A last-minute agreement in Berlin has sealed the end of the idea to ban internal combustion engines in the EU, an outcome inconceivable until now.
It was the crown jewel of a climate agenda that defined Ursula von der Leyen’s first term as president of the Commission. However, just over two years after its adoption, the EU’s ban on traditional cars from 2035 has been „executed,” writes Politico.
Who are the "assassins"? Germany, the country with the largest auto industry in Europe, and the center-right European People's Party (EPP), the pro-business political family to which von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz belong.
Their pressure forced the Commission's hand after Berlin went from a possible abstention to outright undermining the ban on internal combustion engines - all within just three weeks.
Free to pollute
According to the new proposal, the requirement for 100% of new cars to be zero-emission by 2035 would be replaced by a 90% emissions reduction target for all cars sold after that year.
This means that some plug-in hybrid vehicles (which have both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor) or even vehicles with thermal engines will be able to be manufactured after 2035, as long as they are offset by other measures in factories, such as using "green" steel made in the EU and alternative fuels derived from non-fossil sources.
Germany and the EPP argued that the total ban limited the ability of European auto manufacturers to compete in this sector, as well as the freedom of choice for consumers.
"Six months ago, it was inconceivable for the Commission to make this U-turn," said a EU diplomat. "The pure electric ideology has come to an end," he added.
After winning the majority of seats in the European Parliament in 2024, the EPP President Manfred Weber, also from Germany, declared that overturning the ban would be his top priority. And on Tuesday, he promptly claimed victory, calling the amended legislation that reduces the emissions target for 2035 from 100% to 90% a "massive reduction."
"We can only win the fight against climate change if we combine it with a economically reasonable approach. Internal combustion engines can be sold in the European Union after 2035," he said at a press conference before the announcement.
Cars account for 16% of EU emissions, and that is why the initial requirement set by the European Commission was an important - and certainly the most visible - pillar of the EU's climate policy to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
According to the Commission's calculations, reducing the emissions target to 90% means that 25% of cars sold after 2035 will emit CO2, equivalent to the emissions of approximately 2.6 million vehicles.
A breath of oxygen and CO2 for European auto manufacturers
The new objectives are part of a broader package targeting the auto sector, presented on Tuesday by the European Commission.
This includes a new regulation requiring company cars to become electric or zero-emission, a mechanism to improve battery production to increase supply, and a new initiative for small cars.
The combined measures are intended to boost European auto manufacturers, who are facing a trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump, fierce competition from Chinese rivals with high-tech electric vehicles, and stagnant sales across the entire bloc.
German Chancellor Merz, who also campaigned for the ban's repeal in the election he won, took a more measured tone, calling the Commission's strategy change "a clear signal" that this is the right way to "better align climate goals, market realities, companies, and jobs."
For several months, Merz had tried to persuade the governing coalition - which includes the conservative Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats - to adopt a common position on the ban. While the CDU strongly advocated for its repeal, the SPD wanted to maintain it.
In the end, the conservatives prevailed, calling for regulation that strikes a balance between industrial competitiveness and climate protection.
And yet, no one is satisfied
The Commission's change in target has not brought peace, however. While the Commission calls it a balanced approach that still paves the way for electric vehicles to dominate the roads over CO2-emitting ones, groups across the political spectrum call it a disaster - but for different reasons.
The left says that lifting the ban will deal a blow to the European environmental program but will fail to provide European auto manufacturers with a competitive boost.
"The real problem facing the European auto industry is not a law that will take effect in 10 years. It is the collapse of European car sales in China and the constant decline in global markets for internal combustion engines. Continuing to bet on internal combustion engines is not an industrial strategy - it is a failure," said German MEP Michael Bloss, a member of the Greens group.
On the other hand, for the far right, the measures do not go far enough. MEP Volker Schnurrbusch, a member of the German opposition party AfD, said in a debate in Parliament that the real problem is that the Commission is "dictating" what form of transport consumers use.
Meanwhile, the European Conservatives and Reformists have called the amended law a missed opportunity that "fails to offer bold actions" needed to make the sector more competitive globally.
Differing opinions on the reversal of the ban will continue to be heard in negotiations between EU institutions, especially within the Council, where Cyprus - a small country without an auto sector - will be the arbiter, as it will assume the rotating presidency in the first half of 2026, as reported by the publication.
France is already gearing up for battle
"Negotiations are just beginning," officials in Paris said, adding that allowing the sale of internal combustion engine cars after 2035 is a red line for France.
In fact, behind the scenes, the auto sector will continue to lobby to further undermine the regulation. "The measures announced to promote greening of company fleets risk contradicting the necessary market-based and incentive-based approach," said the EU auto lobby organization ACEA in a statement.
In fact, that is exactly what the Commission hopes for. Several industry officials told Politico that the corporate fleet measure is intended to act as support for lifting the ban on internal combustion engines. Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra even said it in his speech on Tuesday evening before the European Parliament. "Corporate fleets will guide the clean transition and help auto manufacturers achieve their goals," he said.
The proposal now needs to be debated by member states and in the European Parliament.
T.D.