The ministers of the European Union responsible for competitiveness have approved the new emission standard Euro 7. This was announced on the X social network by Czech Minister of Transport Martin Kupka, who described the negotiated compromise as a great success.
The emission limits for cars and trucks are no longer as strict as in the original proposal, and a longer time frame for the introduction of the standard was also negotiated. The Czech Republic, which made great efforts to ease the limits, was represented at the meeting in Brussels together with Kupka by Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela.
The European Commission wanted to further reduce car emissions using the Euro 7 standard. In the end, however, a compromise document appeared on the table, which was acceptable to the Czech Republic, originally a major critic of the proposal. The regulation was also approved by other countries that initially opposed it. Car companies should therefore reduce the emissions of new cars less and at the same time they should have a longer time to prepare changes.
Eight countries opposed the earlier and, according to representatives of the car industry, unrealistic version of Euro 7. The Czech Republic led a coalition of like-minded states, which also included France, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. However, these countries were finally satisfied with the last draft of the standard, which the Spanish Presidency came up with last week on Friday.
Great success 🇨🇿 negotiations in 🇪🇺. The EURO 7 emission standard will be significantly more acceptable than originally proposed @EU_Commission. We voted for it with the ministers at the Council for Competitiveness. The maximum emissions from cars will remain at the EURO 6 level, and the deadlines for entry into force will also be extended. pic.twitter.com/9pkDCesW26
— Martin Kupka (@makupka) September 25, 2023
“The current form of the compromise brought by Spain means a really significant shift towards making this standard effective and able to continue to ensure the competitiveness of the European automotive industry and the availability of mobility for the entire public in the EU,” Kupka said before the meeting.
“The key changes affect both the return to the Euro 6 standard in the case of exhaust emissions, but at the same time the conditions for testing have also changed significantly and simplified for trucks,” he added.
According to him, the original form of the Euro 7 standard would mean “a serious threat to the automotive industry and a serious threat to the availability of especially the smallest passenger vehicles”.
