The green transition must not come at the expense of Europe's industrial base, jobs and regional economies, ECR Vice-President and President of the Bratislava Region Juraj Droba warned during the Committee of the Regions' plenary debate on the automotive sector. The debate also featured Brigitte Torloting, Vice-President of France’s Grand Est Region and current Chair of the Automotive Regions Alliance (ARA), bringing the perspective of Europe’s automotive regions to the discussion.
Speaking on behalf of the ECR Group, Mr Droba stressed the strategic importance of the automotive industry for Europe's competitiveness, industrial sovereignty and territorial cohesion. The sector supports millions of jobs and entire regional ecosystems across the Union, including in Slovakia, the world's largest car producer per capita.
"The Commission's Automotive Package is a necessary step that introduces important flexibilities. However, from the ECR perspective, Europe still risks regulating itself out of global competition". Mr Droba pointed to the growing pressure facing European manufacturers, including rising costs, shrinking demand, unfair global competition and the challenge of adapting to a rapidly changing technological landscape.
"Our manufacturers face rising costs, shrinking demand, unfair global competition and an unprecedented technological transition, all at the same time." For the ECR Group, supporting the automotive sector requires a genuinely technology-neutral approach that allows innovation to flourish while safeguarding European production and employment.
"Supporting the automotive industry requires genuine technology neutrality, realistic timelines and a regulatory framework that rewards innovation rather than penalising production in Europe." Mr Droba proposed extending the emissions averaging period for manufacturers from three to five years and called for stronger support for alternative fuels alongside electrification, including biofuels and e-fuels. "The objective" he concluded "should be to reduce emissions while preserving Europe's industrial strengths".