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Politico (28 September 2026)

Jordyn DAHL

An internal document warned that it was too early to call the 2035 target unachievable, despite arguments from carmakers that they needed relief.

The European Commission ignored its own advice to maintain a bloc-wide combustion engine ban and instead caved to automakers and powerful national capitals to weaken the rules, according to an internal briefing document obtained by POLITICO.

The EU law to get rid of tailpipe emissions from cars by 2035 — effectively banning combustion engine vehicle sales past that date — was once considered a key part of the European Green Deal. But the Commission last year backtracked and agreed to allow a small number of CO2-emitting engines past that date.

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