EU’s Largest Political Group Pushes to Weaken Combustion Engine Ban

The European Parliament’s biggest political group is mounting a campaign to weaken the EU’s main policies for cutting CO2 emissions from cars, a draft position paper seen by Reuters showed.

The demands from the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), due to be published on Wednesday, would add to mounting pressure on Brussels from automakers and national governments to urgently help Europe’s ailing car manufacturing sector.

The EPP document said the European Union’s 2035 ban on sales of new CO2-emitting cars “should be reversed,” to allow sales of combustion engine cars that run on biofuels and other alternative fuels beyond this date.

The law should also be changed to support plug-in hybrid cars, which contain an electric battery and a combustion engine, the draft said. It asked Brussels to undertake an early review of the 2035 policy next year to make these changes.

Europe’s car sector is in turmoil, with thousands of jobs on the line as it struggles with weak demand, Chinese competition and lower than expected electric vehicle sales.

The EPP holds significant political sway, with a majority of the 27 members of the new European Commission also coming from its ranks, including President Ursula von der Leyen.

The draft EPP document also said automakers should be shielded from the impact of stricter car CO2 limits coming into effect next year.

European automaker association (ACEA) president Luca de Meo, who heads Renault, said on Tuesday the EU’s current policy meant the industry potentially faced 15 billion euros ($15.8 billion) of fines, which would divert money from investments.

“Those that have set the rules have not provided the necessary market conditions, charging infrastructure, stable incentive schemes, pricing of energy etc, etc,” he said.

De Meo said the 2025 CO2 limits were an urgent issue and there were still 10 years to find a solution on the 2035 combustion engine ban.

The EPP suggested delaying the 2025 limits to 2027, or softening the way carmakers’ compliance is accounted for.

Brussels has so far resisted such calls. EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra in September said the climate rules provided a predictable investment environment and many companies had informed the EU they were on track to meet the targets.

Since then, the sector’s woes have intensified, with Volkswagen announcing plans to shut factories in Germany and automakers now bracing for a potential wave of tariffs under incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.

The EPP has had some recent successes with other calls to weaken green policies. Last month the EU delayed its landmark anti-deforestation law by a year, after pushback from the EPP, industries and governments including Brazil and the U.S.

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(Reporting by Abnett. Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop. Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Potter)