Tusk, Orban and Meloni with one vote on cars. “There is nothing green in the industrial desert”

The prime ministers of six European Union countries, including Poland, appealed in a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to review the EU's car policy, warning that the current regulations weaken the competitiveness of the European automotive sector.

The letter was signed by: Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala and Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rosen Żelazkov.

The letter, seen by PAP, emphasized that discussions during the last EU summit on competitiveness, as well as the debate on the position of the EU Council (member states) on the revision of EU climate law, revealed “the need to move away once and for all from ideological dogmatism that has brought entire production sectors to the brink of collapse, with little or almost no effect in terms of global emissions.”

The heads of government pointed to the need to fully apply the principle of technological neutrality, noting that “there is no one-size-fits-all solution to decarbonization.”

In their opinion, the imposition of a single technology limits research, innovation and competition, and the effects of these actions particularly affect the European automotive industry, which, as they wrote, “suffers dramatically under current EU regulations.”

The Prime Ministers called for the upcoming revision of the regulation on CO2 emission standards for new passenger cars and delivery vans to maintain the role of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, fuel cell technology, and so-called electric vehicles after 2035. range extenders and other future solutions.

They believe the revision should take into account the role of low-carbon and renewable fuels in decarbonizing road transport, also classifying biofuels as “carbon neutral fuels”.

The letter also proposes a revision of the regulation on CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles to make it easier for manufacturers to “achieve their targets and avoid the risk of penalties.”

The prime ministers were also critical of the Clean Industrial Deal proposals regarding road transport.

As they emphasized in the letter, the EC should focus on promoting good practices, tax incentives and support programs, using a technology-neutral approach in the transition to low- and zero-emission mobility.

“We are at a turning point both for the European automotive and automotive component industries and for European climate action. We can and must pursue our climate target effectively, without destroying our competitiveness, because there is nothing green in the industrial desert,” the prime ministers wrote in the summary of the letter.

Łukasz Osiński from Brussels, Sylwia Wysocka from Rome (PAP)

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