yes to the project. The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" initially reported on this on Tuesday.
New CO2 limits for vehicles
Negotiators from the EU member states had actually already agreed on January 18 that the new guidelines for so-called fleet limits should be introduced. These limits regulate how much climate-damaging CO2 vehicles are allowed to emit in future. CO2 emissions from coaches and trucks are to be reduced by 90 percent by 2040 - compared to 2019.
In the meantime, however, the FDP had a European party conference at which the participants spoke out strictly against fleet limits. Specifically, they said: "We will abolish the fleet limits without replacement."
In Brussels, the FDP's position is reminiscent of the dispute over the ban on combustion engines. The EU had actually agreed on an extensive ban on new cars with combustion engines last year. In the German government, however, the FDP in particular had insisted that cars fueled exclusively with e-fuels be excluded from the so-called combustion engine ban.
Berlin's reliability called into question
This led to some vehement criticism of the German government and Berlin's reliability in European negotiations was called into question. At an EU summit, former Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins spoke of a "very, very difficult sign for the future". The entire architecture of decision-making would fall apart if everyone did this.
The German Association of the Automotive Industry stated that the German automotive industry generally welcomes the fact that the EU Council and EU Parliament have reached an agreement on CO2 fleet regulation for heavy commercial vehicles. "It sets a clear timetable for driving forward the implementation of zero-emission solutions on the European market.
Reliability is of great importance for companies in the German automotive industry. All political players should come to a joint solution as soon as possible so that the CO2 fleet regulation for heavy commercial vehicles can be concluded before the end of this legislative period and companies can quickly obtain planning security."
Electric charging network is not enough
The agreement reached by the EU Council and Parliament on CO2 fleet regulation for heavy commercial vehicles sets ambitious targets, according to the industry association. "It is therefore all the more important that the targets set and the necessary framework conditions are considered together."
"To ensure that the ambitious targets can actually be achieved, a sufficiently dense network of electric charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure with accompanying connections to electricity and hydrogen networks for heavy commercial vehicles throughout Europe is a crucial prerequisite," it continued. However, this is currently not even close to being available.
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola said, without explicitly naming Germany, that no agreement could be undone. It was about trust between the co-legislators and the credibility of the process.
However, a German abstention could make it easier for other countries to find sufficient majorities to block decisions. Abstentions have the same effect as votes against in votes between EU member states.
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