ECR Group President Marco Marsilio today met with the European Commissioner for Transport Apostolos Tzitzikostas to discuss the automotive crisis and present the key demands of the sector.

"Today I had a very fruitful meeting with Commissioner Tzitzikostas with whom I shared the example of the city of Atessa, home to a carmaker factory leader in the production of light commercial vehicles that employs thousands of workers, but which is experiencing a massive decline in production and sales because of the new rules and the drastic shift to electric vehicles", said President Marsilio.

Many important European car brands have expressed their concern with regard to the fines that will be imposed for failing to reach certain targets. "Paying penalties in billions of euros is not sustainable: we need to stop these fines, stop the 2035 ban, sit around a table and go back to the drawing board: we are all in favor of a transition, but we want to achieve it with pragmatism and by preserving Europe's technological freedom and sovereignty", added President Marsilio.

"The automotive sector will not survive the transition if we do not amend specific political decisions made in the past years, such as the ban on the production of combustion engine vehicles by 2035, and if we do not allow other types of fuels, such as hydrogen and e-fuels, in the mix of alternatives. Carmakers are on the verge of closing more factories, including in my own territory of Abruzzo and in several other European regions", said President Marsilio.

"I thank Commissioner Tzitzikostas for having paid attention to the sector's demands: we hope that the revision of the regulation on the CO2 emissions will lead to a more realistic regulatory framework, based on the principle of technological neutrality, that opens up to alternative fuels such as e-fuels and biofuels, and cancels fines for the automotive industries".

Marsilio also addressed the issue of military mobility on which the Commission today presented a package of measures to strengthen EU military mobility. "The Abruzzo Region, in cooperation with the Italian government, is preparing work to include the Rome-Pescara and Adriatic railway lines in the framework of military mobility. I have asked the Commissioner to recognize the strategic nature of these infrastructures for military mobility and common European security."