Invited to the meeting are Germany, Italy, France, Spain,
Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and
Finland, an EU official told Reuters. It is not yet confirmed
which ministers will attend.
The meeting was initially planned to discuss a proposed EU law
to tighten limits for vehicle emissions of health-harming
pollutants like nitrogen oxides - a policy known as Euro 7. The
Czech Republic, some other countries and industry groups have
said they want to change it, calling it unrealistic and
questioning the environmental benefits the law would bring.
But some EU officials said they now expect the meeting to
discuss the countries' stance on the EU's law to end sales of
new CO2-emitting cars in 2035. The bloc's main policy to speed
up Europe's shift to electric vehicles got put on hold after
Germany declared last-minute opposition to it.
Czech transport Minister Martin Kupka said last week, after
meeting his German couterpart Volker Wissing in Berlin, that the
country wanted changes to the 2035 ban on new CO2-emitting cars.
"We will not support the limitation of combustion engines after
2035, unless there will be a clear and binding exemption for
synthetic fuels," Kupka said on Twitter.
Germany's transport ministry last week demanded reassurances
that sales be allowed of new cars with internal combustion
engines after 2035, if they run on CO2-neutral fuels.
The intervention surprised policymakers, since the European
Parliament, the Commission and EU member states already agreed
the car CO2 law last year after months of negotiations.
The policy was set to enter into force after a final vote this
week, which was cancelled after Germany's opposition and has not
yet been rescheduled.
Other opponents of the car CO2 law include Italy, Poland and a
handful of other countries whose ranks have swelled since
Europe's biggest economy signalled its opposition, EU officials
said - raising the possibility of enough support to block it.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett; additional reporting by Jason
HovetEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
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