MEPs for the Czech Civic Democrat Party (ODS) have proposed the further weakening of environmental regulations on the car industry in the European Parliament, with the support of Patriots for Europe (PfE) and other far-right factions.
Other factions in the European Parliament apply political isolation, the so-called ‘cordon sanitaire’, to Patriots for Europe and other far-right groupings.
The regulation of the car industry was debated yesterday at a European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg. The largest faction in the parliament, the European People’s Party (EPP), considers it very difficult to find a majority to water down regulations beyond the European Commission’s proposal.
The ODS MEPs told reporters that they support the Czech proposal to extend the period for measuring emissions from one year to five years, beyond the Commission’s new suggestion for a three-year period in the new regulation. They also called for a review of environmental targets to be carried out this year and not next year, and for the deadline for the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines to be pushed back from 2035, as is currently envisaged.
According to the ODS MEPs, who are part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, it would be possible to push for further weakening of emission rules with the help of the same majority that voted for the relaxation of the Euro 7 standard, which was supported also by members of Patriots for Europe.
“We’ll just need to break the cordon sanitaire, but I think it’s crumbling gradually and won’t be here in time,” said ODS MEP Ondrej Krutilek.
ODS MEP Alexandr Vondra said the current EP is “much more realistic” than the European Commission, and so a majority can be found among MPs for further easing of regulations.
Czech MEP Ondrej Kovarik (ANO), from the PfE faction, said the changes proposed by the Commission were only partial; for example, fines for car makers would only be postponed, not waived. He argued it would be best to repeal, revoke or suspend the most problematic parts of the legislation until the acute crisis in the automotive industry has passed.
According to Kovarik, the right-wing of the European Parliament would welcome a further loosening of regulations, which could also be supported by MEPs from countries with strong automotive industries.
“I think that the cordon sanitaire is kept mainly for formal decisions such as the election of representatives of political factions to leading positions in committees or in parliament,” he told reporters. In economic issues, he added, this approach is not strictly applied.
Czech MEP Danuse Nerudova (STAN) said the Commission’s proposal includes all the main demands expressed by her EPP faction. She said she considered the Czech proposal to extend the period for measuring emissions to five years to be very borderline, telling reporters that it would be “extremely difficult to find support for it both in the Council and in the European Parliament.”
Nerudova added that the ECR is not a trustworthy partner for the EPP.
Another Czech MEP from the EPP faction, Ludek Niedermayer (TOP 09), described the Commission’s proposal as a “middle position”, and said that further loosening of rules would be criticised by car companies, which have invested heavily in meeting environmental targets.
ODS and ANO also criticised the Commission’s proposal in the parliamentary debate yesterday. “The Commission is starting to fix what it has imposed on us. Fine, but it’s not enough,” said Vondra. ANO MEP Klara Dostalova said the EU needs “a real plan that combines innovation, competitiveness and respect for economic reality”. Both Vondra and Dostalova called for technology neutrality in the Commission’s plans.
