Stop petrol and diesel cars, the Meloni government: "Crazy decision"
The only exemption concerns manufacturers of luxury cars, such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati
The European Parliament's decision to ban the registration of new petrol and diesel (and hybrid) cars and vans by 2035 is controversial.
The measure was voted yesterday in Strasbourg, with 340 votes in favour, 279 against and 21 abstentions, and is part of the EU program to reduce C02 emissions, proposed as part of the "Fit for 55" maxi-package. The goal is to achieve zero emissions by 2050.
The provision outlines a roadmap, with an intermediate target of 2030, the deadline by which manufacturers will have to reduce the emissions of new cars placed on the market by 55% and those of new commercial vehicles by 50%. At the moment , the only exemption – for just one year – regards luxury car manufacturers from the Motor Valley, such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati .
For the Meloni government, the EU decision is "crazy and disconcerting" , due to the repercussions it could have on the Italian industrial fabric and on jobs.
From the benches in Strasbourg, all the MEPs of Fratelli d'Italia, Forza Italia and Lega voted against the text. Even if, pointed out on the opposite side the head of delegation of the Democratic Party, Brando Benifei, "the representatives of the Italian government at Coreper (at the table of EU ambassadors) had given the green light to the text of the agreement".
Brussels was attacked by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who claims that the measure goes "against Italian and European industries and workers, to the full advantage of Chinese interests" .
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is also critical: "I am a great supporter of the electric car but ambitious goals must be achieved seriously, not just on paper". The former president of the European Parliament has already announced that «Italy will put forward a counter-proposal: limit the reduction to 90%, giving industries the possibility to adapt. The fight against climate change must be done but it requires achievable objectives".
Meanwhile, the Minister for the Environment Gilberto Pichetto is outlining a possible Italian "exit strategy" with two guidelines to follow: "a greater gradualness in stopping the marketing of vehicles" and "pushing to the maximum the production of biofuels, which represent a clean supply chain which would make it possible to maintain the current layout of the automotive production system».
(Unioneonline/F)
