BRUSSELS (AFP) – Several European Union (EU) countries including France and Italy upped pressure on Brussels to ditch fines for embattled European carmakers that do not meet carbon emission reduction targets in 2025.
The issue was discussed at a meeting of EU environment ministers in the Belgian capital, which came as the bloc’s automotive industry is facing a deep crisis, according to diplomatic sources.
France’s Minister for Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher called for flexibility not to penalise European manufacturers in the face of international competition.
Hitting carmakers with fines would be “counterproductive” and weaken Europe’s industry doing little to accelerate the transition towards electric vehicles, she argued.
The Czech Republic and Slovenia held similar views, diplomats said.
Among others, Italy, Poland, and Austria last month backed a paper warning penalties “would severely limit the ability of the industry to reinvest in innovation and development, thus harming Europe’s competitiveness on the global stage”.
The European Commissioner for climate Wopke Hoekstra told a press briefing after the meeting that the ideas and worries raised were “well heard” and would be discussed with other commissioners.
But he could not see “how either the industry or the climate will be helped by lowering” emission targets, he added, saying members of the industry had asked for predictability in terms of policy.
