EU countries want to soften pollution limits, 2035 internal combustion ban

PRAGUE/BRUSSELS — Transport ministers from the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia on Monday discussed their push to change proposed European Union vehicle emissions limits.

The proposed Euro 7 law, which EU countries and lawmakers will start negotiating this year, would tighten limits on health-harming pollutants, including nitrogen oxides. The EU has said the health benefits would far outweigh the costs.

But countries, including the Czech Republic, oppose the proposed rules which they say are burdensome for industry. Most have big car-making sectors.

An EU official said the ministers had discussed the law's "unrealistic" deadlines and issues with equipment to enforce it.

"Our effort is, in the area of Euro 7, to make those conditions really realistic, to make them achievable," Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka said in a telephone interview following the meeting in Strasbourg, which he convened.

The Czech Republic said the countries had reservations on the short period for adoption of the norm, which under proposals should come into force in mid-2025 for cars.