Following the Industry and Transport Committee, the Environment Committee has now also voted in favour of relaxing the combustion engine phase-out. The European Parliament as a whole is expected to decide in December. The previous votes are considered an important indicator.

In the European Parliament, three key committees have now voted on a central part of the Auto Package (specifically, a regulatory draft) – with the Environment Committee joining them this week. The result: the majority supports relaxing the CO2 rules for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, as internally agreed upon by the so-called ‘centre platform’ in October. The Industry and Transport Committees have also proclaimed their support.

This makes it increasingly clear in the European Parliament that a decision is emerging on this important aspect of the Auto Package, which aims to relax the de facto ban on new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the EU from 2035. The three factions of the centre platform had agreed on a position around three weeks ago. The subsequent committee votes on 22 October by the Industry and Transport Committees and on 4 November by the Environment Committee are now the first tangible results of this internal majority-building, after the tug-of-war over the still-internal negotiating positions had repeatedly leaked.

Specifically, on Wednesday, the Environment Committee voted in favour of a proposal previously developed by negotiators from the conservative EPP, the social democratic S&D, and the liberal Renew Europe group after tough negotiations. Regarding CO2 fleet limits, this draft proposes that manufacturers must reduce the CO2 emissions of their new cars by only 95 per cent instead of 100 per cent (compared to 2021) by 2035.

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