Paris attacks Euro Standard 7: "Licence to kill".
Paris and several other European metropolises have submitted a petition to the EU Parliament in which they rail against the planned Euro 7 standard. In its weakened form, it is a bitter setback, even a "licence to kill". The manufacturers should not be given a raw deal - after all, human lives are at stake.
The new Euro 7 standard should bring stricter limits for all car types across the board. From 2025 onwards, newly produced vehicles should thus become significantly cleaner once again. The EU softened the new emissions standard in September. Although non-exhaust emissions such as abrasion from brakes and tyres will be regulated for the first time, and thus e-cars will be affected. Cars and vans, however, largely escape the tightening of exhaust emissions. Since the decision in September, the draft legislation on the new Euro standard has even been watered down. Some of the innovations are now not to come until 2030. Since it has been decided to phase out internal combustion vehicles from 2035, the EU seems to be putting off a decision here. In the end, the new Euro standard could really hardly be worthwhile.
Not only French cities like Paris, Bordeaux, Montpellier and Lyon, but also Rome and Brussels, for example, have signed the petition. In response to this watering down of the standard, they are calling for stricter standards "on air quality and emissions from motor vehicles". They even go so far as to describe the new Euro standard as a "licence to kill". They say that we must not cave in to pressure from manufacturers. They must make their contribution to cleaner air.
Surely this is also about the fact that many of the cities on the signature list continue to struggle with high levels of air pollution. So if even the newest cars became a bit cleaner, that would contribute to cleaner air overall, and tightening the rules of low emission zones for older vehicles might be less urgent. Critics will say that the cities that signed the petition want to abdicate some of the responsibility. In France in particular, everything is against the low emission zones because of strong protests. Those who shirk the tightening of environmental zone regulations are probably playing with the health of their citizens themselves.
But the cities are certainly right to a certain extent when they call on manufacturers to make their contribution. Will it be too much of a challenge for the manufacturers in terms of international competition to adjust to stricter exhaust emission values for combustion engines, while the switch to e-mobility is likely to remain in the foreground? Certainly, this is a problem for the manufacturers, but not for the EU or its member states. The EU as a superior legislator makes demands on the air quality of its member states and the protection of citizens. It should also pass on these demands to the industry!