The Czech Republic will present its objections to the EURO 7 standard to the Spanish Presidency

18/7/2023Press releases

During tomorrow's meeting of the COREPER I Permanent Representatives Committee, the Czech Republic will present its reservations to the current draft EURO 7 emission standard to the representatives of Spain, which holds the EU Council Presidency since 1 July. This is the next step in the negotiations to change the wording of this standard. The Czech Republic has long sought to postpone the effect date of the emission standard and to significantly modify its key parameters. More member states are on its side.

The Czech Republic will present its objections to the EURO 7 standard to the Spanish Presidency

"When the European Commission introduced the EURO 7 standard last November, we were the first to clearly describe how the standard is not feasible and why it poses a threat to the European car industry and consumers. We have succeeded in bringing together a coalition of EU member states to push for a fundamental change to the EURO 7 standard. It is already certain that EURO 7 will never be passed in its current form. We are not giving in, quite the opposite! Our diplomats in Brussels will present the main objections to the standard to the new Spanish Presidency and I believe that they will be supported by the countries sharing this mood and by other member states. Some of them are still negotiating their national position and forming their opinion on this European legislation," says transport minister Martin Kupka.

In early June, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland presented a joint position paper calling for changes to the EURO 7 proposal.

These are mainly the following changes:

Any new exhaust emission rules (including new testing requirements or new emission limits) for cars and vans should be removed, because they could jeopardise the European car industry's targets to ban the sale of new combustion engines after 2035.
The effect date of the standard must be extended and should be counted until the publication of the subsequent implementing legislation.
The requirements for heavy trucks do not match current technological possibilities and should be relaxed. In addition, the heavy trucks segment includes different types of vehicles and it is necessary that the emission standard reflects the specificities of every vehicle category.
The powers of the European Commission to adopt secondary legislation must be clearly circumscribed and defined. It is the implementing regulations that are of key importance, because they will define the actual form of the emission standard.
Consistency must be ensured between the objectives of the new emissions standard and EU's commitment to end the sale of vehicles with the combustion engine after 2035. In its current form, the EURO 7 emissions standard would undermine efforts to make transport more environmentally friendly.

The Czech Republic is also seeking clearer specifications and discussion on other parts of the proposal. What seems problematic is the current proposal of On-Board-Monitoring, i.e. the on-board system, or the so-called measurement boundary conditions, which should stipulate that a vehicle should meet the same emission limits regardless of whether it is driving on a straight motorway in central Europe, in the city or, for example, with a trailer in the winter in an Alpine pass. "All these requirements would lead to one thing: a new car would become an unaffordable luxury for the average citizen. Sales of small and affordable cars would end, car companies would have to close factories, thousands of people would end up out of work. If the Euro 7 requirements are too unrealistic, they will also slow down the transition to zero-emission mobility, reinforce the stagnation of fleet renewal and lead to an overall deterioration in air quality. We want to prevent all this and fundamentally change the EURO 7 standard," said minister Kupka.

Negotiations on the final draft of the emission standard are still ongoing. The presidency, led by Madrid, which is preparing for the elections, wants to publish a new compromise text by the end of July and plans to adopt the EU Council's position, the so-called general approach, in September.