When presenting the future emission limit values ​​for cars and trucks under the keyword "Euro7", EU Commissioner Thierry Breton asserted that he had taken into account all interests and at the same time had not made life too difficult for the car industry.

Unfortunately, Breton set the wrong priorities in his deliberation.

What is important in his submission is which emissions are measured for fully loaded cars at 45 degrees on a slope at 1800 meters above sea level, or at full throttle with a cold engine at minus 10 degrees.

The discussion about defeat devices in old diesel engines according to Euro5 (2011 to 2014) plays a role here.

At that time, the emission control function in some cars was only between 10 and 25 degrees outside temperature.

With the significantly stricter Euro6 regulations and the introduction of driving tests on the road, these times are long gone, as has the wave of lawsuits in court - which have so far had little success.

With the proposal for Euro7, the EU Commissioner is now opening the door again for all sorts of lawsuits and is forcing car manufacturers to spend billions in additional expenses to arm themselves against them.

Because car traffic normally takes place under different conditions, little is gained with such regulations.

Practical use without contortions

In contrast, the auto industry's proposal appears to offer more practical benefits at a lower cost, with a 40 per cent lower limit for nitrogen oxides in everyday situations but no contortions for the extremes.

This could also be more effective for the environment.

Just looking at the emission values ​​for combustion cars and the test methods is far too short-sighted anyway.

On the one hand, expensive equipment in cars to limit pollutant emissions in extreme situations would ensure that affordable small cars would disappear from the market fairly quickly.

But it makes little sense if the not-so-affluent car buyers would rather buy an older, dirtier used car than a new one with significantly lower emissions.

In addition, the overarching strategy for more environmental protection aims at the rapid introduction of more electric cars.

Long before the final ban on combustion engines in 2035, the proportion of e-cars is expected to grow to more than half of new registrations.

This would not only reduce the total CO2 emissions in the vehicle fleet, but also the emissions of city substances, to which the Euro7 standard for combustion cars will apply in the future.

However, it makes little sense to invest billions in a technology a few years before the end of combustion engines desired by the EU, which is said to be obsolete shortly thereafter.

For the billions that a strict Euro7 standard would cost, Europeans could get even more environmental protection elsewhere.

For example, with the accelerated introduction of cheaper e-cars and with more green electricity for charging.

At present, 20 to 30 percent of coal is used to generate electricity in Germany, and the much-praised e-cars still have to run on coal-based electricity.