EU Makes Offer to Germany to Unlock Ban on Combustion Engines

The European Union offered a roadmap on how cars running on e-fuels could be considered carbon neutral in a bid to convince Germany to stop blocking the EU’s combustion engine ban — but stopped short of Berlin’s request to propose additional legislation.

(Bloomberg) — The European Union offered a roadmap on how cars running on e-fuels could be considered carbon neutral in a bid to convince Germany to stop blocking the EU’s combustion engine ban — but stopped short of Berlin’s request to propose additional legislation.  

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, proposed in a letter to the German government to create a blueprint that would include timelines and draft regulatory provisions essential for paving the way for e-fuel vehicles to take the roads after the ban takes effect in 2035, according to a copy of letter seen by Bloomberg.

New regulations regarding cars using e-fuels would only be offered after member states approved the ban on combustion engines, according to the letter, a step Germany has been blocking.

Germany has yet to signal if it agrees with the terms laid out by the EU, but there is widespread hope that a deal can be reached this week and potentially before a meeting of EU leaders at a March 23 summit in Brussels.

 

–With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf.

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