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Pascal Canfin: EU Liberal criticizes blocking attitude of the FDP

2023-03-06T21:00:35.426Z


Germany's blockade of the EU decision to phase out combustion engines from 2035 is met with incomprehension by colleagues in the FDP parliamentary group in Brussels. "The situation is unacceptable," said Liberal Pascal Canfin.


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Pascal Canfin, Liberal Chairman of the Environment Committee in the EU Parliament: "The government is breaking its word"

Photo: IMAGO/Dwi Anoraganingrum / IMAGO/Future Image

In the debate about the end of combustion engines, Transport Minister Volker Wissing has received harsh criticism from a friend of the EU parliamentary group.

The French Liberal Pascal Canfin said in Brussels that one cannot accept that the FDP is taking the already negotiated text hostage.

"The situation is unacceptable." The position of the Free Democrats is not the position of the liberal group in the European Parliament, of which the FDP is a member.

For cars, there is an alternative to e-fuels, namely batteries, Canfin explained.

With so-called e-fuels, combustion cars can theoretically be operated in a climate-friendly manner, but the production of the fuel is relatively energy-intensive.

In addition, critics complain that synthetic fuels are needed more urgently in aviation and shipping.

Canfin, who is chairman of the environment committee in the European Parliament, followed up on Twitter.

"Germany agreed to the final compromise on the end of cars with combustion engines a few months ago," Canfin wrote in a tweet that was no longer aimed at Transport Minister Wissing, but at the entire federal government, including Olaf Scholz.

"The compromise adopts elements of the German coalition agreement on e-fuels." The contract states that the federal government is committed to ensuring that special vehicles operated with e-fuels, such as emergency vehicles, can continue to be newly registered.

"It is therefore unacceptable for the government to break its word."

The EU vote on the planned end for new cars with combustion engines from 2035 was postponed on Friday due to additional demands from Germany.

Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had said that Germany could not agree to such a blanket combustion engine shutdown at the current time.

Chancellor Scholz, on the other hand, sees the EU Commission on the train.

After the cabinet meeting in Meseberg, Scholz said that the federal government agreed that it assumed that the European Commission would make a proposal on how e-fuels could be used after 2035.

This had already been made "politically effective" last year in close discussion with the Commission.

"And now it's about being clear that this is actually going to happen."

Finance Minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner said that openness to technology is a great asset for the FDP.

"This means that no final political decision will be made about the drive systems in private cars." Against this background and in this spirit, the European decision-making process was involved.

There is currently no legal certainty that vehicles with petrol or diesel engines can actually be registered after 2035 if they are fueled with "eco-fuel".

"We need this legally secure, clear link between the decision on the fleet limit values ​​and the possibility of new registrations."

mgo/til/dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2023-03-06

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