Meloni and 5 leaders to the EU: 'Open up to hybrid cars and biofuel'

"The EU should abandon, once and for all, the ideological dogmatism that has brought entire production sectors to their knees, without bringing tangible benefits in terms of global emissions. It is essential to fully apply the principle of technological neutrality'.

This was written by Giorgia Meloni and the leaders of Poland,Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Hungary in a letter to the EU leaders, seen by Ansa. In the text, with regard to the regulation on stopping CO2 emissions from cars, they call for hybrids to be maintained even after 2035 and for biofuels to be recognised as zero-emission fuels.

The letter signed by the President of the Council, Donald Tusk, Viktor Orban, Petr Fiala, Robert Fico and Rossen Jeliazkov comes as the Commission is finalising the revision of the regulation on stopping C02-emitting cars from 2035.

The revision is expected in the next few days, although the initially planned date of 10 December may be postponed. "In our view, in addition to the future revision of the Ets, the Cbam, the Co2 standards for heavy duty vehicles and the recent proposal for Ets2, it is imperative that the forthcoming revision of the regulation 2019/631 setting the standards for new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles confirms also after 2035, the role of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and fuel cell technology and introduce the recognition of electric vehicles with range extender (Erv), as well as other future technologies that could contribute to the emission reduction target. 'In particular, the proposal should recognise the role of zero-emission, low-carbon and renewable fuels in the decarbonisation of transport, including road transport, by also classifying biofuels (renewable fuels) as "zero-emission fuels", as provided for in recital 11 of Regulation 2023/851, even before 2035,' the six leaders write in the missive, addressed to the Commission presidency, European Council president Antonio Costa, the Danish presidency and Eurochamber president Roberta Metsola.

"Regarding the heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) Co2 emission standards, we consider it appropriate to reflect on a targeted adaptation of Regulation 2019/1242, in order to help heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers meet their targets and avoid any risk of penalties. Concerning the forthcoming legislative proposal on improving the environmental performance of company fleets, announced on 26 February 2025 in the Clean Industrial Deal, the introduction of further obligations or minimum quotas for zero-emission vehicles for company fleets at any level would lead to duplication of regulation and increased bureaucracy, which is contrary to the simplification objective pursued at EU level. Therefore, the Commission's proposal should mainly focus on best practices, tax incentives and support programmes and reflect a technology-neutral approach in promoting the transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles. Furthermore, limiting company fleets exclusively to zero-emission vehicles would undermine the competitiveness of companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, and introduce new economic and administrative burdens," the six leaders stress.