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(Bloomberg) — Italy’s energy minister said the European Union’s effective ban on sales of new internal combustion engines from 2035 should be reviewed.
“The ban must be changed,” Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, on Saturday.
Pichetto Fratin called the decision by the EU “absurd,” and dictated by an “ideological vision” along with a state-controlled approach to policy-making within the bloc. The plan needs changing in order to reflect different market realities amid the European auto industry’s slowdown, he added.
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Italy’s stance is far from new. The government coalition party the League, led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, is ready to propose legislation to commit Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government to revoking the ban, according to a statement on Friday.
Both Salvini’s League and Pichetto Fratin have said they’re not against electric-vehicle development and production, but that it should be part of a more broader mix of automotive propulsion systems.
The Italian officials’ remarks come as bad news piles up across Europe’s auto industry.
Stellantis NV sales in Italy are decreasing and the company plans to cut jobs; Volkswagen AG is considering factory closures in Germany for the first time in its 87-year history.
Luca de Meo, chief executive of France’s Renault SA, said in an interview on Sunday that European carmakers could incur as much as €15 billion ($16.6 billion) in fines if they can’t meet the EU’s ambitious climate goals following a slowdown in EV sales.
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