Status: 03/02/2023 03:15
After FDP Transport Minister Wissing questioned the planned end of the combustion engine, Finance Minister Lindner has now also confirmed the no. The Greens are demanding a power word from Chancellor Scholz.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner reiterated the FDP’s no to an EU-wide end to new registrations of cars with combustion engines from 2035. “It is our aim that new cars with combustion engines are still registered in the Germany after 2035,” the FDP leader told newspapers from the Funke media group.
However, newly registered combustion vehicles would remain an exception after 2035 and would have to be operated on environmentally friendly fuel. However, this technology will continue to play an important role worldwide, “the technological know-how must therefore be preserved in an exporting country like Germany”.
Unfortunately, the EU Commission has not taken any steps to seriously examine the exceptions for combustion engines that run only on green fuel in its ban plans, Lindner criticized. “It is also unlikely that the Commission will do in the coming days what it has not done for months.” According to Lindner, it was left open how the FDP would react to this in the vote.
FDP: Combustion engines with e-fuel should remain
Lindner’s party colleague, Federal Defense Minister Volker Wissing, has already threatened to veto the EU’s plans. It calls for combustion engines that can be operated on so-called e-fuels to be exempt from the ban.
Electronic fuels are produced using electricity. If it comes from renewable sources, the vehicle can theoretically be operated in a climate-neutral manner. However, the technology is considered expensive and inefficient.
Coalition of traffic lights under pressure to act
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens), on the other hand, insisted on Wednesday that Germany finally approve the EU plans that had already been agreed. His party colleague Anton Hofreiter demanded a power word from Chancellor Olaf Scholz against Wissing. “I also hope that the chancellery will do everything in its power to ensure that Germany does not lock down Brussels in the interests of jobs and climate protection,” the president of the Bundestag European Committee told the “Tagesspiegel”.
If the coalition fails to reach an agreement, Germany will have to abstain from voting on the EU, which would amount to a stalemate. The European Parliament, the EU Commission and member states had already agreed last year to phase out combustion engines for passenger cars from 2035.