ECR Vice-President Juraj Droba and ECR member Roberta Angelilli attended the 4th annual conference of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA) taking place in Munich, hosted by the Bavaria Region during one of the biggest trade fairs in the world and the biggest in Europe, the International Motor Show. ARA also takes place just days before the European Commission's Strategic Dialogue on the automotive sector. Representatives of European regions called for a just transition based on technological neutrality and for targeted EU investments in the automotive sector.

"We stress the need to adopt a technologically neutral approach, as a just transition can only happen if other fuels, such as e-fuels and biofuels, are in the mix of alternative options to the electric ones. Today we have made clear that the 2030 and the 2035 emissions targets for cars and vans are no longer feasible to reach; we must change the approach to the transition", said Juraj Droba, ECR Vice-President.

"As underlined by the two biggest automotive associations ACEA and CLEPA, the automotive sector is living turbulent times, lately hit by the US tariffs as well as  increased competition from China. Urgent measures that boost competitiveness and innovation are needed to tackle the crisis", added Vice-President of the Lazio Region Roberta Angelilli.

The European Regions adopted the Munich Declaration that calls, among others, to consider the possibility of state aid for the large automotive manufacturers in Europe. "We should switch from ideology to pragmatism and put in place measures that can really help the sector to thrive, while ensuring an adequate transition timeline restraining from imposing impossible deadlines to meet", added ECR Vice-President Droba.

Roberta Angelilli echoed ARA's President Guido Guidesi's protests regarding the exclusion of the Alliance representatives from the European Commission's Strategic Dialogue taking place on Friday. "We, as regions, see, more than anyone else, the impact that the automotive crisis has on territories and communities: job losses and factory closures have a profound impact on local economies". Angelilli concluded saying that the time for "dialogue has come to an end: we need strategic actions to save a crucial sector for Europe that is currently sailing through uncharted waters".