Members of the Environment Committee in the European Parliament approved a milder version of the new emission standard for cars known as Euro 7 on Thursday. Future emissions limits were proposed by the European Commission last year, and member states have already commented on the matter when they significantly eased the proposal at the end of September. Now it was the turn of the parliament, where the Czech MEP Alexandr Vondra (ODS) is the rapporteur. He, too, sought to soften the norm.
Vondr’s report passed the first test on the floor of the European Parliament. 52 members of the committee voted for it, 32 were against. It is a convincing support, because the environment committee usually votes in favor of “green” policies.
Photo: EU
In November, the plenum of the European Parliament will vote on the proposal, and then the final wording will be agreed upon during negotiations in the so-called trilogue with the EU presiding country, i.e. Spain, and the European Commission.
MEPs in the environment committee supported the easing of the originally proposed emission limits from cars and trucks, although they did not go as far as the Member States. These left the maximum amount of emissions basically at the level of the currently valid Euro 6 standard.
Like the member countries, on the other hand, the MPs left the measurement of emissions from brakes and tires in the proposal. And they extended even more the time limits that car companies are given to prepare new products.
“I see room for a very reasonable solution in the trialogue negotiations with the Spanish presidency,” said rapporteur Vondra to reporters in Brussels after the committee’s meeting. He would like to complete Euro 7 by the end of this year.
“The Spanish Presidency understands that we must maintain the affordability of passenger cars for the wider population and we must keep the automotive industry alive in Europe. This is an absolutely fatal issue for the Czech Republic,” the MEP explained.
Vondra built a coalition for softening Euro 7 on MEPs for the People’s Party, liberals, members of his own faction (European Conservatives and Reformists) and the smallest group, the nationalist Identity and Democracy, of which, for example, the Czech SPD is a member. According to the voting record, the bet on liberal and conservative critics of “green” standards came out. All members of the aforementioned factions (and two non-aligned MPs) raised their hands for Vondr’s report.
“We want more environmentally friendly cars and buses to drive on our roads. However, we are also realists who do not want to limit personal mobility head-on. That is why, together with my colleagues from the People’s Party, I supported most of the compromise proposals for the Euro 7 standard,” said another Czech member of the environmental committee environment, MEP Stanislav Polčák (STAN).
It is impossible to predict with certainty how the vote of the entire seven-member assembly will turn out. MEPs usually vote in accordance with the main committee, which in this case is the environment committee.
However, due to growing criticism of the Green Deal in member countries and the upcoming European elections, individual parties within the factions are changing their strategy. The result is thus harder to predict. Vondra himself admitted that keeping the coalition against Euro 7 until the final vote will mean “still a lot of work”.
Critics of the Czech campaign against the new emission standard from among the European left and environmental organizations claims that car emissions claim 80,000 to 100,000 human lives in Europe every year. They see the easing of Euro 7 as bad news for human health and the environment and blame mainly the liberals, who decided the majority in the parliamentary committee.
2023-10-12 16:50:02
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