"Technological openness": Merz wants to overturn EU ban on combustion engines

On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took a clear stance against the de facto ban on combustion engines in the EU, which has long since been decided, and announced his intention to correct the previous government's course. "It is fundamentally wrong for the state to unilaterally prescribe technologies," explained the CDU politician at the Ecosystem Summit organised by the Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland) in Berlin. This is why he is also campaigning in Brussels with the EU Commission and other member states for a different course: it is appropriate to set CO₂ reduction targets, but not concrete solutions. He also wants to address this at the EU summit in Copenhagen next week.

Merz is thus clearly in favour of technological openness and criticises the one-sided focus on electromobility. He is in favor of overturning the de facto ban on new cars with combustion engines in the EU from 2035 or at least making it much more open. He emphasised the need to leave it up to the industry to choose the best instruments and not to let politics lead to a technological dead end.

With this announcement, the Chancellor is charting a clearer course. At the opening of the IAA Mobility in Munich at the beginning of September, Merz was still beating around the bush. For example, he emphasised that Germany was fundamentally committed to the switch to e-mobility. At the same time, however, he was already calling for "more flexibility" and smart, reliable European regulation in line with the industry's wishes. The 69-year-old emphasised that politicians should not jeopardize the automotive industry by "narrowing it down to a single solution". At the same time, Bavaria's Minister President Markus Söder (CSU) explicitly called for the false ban on combustion engines to be abolished.

Ongoing debate in Germany and Brussels

Merz's position is considered a signal to take action against established EU decisions. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag and the European People's Party (EPP) have long been calling for a backward roll. Olaf Lies from Lower Saxony recently became the first SPD Minister President to speak out in favour of a general ban on combustion engines in the EU. Instead, according to him, vehicles with combustion engines – especially plug-in hybrids and cars with range extenders – should continue to be allowed if they contribute to achieving climate targets.

In mid-September, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued the vague motto, "we will combine decarbonization and technological neutrality." She hinted that she wanted to have the planned de facto phase-out of combustion engines reviewed earlier than planned. Consultants, on the other hand, emphasise that the "inertia" of the emission-intensive system of combustion engines and fossil fuels that has been established for decades can only be overcome if the government toolbox also includes technology-specific instruments.

To date, EU regulations stipulate that the fleet limit value will be zero from 2035. Car manufacturers are free to decide how they achieve this target. In principle, therefore, there is already technological openness. However, it is also clear that decarbonisation cannot be achieved by burning oil. The only foreseeable options are hydrogen-powered fuel cells, synthetic fuels (e-fuels) produced using a great deal of energy or battery-powered electric drives, which are often considered technologically superior.

Competitiveness and digital sovereignty

"We are no longer really competitive in many sectors," Merz also admitted at the economic forum. "This applies to the chemical industry, mechanical engineering, plant engineering, the automotive industry, and the steel industry." The main reasons for this are high production costs, for example, due to energy prices, and high employee absenteeism. And yet, he said, the Black-Red coalition had already decided to provide significant relief.

At the same time, the Chancellor once again spoke out in favor of digital sovereignty: he wanted us in Europe to "become more independent, more sovereign, to develop some of our strengths ourselves". Germany and other EU countries are too dependent on software and online services, particularly from the USA.

(atr)