“Stay on track” on zero-emissions vehicles, say France and Spain

Key diary dates

Thursday 30 October – Friday 31 October : G7 energy and environment ministerial meeting in Toronto, Canada.
Monday 27 October – Tuesday 28 October : Agriculture and Fisheries Council, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Sweden for her first-ever participation in a Nordic Council meeting, where she will discuss competitiveness, defence readiness and the Arctic with the region’s leaders.
Tuesday 28 – Thursday 30 October : European Flagship Conference on Research Security, co-organised by the European Commission.

In spotlight

France and Spain urged EU leaders to “stay on track” and reject to revoke the ban on the sales of new diesel and petrol cars by 2035, as the European Commission hinted in a letter sent to governments and seen by Euronews that the EU executive will open up the legislative file by the end of the year.

Paris and Madrid defend that zero-emissions vehicles are “indispensable”, according to an official letter seen by Euronews, and if the ban on zero-emission cars is retracted the bloc will not succeed in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, a pledge that is now binding under the EU’s climate law.

They also say that it’s “not acceptable” for plug-in hybrids to be favoured after 2035, a demand that has been contested by many member states, namely Germany, Italy and Slovakia, which claim their industries are being severely affected by the mandatory shift to electrify vehicles.

Germany, a long-time automotive powerhouse delivering BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW, has been vocal about the decline of its car industry, lobbying strongly against the ban on new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2035.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni dubbed the law “madness ideology“, objecting to it since its onset. Her Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico has echoed similar comments, saying “green utopias” are threatening the country’s automotive industry.

To add further pressure to the straining auto industry, Nexperia’s diplomatic incident, the Chinese Wingtech’s subsidiary in Europe which produces chips for vehicles, has greatly impacted production.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) director general Sigrid de Vries said the situation was “alarming” and called for “quick and pragmatic” responses from all countries affected.

“Automakers have taken steps over the last years to diversify supply chains, but risk cannot be mitigated down to zero. This is a cross-industry issue affecting a large number of suppliers and virtually all of our members,” said the automotive lobby’s chief.

Policy newsmakers

Geert Wilders vs Henri Bontenbal: who will be the next Dutch Prime Minister?

Geert Wilders, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party (VVD) is going head-to-head with newcomer Henri Bontenbal, the leader of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDA) in the race to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands.

The PVV is set to become the biggest party — again – after the Dutch parliamentary election this Wednesday, according to the latest opinion polls by pollsterEenVandaag. The PVV with his anti-immigration agenda is set to get up to 34 seats in the 150-seat Dutch parliament.

However, no party ever gets the absolute majority in the Netherlands and a coalition agreement between several parties is needed.

After becoming the biggest party in the November 2023 election, with 37 seats, Wilders declined the role of the premiership. It is unlikely that coalition partners will agree to him getting that role this time around.

Bontenbal, the new leader of the CDA, which is projected to get some 23 seats, seems to be a compromise candidate that many parties — left and right — want to see at the helm of the government. His agenda of “decency and respect” seems to work, after the previous government collapsed in June, after just a year in office, over a conflict on migration.