After a week-long argument about the combustion engine off, a solution should now be emerging. The federal government reportedly proposed a compromise to the EU.
The Ministry of Transport seems to give way in the dispute with Brussels over the combustion engine. This is reported by the “Spiegel”. Accordingly, the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Hartmut Höppner, submitted a compromise proposal to the EU Commission on Thursday evening in an e-mail that was available to “Spiegel”.
According to “Spiegel”, Transport Minister Volker Wissing is demanding a corresponding statement from the Commission – and in return will no longer demand a renegotiation of the so-called fleet limit values for the average CO2 emissions of all newly registered vehicles.
FDP general secretary denied
Before the EU summit in Brussels, FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai disputed an agreement between the Federal Ministry of Transport and the EU Commission on the planned end of vehicles with combustion engines. “I cannot confirm that this dispute is off the table,” said Djir-Sarai on Friday in the ZDF morning magazine. This will only be the case if the EU Commission presents a “very clear legal requirement”, according to which combustion engines with so-called e-fuels should also be in operation after 2035.
With regard to the dispute in the traffic light coalition, Djir-Sarai said that there will “always” be conflicts in the government made up of the FDP, Greens and SPD. As long as these revolved around factual issues, this was also “legitimate”. It is part of the political debate “that you have different points of view and at the end of the day these are united”.
Even after the coalition summit on Sunday, “a whole range of issues” would continue to concern the partners. In the federal government, for example, there is “no common understanding” of financial policy, the end of combustion engines or the conversion of old heating systems. It’s about “central questions”, so “an argument” is part of it.
