The Italian environment minister has said the German-French proposal for a compromise solution to CO2 emissions limits for new cars in Europe is “unacceptable”.
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Stefania Prestgiacomo told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper she was concerned that Fiat would be disadvantaged by the agreement. The company had expected to be in a strong position because of its focus on small cars with relatively low CO2 emissions.
The European Commission has proposed binding limits on average CO2 emissions from new cars of 120g/km by 2012.
Germany and France have been in dispute over how the emissions targets should be applied to different vehicle types. Each country has been concerned that its domestic industry could be disadvantaged, depending on how the rules are constructed.
The heads of the two governments reached a compromise deal earlier this month by agreeing a ‘phasing-in’ period for broader fleets.
Germany had been arguing that the 2012 deadline was too soon as most cars that will be sold then have already been designed and developed and were hoping for an extension to 2015. The ‘phasing-in’ period is believed to effectively provide that for German car manufacturers.
But the fact that Italy is not behind the deal is significant. Italy is the only other major EU member with the interests of a major domestic manufacturer to protect.
The next major meeting on this issue is the European Council of environment ministers at the beginning of July. France takes over the presidency of the European Union in July.
