The center-right EPP (European People's Party) group, the most powerful in the European Parliament, also a majority in the Commission, wishes to return to the future of the car on the continent. According to the “draft” that Reuters was able to read, the group is of the opinion that the European law banning the sale of CO2-emitting vehicles in 2035 should be repealed, so as to open the door to biofuels and other alternative fuels.
The document also says that it is necessary to support plug-in hybrid vehicles, and that the 2035 law should be re-evaluated next year, and not in 2026, as initially planned.
No penalties in 2025
The EPP would also decide not to impose fines on manufacturers who fail to achieve CO2 emissions quotas, which will be reduced by 15% in 2025 compared to 2021 standards. Manufacturers thus collectively risk 15 billion of fines, “money that will not go to investments”, declares Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault, and president of the Manufacturers’ Association.
The EPP therefore sides with the European automobile industry, which is in quite bad shape, and with certain countries of the Union, which were already contesting the 2025 standards. Until last September, Wopke Hoekstra, the “Mr. Climate” of Europe, was still inflexible. But since then, the specters of factory closures and layoffs have multiplied. Furthermore, Trump was re-elected, and his threats of customs tariffs are making European manufacturers tremble.
