On Wednesday, June 8, 750 MEPs met in Strasbourg's hemicycle to end months of discussion on the European Green Pact. This should enable the EU to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions by at most 55% by 2030.
A bitter struggle has been waged for the goal of zero emissions in automobiles. The historic vote to ban new thermal vehicles starting in 2035 was passed by the parliament with 339 votes in favor, 249 against, and 24 abstentions. One exception is for manufacturers that sell less than 10,000 vehicles per year and will be able to benefit from a favorable system. This text is known as the "Ferrari Amendment", and it applies to luxury brands like the Lamborghini or the same manufacturer.
Concretely, because of the unique nature of the engines, which will require additional adaptation time for them, the high-end brands will be allowed an additional year to reduce their CO2 emissions. They will not be subject to the gradual decrease in thermal vehicle sales in 2030. They will have to go 100% electric on January 1, 2036.
Manufacturers that sell less than 1000 vehicles annually will be exempted from the ban on petrol, diesel and hybrid cars.
Environmentalists have complained about the preferential treatment.
Who is the real source of this amendment? The Italian MEPs are first, eager to protect their car emblems. It is not the first time elected representatives from the Alps took a position with the European Commission on the subject. Roberto Cingolani (the Italian Minister for Ecological Transition, a former member of Ferrari's board of directors), stated that these cars need very specific technologies and high performance batteries in order to make the transition. He also supported Bloomberg last September.
Marie Toussaint recalls that the amendment was also voted for by Jordan Bardella, the MEP and acting President of the National Rally. France's position on this subject is "inaudible" and "unknown". "In this time of legislative elections the Macron government doesn't position itself on such subjects, which could be controversial. She regrets that this was done in the context of Macron's presidency of the Council of the European Union. She believes that this exemption is a proof (if necessary) of "the weight the car lobby in the European authorities".
But, nothing is finalized, with the symbolic vote of MEPs still in place. The text must be reviewed by the environment ministers from the 27 member countries on June 28. They could then use the opportunity to remove the famous Ferrari amendment. The MEP however considered this hypothesis "very unlikely".
