WARSAW (Reuters) – Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Slovakia joined the Czech Republic and Italy in seeking to prevent automakers from facing heavy penalties starting next year, a document published on the Austrian parliament website showed.
Starting in 2025, the EU will lower a cap on average emissions from new vehicle sales to 94 grams/km from 116 g/km. Exceeding that cap could lead to fines of 95 euros ($103) per excess carbon dioxide g/km multiplied by the number of vehicles sold.
“The current targets for passenger cars, set to be enforced by 2025, risk imposing fines on manufacturers who are unable to meet these stringent requirements due to the slowing uptake of Battery Electric Vehicles,” the joint proposal reads.
“Such penalties would severely limit the ability of industry to reinvest in innovation and development, thus harming Europe’s competitiveness on the global stage.”
Some of those countries are also pushing back against the bloc’s so-called Green Deal to tackle climate change and curb pollution. The tougher limits next year are a step towards plans to ban sales of new combustion-engine vehicles in 2035.
The auto industry is an important part of central European economies, contributing around 9% of GDP in the Czech Republic.
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Rod Nickel)
