The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) rejected a number of amendments proposed by the national conservative Patriots for Europe (PfE) group in the European Parliament, aiming to save Europe’s struggling car industry from being decimated by Brussels’ ideologically imposed climate policies—including scrapping the 2035 ban on new combustion engine cars.
On Thursday, May 8th, the Parliament’s Strasbourg plenary approved an emergency measure (proposed in response to Trump’s tariffs) to introduce “more flexibility” in how car manufacturers can meet partial emission reduction goals. The new law effectively delays the obligation to comply with annual CO2 reduction targets by gradually rolling out more electric vehicles in their fleet every year until the end of 2027.
While the adoption of this emergency measure—supported by the EPP, the liberal Renew, and the conservative PfE and ECR groups—can be considered a success, the Patriots warned earlier this week that the three-year moratorium is just a “half-hearted cosmetic fix” that will hardly solve the problems facing the industry.
So, even if compliance is delayed, the emission targets remain the same, as Brussels expects manufacturers to reduce the CO2 emission of their fleets by 55% by 2030, and to zero in another five years.
Accordingly, the PfE submitted a list of amendments, attempting to use this opportunity to introduce measures that actually make a difference.
Their two main proposals were to extend the moratorium by another two years, until the end of 2029, and to scrap the 100% reduction target set for 2035, which effectively bans the sale of new combustion engine vehicles in less than ten years.
The other PfE proposals included scrapping ‘excess emission premiums’—a specific fine for exceeding the CO2 targets, set at €95 per g/km for each new vehicle registered—and recognizing climate-neutral technologies while calculating compliance, such as vehicles operating with synthetic or bio fuels.
In the end, all of these proposals were voted down by the mainstream majority, as the center-right EPP once again chose to align with the socialist S&D and the Greens over the interests of Europe.
According to figures shared by the Patriots, the 2035 combustion engine ban threatens over 1.3 million jobs across Europe, with Germany and Italy among those hardest hit by the fallout. What’s more, compliance with the CO2 reduction targets by forcibly introducing more EVs in their fleet will cost €16 billion annually, potentially crushing smaller manufacturers and creating an overreliance on China, which controls 65% of the global supply of battery materials.
