BRUSELAS, 25 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The ministers and Industry of the European Union have agreed this Monday to request that the climate ambition be lowered with respect to the European Commission's proposal and to delay the application of the Euro 7 standard from 2025 to 2027 for cars and light vehicles and from 2027 to 2029 for trucks.

According to the text of the general orientation, many delegations considered the objectives set by the Commission "too ambitious and even unrealistic", which is why the Spanish presidency of the Council has pursued "realistic" and "balanced" goals.

This regulation seeks to reduce emissions of air pollutants from road transport, known as Euro 7, to support the industry in its transition towards 'clean' cars in 2035.

The general orientation reached by the Twenty-Seven provides the Spanish presidency of the Council with a mandate to begin negotiations with the European Parliament, which will begin as soon as the European Parliament also adopts its position on the matter.

The Council's position seeks a "balance" between "realistic" vehicle emissions requirements and additional investments for the industry, at a time when European car manufacturers are undergoing a transformation towards the production of zero-emission cars .

The general approach of the Twenty-seven thus maintains the emissions limits and test conditions that already existed in the previous standard (Euro 6) for private cars and vans, and establishes lower limits for heavy vehicles compared to the previous regulation.

Euro 7 also contains a special provision on city buses to ensure consistency with the recently proposed 2030 zero emissions target for these vehicles and sets limits for particulate emissions from brakes and tyres.