Member States give green light to new Euro 7 standards to reduce polluting emissions and set battery life requirements for cars, vans, buses and trucks. The agreement was confirmed with only Denmark voting against and Ireland and Austria abstaining.
The EU Ecofin Council underway in Luxembourg validated the agreement reached with the European Chamber last 18 December. It maintains the current Euro 6 exhaust gas emission limits for cars and vans and limiting the restriction to polluting particles derived from batteries and tyres. The new standards will come into force from January 1, 2015, and will be applied to all cars, trucks, vans and buses in the European Union. They will also apply to the rest of the world, with the exception of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, where they will be introduced later in the year. The standards are intended to reduce the number of vehicles in the EU that are polluting by up to 50 per cent. They are also intended to make it easier for the EU to enforce the Euro 6 standards.