Page 11 - EurOil Week 11 2023

EurOil POLICY EurOil

Czech government leads efforts to

weaken EURO 7 emission standard

CZECH THE Czech Minister of Transportation Martin “The norm is very draconic the way Euro-
Kupka (ODS) initiated a meeting of eight EU pean Commission has proposed it,” Vondra told
The Czech Republic is member states which, according to him, want Czech Radio. “There are absolutely draconic
pushing back against to block the EURO 7/VII law aimed at limiting timelines, the system of the monitoring of fur-
the EU’s latest standard health-harming car pollutants. ther emissions, which would effectively end the
introduction to reduce This comes shortly after surprise German-in- production of cars with CO2 in two years, which
car pollutants. itiated objections put the EU’s CO2 law on hold, would affect the low-income parts of the popu-
renewing the car industry’s lobbying to weaken lation primarily,” he added.
the EU’s efforts to phase out combustion engines Kupka also tweeted from Strasbourg his aim
by 2035. was to “talk about our objections to the draft of
“We managed to organise a meeting of eight the EURO 7 emission standard and the possi-
important [member] states which have a similar bilities of mutual cooperation in promoting
view of EURO 7 as the Czech Republic,” Kupka its change”. At a press conference in Prague, he
posted on Twitter from Strasbourg late on Mon- mentioned France and Spain among the coun-
day. “Eight states means a clear message that tries he wants to talk to over changes to EURO 7.
EURO 7 needs to change,” he added in reference ODS has a long history of Eurosceptic and cli-
to Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, mate sceptic views, most notably personified by
Romania, and Slovakia. its founder Vaclav Klaus, who left the party years
Kupka argues that the implementation of ago and gradually moved to extremist positions
EURO 7 threatens to make the EU car industry openly supporting far-right SDP party advocat-
less competitive and that it would slow down the ing Czexit in the municipal election last autumn.
overall shift to less polluting cars. ODS’s current leader and Czech Prime Min-
At a press conference in Prague before leaving ister Petr Fiala has profiled himself as a more
for Strasbourg, Kupka said that “emissions norm moderate politician, giving ODS a new face not
EURO 7 would at present threaten automobile connected to the many corruption scandals for
industry across the whole Europe. Together which the party became notorious in the late
with it work opportunities would be threatened 2000s and early 2010s, effectively paving the
as well”. way for populist billionaire Andrej Babis and his
Kupka said he wants a “more realistic version anti-corruption agenda, which catapulted him to
of the norm” and was joined in Strasbourg by the government after the elections in 2013. His
Czech MEP and his party colleague Alexandr party ANO remained in power until ousted by
Vondra, who is one of the vocal representatives the ODS-led bloc of right-wing and centrist par-
of the climate and Eurosceptic wing of ODS. ties in the election in 2021. ™

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