The decision about the general ban of new fossil fuel-powered vehicles from 2035 was- against expectations- not accepted on Thursday. The German Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) finally demanded more concessions from the side of the EU-Commission.
At the sitting of the EU Council the EU Members were supposed to confirm the final decision about the general ban of new fossil fuel cars from 2035. The planned voting was meant to be the last step in the process of adopting the law and was expected to be a pure formality.
The basis for postponing the voting is the missing approval of Germany. The German Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) asked for a proposal of the EU-Commission for the implementation of climate neutral syntetic fuels ( E-fuels ) in fuel vehicles after 2035.
Besides Germany also countries as Italy, Poland and Bulgaria did not want to support the plans of the EU. For the adoption of a decision at the Council a qualified majority is necessary. This means the approval 15 from 27 members, which together represent minimum 65 percent of the total EU population. Without Germany however it is not possible to reach this limit.
