The end of the combustion engine, including an exception for e-fuels, is officially sealed – but “pink hydrogen” is causing a row between EU member states.
In the end, only Poland was against: with 23 votes in favor and three abstentions (Italy, Bulgaria, Romania), the energy ministers decided on Tuesday that from 2035 new vehicles with diesel engines will not be able to be registered in the EU. conventional combustion. However, this switch to the electric motor has the well-known exception rule, which dates back to resistance led by Germany, that synthetically produced fuels (so-called e-fuels) will also be able to power cars with combustion engines from 2035. In the autumn, the European Commission will present a proposal for a mandatory definition of engines that run only on “CO₂ neutral fuels”.
In another field of climate policy, however, an existing front has hardened. Eleven Member States, led by Austria (plus Belgium, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) are opposed to hydrogen produced with electricity from nuclear power plants being counted as an energy source renewable. France, which sees the hydrogen boom as a golden opportunity for its nuclear industry to open up new markets, is pushing for a green coup for “pink hydrogen”. France is flanked by nine member states: Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands attended their coordination meeting on Tuesday as observers. Neither camp was able to assert itself at the Council meeting. On Wednesday, EU ambassadors will try to resolve the dispute – on the same fronts.