MEPs debate and vote on new EU rules to reduce emissions from passenger cars, vans, buses, trucks and trailers and to set battery durability requirements for them. The regulation governing the type-approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles (Euro 7) aims to support the EU’s transition towards clean mobility and improve air quality. Opening statements by Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, Massimiliano SALINI (EPP, IT), ITRE Committee, Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Antonius MANDERS (EPP, NL), IMCO Committee, and Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), TRAN Committee. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

emissions of vehicles (T)

SALINI, Massimiliano (EPP, IT)

MARINESCU, Marian-Jean (EPP, RO)

FERREIRA, Elisa (S&D, PT, EC)

VONDRA, Alexandr (ECR, CZ)

MANDERS, Antonius (EPP, NL)

Type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to their emissions and battery durability (Euro 7): Opening statement by Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, and Elisa FERREIRA, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/75316834/1709901674876_I254220Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, today's vote is an important milestone for the automotive sector, an industry that has always stood as a pillar of innovation and economic prosperity in Europe. Almost 17 months ago, the Commission published its original proposal. In short, it sets the common standard for approving motor vehicles, engines and related systems, components and technical units, But unlike the earlier euro regulations, covers light-duty cars, vans, and heavy duty trucks and buses, all within a single legal framework.

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, Its purpose was to streamline the rules governing vehicle emissions, tighten requirements on the tailpipe pollutants and, for the first time, add rules that will also affect electric cars. For example, on the brake abrasion and on tyres that release microplastics, as well as requirements concerning battery durability.

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, I ordinarily welcome efforts to improve the legislation. However, as a parliamentary rapporteur, I strongly oppose the Commission initial draft. My main concern was the potential impact both on industry and customers. The Commission proposed changes, particularly to the vechile testing requirements, would increase manufacturing cost and raise prices for small budget cars, which are essential for working people and rural communities.

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, Higher prices would result in the market withdrawal of specific models and potentially this could lead to the people postponing new purchases or only buying second car vechiles, and would be disastrous for everyday consumers and the automotive sector. It would also, paradoxically, redirect investment away from electrification.

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, For that reason, it was crucial to find a good balance between the environment, the growth, and manufacturing and social interest. This was largely achieved with the adoption of Parliament first reading mandate, following a constructive and fruitful negotiations with the EPP, Renew, ECR and ID groups.

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, Thankfully, the Council shared my concern and adopted a negotiating position close to that of Parliament. An agreement was reached at the end of Spanish presidency. A deal that, in my opinion, represents a fair, reasonable compromise. For passenger cars and vans, it maintains the euro 6 exhaust limits. For buses and trucks, it introduced the stricter emission limits, a key pollutant affecting air quality in towns and cities.

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, Crucial, however, the parliament and council recognise excessive cost that would be imposed on the sector if the existing testing conditions for vehicles were revised, as originally specified by the Commission. Therefore, the testing parameter for light and heavy-duty vehicles are unchanged from the euro 6. The deal sets brake particle emission limits for cars and vans, and introduces the tyre abrasion limits in line with international adopted standards by the UN.

SOUNDBITE (English), Alexandr VONDRA (ECR, CZ), Rapporteur, It also sets the minimum performance requirement for batteries. The deal contains stricter lifetime standards up to 200,000 km/ten years, guaranteeing the better result, return of investment. And importantly, it also includes a implementation plan providing the sector with credible and cost effective lead times. I believe that the inter-institutional agreement we have reached is a strength of common sense over the entrenched ideology, and I urge you, my fellow parliamentarians, to support this deal. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Massimiliano SALINI (EPP, IT) on behalf of ITRE Committee, Thank you very much. This is a very complex text. The negotiators have been struggling with a very uphill task, but we have actually got a satisfactory agreement now, given the fact that we've agreed, for example, on an appropriate time frame for the car industry. It has longer to adjust than it was initially suggested, and therefore it's not going to have to cut its investment in innovation in order to comply.

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Massimiliano SALINI (EPP, IT) on behalf of ITRE Committee, The euro 6 standards still apply. For the moment, it's a pity that there isn't more recognition for carbon neutrality, because I think that technological neutrality could have gone hand in hand with that, and it is perfectly possible to have hybrid, electrical, fuel combustion, co-existing over a certain period, but the focus now seems to be sustainability or being tantamount to one single solution, which has been imposed from on high. And that's not acceptable.

SOUNDBITE (English), Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Dear president, dear Rapporteur Alexandr Vondra, Honourable Members of the European Parliament, I am intervening in the name of my colleague, Thierry Breton, and I want to share with you that the adoption of the EURO 7 regulation by Parliament and Council in this cycle is crucial, crucial to reduce pollution from motor vehicles and to give industry planning certainty for their investments. The automotive industry is in a huge transformation process towards zero emissions vehicles, uncertainty on emission rules would have affected investments.

SOUNDBITE (English), Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Our cities and our citizens, have been waiting for updated rules to reduce air pollution from road transport, given the strong impact on health. Regardless of the different positions of political groups on certain elements of the regulation, there is a broad consensus on the objectives EURO 7 needs to contribute substantially to improving air quality while maintaining the affordability of vehicles and the international competitiveness of our industry. Therefore, the Commission is pleased that Parliament and Council found a provisional agreement at the end of last year. While the agreement is less ambitious than the Commission proposal regarding the exhaust emissions of cars and vans, it will overall provide a robust framework for the future.

SOUNDBITE (English), Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, EURO 7 will notably reduce significantly the exhaust emissions of lorries and coaches, for which the potential for further air pollutant emission reductions is particularly high. European Union has long been a global leader with regards to emission standards, providing our automotive industry with an important advantage on the global market. With the rapid shift towards electrification, non exhaust emissions from brake and tyre abrasion will soon represent the lion's share of road particle emissions in Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, EURO 7 contains futureproof rules for emissions from brakes and tires that will remain valid for zero emission vehicles. The introduction of tyre abrasion limits is also essential to reduce microplastics in the environment. EURO 7 also introduces minimum performance requirements for battery durability, and this is important for the confidence of consumers in electric vehicles. I welcome the strong support from the Parliament on all these future proof elements of the EURO 7 regulation, as well as on the use of onboard sensor, all the technology of the onboard sensor in order to improve compliance of vehicles over their full lifetime.

SOUNDBITE (English), Elisa FERREIRA, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, The agreement gives us a tight deadline of 12 months to deliver all the relevant implementing acts for cars and vents. I can assure you that Commission services are fully mobilised to deliver on these secondary legislation on time. Once again, I would like to thank the Parliament for your commitment and constructive approach during the codecision process. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (Dutch), Antonius MANDERS (EPP, NL), on behalf of IMCO Committee, Thank you, Mr. President. In IMCO Committee, we improve the quality in our opinion. But, we do think that exhaust should be measured over the whole life cycle of a car. So, when you talk about the electric cars, production of batteries and the technology, and also the recycling of batteries, need to be taken into account. We don't want to impose one particular technology, but we need to take all of these things into account. So, we are calling for a ban on combustion engines. Wee want the ban as 2035 to be reviewed, because the combustion engine is one of the most successful inventions of Europe. And we still want to give it an opportunity to show that it can be as clean as possible. Give it an opportunity to meet the standards that we are laying down, rather than banning outright. American research has shown that hybrid cars can be cleaner than the average electric car. So we want to give it a fair opportunity in that case to those cars.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO) on behalf of TRAN Committee, Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This is a very important proposal from the Commission because it will have a great impact on the industry and on European society. The wrong approach in this proposal would have led to very negative consequences. First and foremost, for the transport industry and also for the industry in general, because transport is important for anybody, for everybody. So I believe the result of the negotiations is very well, it's very balanced. It's very good. It's advantageous for everybody. The administration has time to prepare, and I hope the citizens will be able to buy a car. It doesn't lead to much greater expensive for the industry and the emissions will decrease. So, thank you very much to the Rapporteur for taking the TRAN opinion into account in the final report. Thank you.