Transport Minister Volker Wissing dared to go far on Tuesday evening after the coalition had settled its dispute over the end of combustion engines and an agreement also emerged at the meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg.

"This means that the ban on internal combustion engines is off the table," said the FDP politician. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke from the Greens sounded very different after the end of the Council of Ministers that night From 2035, only cars and light commercial vehicles that emit no CO2 will be permitted," she emphasized. "We are thus sending a clear signal that we must achieve the climate targets. They give the automotive industry the planning security it needs."

Henrik Kafsack

Business correspondent in Brussels.

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So who is right?

Has the FDP enforced that the EU make the CO2 emissions of cars and light commercial vehicles technology-neutral, i.e. leave it up to the manufacturers whether they use electric motors, fuel cells or demonstrably climate-neutral synthetic e-fuels made from green electricity in the combustion engine?

Or will it remain the case that from 2035 onwards, as proposed by the EU Commission, no new cars with internal combustion engines will be allowed to be sold?

In their compromise on Wednesday night, the EU environment ministers stuck to the goal of reducing CO2 emissions from new cars by 100 percent.

The postponement of the end of combustion engines by five years, brought up by Italy and four other EU countries, found just as little support as the alternative proposal to allow the use of synthetic fuels now.

The states have initially decided to phase out combustion engines.

ban lifted

In two places, however, they have softened the strict ban or installed back doors.

For example, the federal government has managed to insert a so-called recital "9a", which calls on the European Commission to submit a proposal on how vehicles that are operated exclusively with climate-neutral e-fuels can still be approved after 2035.

However, this is subject to the clear restriction that this should take place outside of the existing system of fleet limit values.

According to the Ministry of the Environment, this rules out the use of synthetic fuels for cars and commercial vehicles.

Finally, the fleet limits apply to these.

E-fuels would therefore only be an option for special vehicles such as fire engines or ambulances - and at least currently for niche vehicles such as Ferrari.

This reading of the recital is also largely shared in Brussels.

Nevertheless, the FDP argues that recital 9a could also be applied to cars and light commercial vehicles, thereby ensuring technology neutrality.

That's a very generous interpretation.

But in a way, the old adage applies here: "Two lawyers, three opinions," says an EU diplomat.

In addition, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said that the EU Commission would present proposals that would enable "cars with CO2-neutral technologies with e-fuels to be registered after 2035".

He may be referring to the second back door.

In addition to the new recital 9a, the environment ministers' compromise also includes a "review clause".

This stipulates that the EU Commission will review the climate targets for cars in 2026, taking into account technological developments, including plug-in hybrid technologies, and the importance of an economically viable and socially just transition.

Although this clause was already in the Commission's proposal, it was only to take effect two years later.