Combustion engines from 2035: Wissing causes irritation in Brussels

At the EU in Brussels everything seems to be clear as far as the law for a combustion engine from 2035 is concerned. However, the threat made by Federal Transport Minister Wissing in a German tabloid newspaper caused astonishment.

Political statements, even if they come from a very high-ranking body in the government apparatus of an EU member state, are at least not officially commented on in Brussels – certainly not by the Commission. Instead, it is better to clarify what it is actually about. And that’s how commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker did it. In the room was the advance of Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing from the FDP, who had campaigned via the “Bild” newspaper for the continued existence of the internal combustion engine as a car drive – even beyond the year 2035.

In the EU, the decision was actually made long ago that from then on this type of drive should be over in Europe, at least as far as new cars are concerned. After all, the EU wants to become climate-neutral by 2050 – and that’s exactly what it’s all about, said the Commission spokesman: “Let me make it clear once again that the conversion of the vehicle fleet in Europe to zero CO2 technology is absolutely necessary so that we can achieve our climate goals achieve. And our CO2 standards are a crucial tool for this.”

So for the Commission there is no doubt about the decision to phase out combustion engines. In fact, both the Commission itself and all 27 member states and the European Parliament had agreed on this step. And that was already in autumn of last year, in the so-called trilogue negotiations, which always take place in Brussels when the EU wants to introduce new laws. It was agreed that Germany had not signaled any resistance either.

No understanding of Wissing’s statements

The SPD European Parliamentarian Timo Wölken therefore has no understanding that Federal Transport Minister Wissing is now – much later and only shortly before the final vote on March 7th – threatening with a German no for this decision and for a yes to the use of climate-neutral synthetics fuels, so that combustion engines have a future. Because even if the approval of the member states is actually still pending: After the successfully concluded trilogue negotiations, this is almost an automatism in the EU, says Wölken, and Volker Wissing is also aware of this.

“Of course he knows that the final approval is actually a mere formality, because the substantive negotiations have taken place in the past few months,” explains Wölken. Neither in the Council nor in Parliament was there a majority for synthetic fuels.

“Volker Wissing’s veto threat is only intended to distract”

For the CDU MEP Jens Gieseke, there is no question what Volker Wissing and the FDP are actually about: They apparently did not want to be to blame for the ban on the internal combustion engine. The Union has always been in favor of synthetic fuel in order to make combustion engines climate-neutral and sustainable. The FDP also wanted that, but never really made a strong commitment to it in the traffic light coalition.

“Volker Wissing’s veto threat is only intended to distract from the fact that the FDP was ripped off by its traffic light partners when it came to the ban on combustion engines: the FDP had already de facto decided on the ban on combustion engines with the traffic light coalition agreement,” he says. If you want to assert political positions, get involved in legislation at an early stage, not afterwards. “This statement by the Federal Minister of Transport is a smokescreen.”

Does Wissing rely on a certain passage?

So it is also clear for the CDU and CSU in the European Parliament: the end of combustion engines in new cars is a matter that has been decided in the EU, and nothing can be changed about that now. However, the German Minister of Transport seems to be relying on a passage in the European legal text after the Commission is supposed to check again whether combustion engines still have a chance.

This passage actually exists, says SPD MP Wölken. It’s about combustion engines, “but not for cars and light commercial vehicles, but for special vehicles such as ambulances or fire engines.” So you have to read the text carefully.

The Commission also confirmed this passage again today in Brussels. But that doesn’t mean at all, it was said, that there should actually be combustion engines in such new vehicles from 2035 onwards. Rather, one will decide that in due course and then make a proposal. However, that is entirely in the hands of the Commission itself.

In Brussels, nobody really expects that Germany wants to stop the end of the combustion engine now. That wouldn’t help either. Because a no from Berlin alone would not be enough. It would need a qualified majority among the 27 member states – from at least 15 countries comprising at least 65 percent of the population.