“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” can now be misattributed to the internal combustion engine as well as Mark Twain after the events of last week, following a particularly underhanded u-turn by Berlin and Rome.
Last year, the European Parliament and Council of the 27 EU member countries agreed on new engine standards that will gradually decarbonise the car sector and eventually lead to a de facto ban on petrol and diesel engines in 2035.
It took a lot of negotiating but the deal was eventually struck behind closed doors, aided in no small part by several of the industry’s biggest players like Volkwagen, Volvo and General Motors, among others, saying that they are already planning to stop making new ICEs.
In Brussels, new rules are generally set using the following process. The European Commission proposes the new law, then the Parliament and member countries hammer out their own positions on that new regulation or directive.
Generally...