The ambassadors of its 27 countries European Union ethey died the abolition of heat engines in new cars from 2035, as well Germany lifted the veto in exchange for the introduction of an exemption for synthetic fuels to be produced in the future.

The text provides that new cars will emit zero CO2which de facto bans cars with gasoline engines, announced the Swedish presidency of the European Union.

The text will be on the agenda of tomorrow’s meeting of energy ministers for its official approval, the presidency clarified.

This regulatory framework is a pillar of the European plan to combat climate change and the goal of carbon neutrality in 2050.

The Berlin veto

Berlin surprised European partners in early March by blocking a last-minute regulation that would have zeroed out CO2 emissions from new cars by forcing de facto 100% electric engines from the middle of the next decade.

The text was the subject of an agreement between the member states and the negotiators of the European Parliament, with the “green light” of Germany, and was approved in mid-February by the plenary session of the European Parliament.

To justify the shift, which is extremely rare at this stage of the process, Germany asked the Commission to present a proposal that would pave the way for cars to run on synthetic fuels.

This technology, which is still in the development stage, consists of producing fuel from CO2 emitted by industrial activities. The technology is supported by German and Italian car manufacturers and allows the use of thermal engines to be extended beyond 2035.

The European Commission has been negotiating ways out of the crisis in recent weeks with Germany, which has called for a tougher commitment on synthetic fuels, which were mentioned in the original text, but in a way that was not considered binding.

The European Commission and Germany announced on Saturday that they had reached an agreement to lift the block on the EU’s car CO2 emissions plan, easing a ban on combustion engines after 2035.

“We reached an agreement with Germany pabout the future use of synthetic fuels in cars”, the European Environment Commissioner announced today Frans Timmermans on Twitter.

“Going forward, we will work towards adopting the regulatory framework on car CO2 rules as soon as possible”he added.

Questionable technology

“Cars equipped with a combustion engine can be put on the market after 2035 if they use CO2-neutral fuels,” German Transport Minister Volker Vissing said on Twitter.

Synthetic fuel technology is contested by environmental non-governmental organizations who consider it costly, energy-intensive and polluting.

Many car experts doubt that it will be able to impose itself on the market against electric cars, whose prices will decrease in the coming years.

The move to veto the Commission’s text from Berlin was an initiative of the liberals of the FDP.

This small party, which according to opinion polls gathers about 5% of the voting intention, has lost five consecutive local election contests. He hopes to counter the Environmentalists as a political force by taking on the role of defender of the car by betting on the negative attitude of a large part of the German population towards the ban on heat engines.

To ensure the unity of his governing coalition, Chancellor Olaf Solz preferred to support the FDP’s position.

The industry for its part, taking the European regulatory framework for the car for granted, has invested massively in electric cars.

Even if they are established, synthetic fuels, which currently do not exist, “they will not play a significant role in the medium term in the share occupied by private cars”, said Markus Nussmann, the head of Audi (Volkswagen Group), to Spiegel magazine.