EU hatching secret electric car plan
The regulation is seen as a backdoor to accelerate the green transition and enforce the bloc's combustion-engine ban, which mandates a 100% cut in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035, effectively outlawing gasoline and diesel vehicles. Car manufacturers have criticized the plan as too costly and requiring full conversions of production lines.
The new rules will reportedly apply to all rental companies and businesses with car fleets across the bloc. If approved, such entities will only be allowed to purchase EVs, thus impacting around 60% of new car sales, Bild said. A Commission spokesperson confirmed that work is underway on such a plan but declined to provide details.
Lawmakers warn the measure could harm Europe's rental sector: companies such as Enterprise, Hertz, and Sixt already scaled back EV fleets in 2024, citing poor charging infrastructure, high repair costs, and weak resale values. EU MP Markus Ferber urged the Commission to drop the plan, calling it 'unrealistic.' Sixt CEO Nico Gabriel agreed, warning that few vacationers rent EVs and that mandatory electrification would drive up rental costs due to charging infrastructure needs.
Critics say Europe's green push is straining its auto industry and wider economy. Carmakers face penalties if they fail to boost EV sales and must spend heavily on new production lines, batteries, chargers, and grid upgrades. The transition also threatens jobs: automaker Stellantis warned this month it could close plants if it fails to meet EU deadlines. Former EU commissioner Thierry Breton warned the shift to EVs could cost 600,000 jobs.
Manufacturers have called for subsidies and state support to avoid losing more market share to rivals in China and the US.
Other sectors face similar problems, especially as Brussels phases out Russian energy, imports of which have dropped sharply in light of Ukraine-related sanctions. Russian officials have warned that rejecting its supplies will force the EU to rely on costlier alternatives or rerouted Russian energy via intermediaries.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
3 hours ago
- Russia Today
Israeli ambassador to leave Russia early
Israeli Ambassador to Russia Simona Halperin will leave her post early due to a new appointment, Russian media reported on Monday, citing embassy representatives. Her stay is expected to end this autumn. In a statement on X earlier on Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Halperin's appointment as deputy director-general for Europe. The ministry did not specify whether she would be recalled from Russia immediately, but Israeli Embassy staff in Moscow told TASS she would remain until at least October. 'The ambassador will end her mission early, due to the fact that she received the position of head of the European Department at the Israeli Foreign Ministry… It is expected that Madam Ambassador will leave in October,' the representative said, adding that a replacement has not yet been named. Halperin, born in Riga in 1969, lived in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) before immigrating to Israel in 1976. She has served in the Israeli Foreign Ministry since 1993, holding posts in a number of foreign missions. She was appointed Israel's envoy to Russia in November 2024. Her tenure in Moscow began with controversy after she was summoned by the Russian Foreign Ministry for remarks made in an interview with Kommersant, in which she criticized Moscow's stance on the October 7 Hamas attacks. She condemned Russia for refusing to label Hamas a terrorist group, accusing officials of 'embracing' and 'rolling out the red carpet' for the militant group. Russia's Foreign Ministry called the remarks 'an extremely unfortunate start to a diplomatic mission.' Since then, however, her stay has been largely uneventful. In a later interview with RBK, Halperin praised the cooperation between Russia and Israel in securing the release of Hamas' hostages. Russia maintains official ties with both Israel and Palestine and promotes a balanced diplomatic stance, supporting the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. Moscow has condemned both Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel and the civilian toll due to IDF strikes in Gaza.
Russia Today
3 hours ago
- Russia Today
UK wants ‘50-day drive' to arm Ukraine
UK Defense Secretary John Healey is set to urge Ukraine's backers to launch a '50-day drive' to arm Kiev, local media have reported. The plan follows US President Donald Trump's threat to impose secondary sanctions on Russia's trading partners within 50 days if no progress is made on resolving the conflict. Healey is expected to make the appeal when he leads a virtual session of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) on Monday. The minister is also poised to back Trump's plan and pledge the UK's support to 'bolster Ukraine's immediate fight.' 'The US has started the clock on a 50-day deadline for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to agree to peace or face crippling economic sanctions… We need to step up in turn with a '50-day drive' to arm Ukraine on the battlefield and force Putin to the negotiating table,' he is expected to say. Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 50-day ceasefire deadline on Russia, warning of 'very severe' new sanctions, including 100% 'secondary tariffs' on countries buying Russian oil. He also announced new weapons deliveries to Ukraine, noting that the EU will foot the bill. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump's remarks 'will be perceived by the Ukrainian side not as a signal toward peace, but as a signal to continue the war.' Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed that Moscow will not cave in to any ultimatums but is still open to talks. While the UK has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters, Luke Pollard, the country's armed forces minister, warned last autumn of dwindling stockpiles due to years of military deliveries. Moscow has consistently denounced Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, warning they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome. It has also accused the EU and UK of impeding ongoing peace efforts. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday voiced concern over what he described as declining interest among the British public in the Ukraine conflict. He added that the current government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer is 'distracted' by 'a lot of domestic issues.'
Russia Today
3 hours ago
- Russia Today
X blasts French criminal probe as ‘politically motivated'
Social media network X has accused the French authorities of a 'politically motivated criminal investigation,' over a probe launched against the platform for alleged algorithm manipulation and 'fraudulent data extraction.' X's Global Government Affairs team said on Monday that the investigation was instigated by Eric Bothorel, a French MP and member of President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party. The probe itself kicked off in January after Bothorel and another senior French official alleged that the company's algorithm was being used for the purposes of 'foreign interference.' X has denied all of the accusations against it. Bothorel has previously been critical of X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, claiming that the network spreads 'an enormous amount of hateful, racist, anti-LGBT+ and homophobic political content' which allegedly influences France's political discourse. According to the platform, French authorities had asked X to grant them a 'recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts' to be handed over to experts who were overtly hostile to the platform. X also protested being investigated as an 'organized gang,' a classification that allows French police to use extensive powers, including wiretapping employees' devices. The platform stressed it has refused the authorities' demands. X remains in the dark as to the specific allegations made against the platform. However, based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech. The probe echoes another high-profile case in France involving Telegram founder Pavel Durov. The Russian-born tech billionaire was arrested in the country last summer and charged with offenses linked to Telegram's handling of illegal content, including child exploitation material and narcotics trafficking. Durov has dismissed the allegations as 'baseless.' Commenting on the reports on X being in the crosshairs of the French authorities, Durov accused Paris of pursuing a 'crusade' against free speech and progress itself while warning that the probe could end up damaging the French economy.
