Six Nations Formally Ask For The European 2035 Regulations Be Relaxed.

A year, like your age, is just a number, but ‘2026’ sounds and is actually much closer to 2035 than 2025 was. Perhaps that’s why European leaders are panicking now, although it’s more likely that it has something to do with the fact that the European Commission is going to revise its CO₂ reduction plans for passenger cars early. Six countries are therefore begging Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to abandon the complete ban on the sale of new, non-electric passenger cars after 2035.

The European umbrella news agency ENR reports that Donald Tusk of Poland, Viktor Orban of Hungary, Robert Fico of Slovakia, Giorgia Meloni of Italy, Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic, and Rosen Zelazkow of Bulgaria have all signed a letter that essentially boils down to this. The letter reportedly points to the deteriorating competitive position of European car manufacturers. The government leaders also stated that “there is no silver bullet” for Europe’s desire to completely green its vehicle fleet. The signatory member states, therefore, argue that it would be better to relax the rules and allow alternatives such as plug-in hybrids and EVs with range extenders after 2035.

Poland is more or less a newcomer to the list, as we already reported objections from the other five in 2022. Criticism of the 2035 regulations, however, is certainly not limited to these six “obstructionists”: concerns are also being raised in Germany, while even the Dutch House of Representatives has indicated it is not a fan of the impending sales ban.

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