"Reduction of harmful exhaust to zero" postponed indefinitely

The European Union has postponed indefinitely the implementation of the ban on internal combustion engines.

EU suspended the implementation of its decision to ban sales of new combustion engine cars and vans by 2035. The voting on the ratification of this agreement by the member countries on Friday was postponed to a later time.

This came as four countries – Italy, Germany, Bulgaria and Poland – expressed concern about the implications of the ban. Berlin, for example, is advocating that an exception be made for cars that run on synthetic fuels from renewable sources, and is asking Brussels to change the text. Some other countries do not believe in the real possibility of switching to electric cars. Dana Spinant, Representative of the European Commission, says:

“We want to better understand such concerns, in particular new doubts, before deciding how to respond to them and which way is best to move forward.”

Reducing harmful emissions to zero is one of the key EU measures to achieve climate neutrality by the middle of the century. Last month, the European Parliament approved it by a narrow majority. For final approval, the document was submitted to the member countries, and that’s when the heated debate began about the rejection of cars running on gasoline and diesel fuel.

Brussels is seeking a 100% reduction in carbon emissions from all vehicles sold on the EU market from 2035. This deadline was named by the European Commission because of the average lifespan of cars of 15 years, and the “green deal” of the countries of the European Union is designed to make the entire economy, including transport, environmentally friendly by 2050.

In the summer of 2022, Italy, Slovakia, Portugal, Bulgaria and Romania called for a postponement of the ban from 2035 to 2040 in order to have more time to adapt infrastructure to electric transport.

The decision to postpone the vote on the ratification of the agreement was made by Sweden, which presides over the EU, promising that the member countries “will return to this issue when the time is right,” but without giving a specific date.

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