The EU’s biggest political group is pushing for a reversal of an upcoming ban on combustion engines to stop the “unprecedented pressure” facing Europe’s auto industry.
The conservative European People’s party, in a position paper seen by the Financial Times, said the 2035 ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines “should be reversed”. Traditional engines should continue to be allowed if they run on biofuels and other low-emission alternatives, it said.
The group that counts among its members European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also said that fines for carmakers for exceeding new emissions limits, which are due to come in from next year, should be reconsidered.