Banning the combustion engine was a mistake, the automotive industry must not face any penalties this year – and above all, the Commission must act on the changes before this summer, Jens Gieseke, Member of the European Parlament for the European People’s Party, sets his political group’s priorities before Thursday’s start of strategic talks on the future of European carmakers.
Identifying the position of the European People’s Party on the state of Europe’s automotive regulation, Jens Gieseke did not mince words. “We are quite clear that we have expectations from the Commission that they have now to deliver,” he said in a newly launched podcast EU Perspectives about Europe’s automobile industry on Tuesday.
Mr Gieseke is the chief negotiator of the European Parliament’s biggest political group in the upcoming strategic dialogue about how to save Europe’s carmakers. He put forward his faction’s position in no uncertain terms. “We have a lack of competitiveness, so we have to change the rules. This means that after the Fit for 55 and the Green Deal, we have to confess that we made some mistakes. And these mistakes should be corrected,” Mr Gieseke said.
Revisions needed
The EPP negotiator singled out the ban of the combustion engine as a mistake in need of correction. “We urgently need a decision to have a revision of the CO2 standards,” Mr Gieseke said. Specifically, he suggests that the legislation is technologically neutral — providing space for alternative fuels.
The European Commission, under pressure from the continent’s carmakers to address their problems, has announced the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the European Automotive Industry. It will discuss decarbonisation and regulation, as well as innovation, with vehicle manufacturers pushing for incentives and infrastructure to stimulate demand for electric vehicles.
The EPP position as set forth by Mr Giesecke was welcomed by a high-ranking representative of the industry in the podcast. Sigrid de Vries, Director General of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, called for the Commission to face reality. “We need a reality check when it comes to implementing the green transformation. We need to make sure that the Green Deal is indeed delivering on CO2 reduction. We want to decarbonize society, but also need to deliver on our economy where people can actually live, make a living, have good jobs,” Ms de Vries said.
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Controversial penalties
The strategic talks are scheduled to start on Thursday 30 January – and to Mr Gieseke’s political group, it is not a day too soon. “We need a proposal from the Commission as soon as possible. We can have the strategic dialogue in order to have all the different stakeholders on board, but in parallel, there is work to be done and (it is vital that) the Commission come with a proposal before summer. Otherwise we just lose time with the strategic dialogue, and then it’s not worth calling it strategic.”
The manufacturers facing steep penalties for missing the emission targets as set by the Commission (potentially to reach up to EUR 15bn for the entire industry, according to business representatives) is another sticking point identified by Mr Gieseke. “This year, there is the question of penalties. We have a clear commitment that we do not want to have any penalties for the automotive industry in this year,” the MEP said.
Wanted: Predictability
This view was in part echoed by another participant of the EU Perspectives podcast, Ondřej Krutílek MEP, long involved with the issues of the automotive industry. “The internal combustion engines ban by 2035 needs to be revised. Then there are the penalties for 2025, and we can talk about how we can fix this,” the conservative member said.
Mr Gieseke concurred: “The clear commitment should be that in 2025 there will be no penalties. It’s difficult to discuss the 2035 target if you are not sure that you will survive 2025.”
The position of the ECR group goes further. “We think that we should make a review of the 2035 target. Not next year or the year after, but this year. Because what we need for the automotive industry is the predictability of the whole legislative framework, and it is still not there,” Mr Krutílek maintained.
These views appeared to align with those of the car manufacturers. “For now, we are heavily focused on short-term needs because we believe that failing to meet immediate targets will make it even more difficult to achieve long-term goals,” Ms de Vries reiterated.
