Under pressure from carmakers, the European Commission in December proposed a 90% cut in CO2 emissions in 2035 from 2021 levels, instead of zero for all new cars and vans

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Electric vehicles are likely to make up 85% of new car sales in the EU from 2035, based on its plans to drop an effective ban on new combustion-engine models, although that share could drop as low as 50%, clean transport advocacy group T&E said.

Under pressure from carmakers, the European Commission in December proposed a 90% cut in CO2 emissions in 2035 from 2021 levels, instead of zero for all new cars and vans.

T&E has criticised the EU’s biggest retreat from its green policies in years, saying the proposals will allow continued sales of high CO2-emitting vehicles, while Chinese producers race further ahead in battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

The European Commission said in December that its plans would support sales of EVs in the EU and save vehicle makers 2.1 billion euros ($2.5 billion) over three years, freeing up resources for innovation and new electric models.

In a report published on Tuesday, T&E said carmakers could sell anywhere between 5% and 50% of non-BEVs after 2035, the lowest share based on a carmaker continuing to sell high emissions internal combustion engine cars, the highest share if it sells the most efficient extended-range plug-in hybrids.

T&E said the most likely figure was 15%, with sales of some combustion engine and some plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Together with an extended time period to comply with 2030 targets, the report said car CO2 emissions would be 10% higher between 2025 and 2050 than under current tighter rules. 

T&E said there was also a risk of further weakening of rules when the proposals came up for debate in the European Parliament and in the Council, the grouping of EU governments.

Both will need to approve the changes. 

($1 = 0.8474 euros)

Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Alexander Smith

The budget talks have cost two prime ministers their jobs, unsettled debt markets and alarmed France’s European partners

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France finally got a 2026 budget on Monday, when two no-confidence motions failed, allowing the legislation to pass and heralding a period of relative stability for Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s weak minority government.

Budget negotiations have consumed the French political class for nearly two years, after President Emmanuel Macron’s 2024 snap election delivered a hung parliament just as a massive hole in public finances made belt-tightening more urgent.

The budget talks have cost two prime ministers their jobs, unsettled debt markets and alarmed France’s European partners.

However, Lecornu – whose chaotic two-stage nomination in October drew derision around the world – managed to secure the support of Socialist lawmakers through costly but targeted concessions, boosting his stature in the process.

“France finally has a budget. A budget that embraces clear choices and essential priorities. A budget that reins in public spending, which does not raise taxes for households and businesses,” Lecornu said in a post on X after the no-confidence votes, adding he was submitting the budget to the Constitutional Court to ensure it was compliant with the constitution.

Despite the still-elevated budget deficit of 5% of GDP seen by Lecornu, investors have taken heart in the new stability. The French government debt risk premium over the German benchmark has returned to levels last seen in June 2024, before Macron’s snap-election announcement. 

Two votes of no-confidence triggered by the hard-left and far right fell short of getting a majority after the Socialists said they would not back them, which means the 2026 budget – already more than a month overdue – is now adopted. 

The Socialists’ main scalp was the suspension of an unpopular pension reform, delaying the planned increase in the retirement age to 64 until after next year’s presidential election.

REFORMS ON PAUSE UNTIL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

With just over a year to go before the next presidential election in the spring of 2027, the respite on the budget front is giving Macron some breathing space, as he nears the end of his second term with historically low approval ratings.

Having lost control of the domestic agenda, his push for supply-side economic reforms has largely stalled. Meaningful spending cuts are unlikely before he leaves office, with lawmakers showing little appetite for unpopular measures as election campaigning intensifies.

Macron’s supporters say Lecornu, by showing flexibility and an ability to compromise, has prevented the return of wealth taxes and preserved Macron’s legacy of making France more attractive to foreign investors. 

The president is now focusing almost entirely on foreign policy, pushing Europe to be less dependent on foreign powers, and advocating a harder line in confronting U.S. President Donald Trump over tariffs or the Greenland crisis. 

At home, however, he leaves his centrist bloc without a clear successor and significantly weakened against a resurgent far right. 

Two of Macron’s former prime ministers are gearing up for the presidential race, Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, while Lecornu has also gained popularity over the past few months. 

But should the centre remain fragmented, and with no primary planned, it remains uncertain whether a mainstream candidate will reach the election’s second round to face the far right, whether led by Jordan Bardella or Marine Le Pen.

Reporting by Michel RoseEditing by Ros Russell and Benoit Van Overstraeten

The Commission said in November it planned to restrict exports of scrap aluminium to stop the metal flooding out of the European Union and leaving its industry short

International News via Reuters:

A global recycling industry body on Monday said the European Commission’s proposed restrictions on scrap aluminium exports were unnecessary and risked undermining the circular economy.

The Commission said in November it planned to restrict exports of scrap aluminium to stop the metal flooding out of the European Union and leaving its industry short.

The move was welcomed by aluminium lobby European Aluminium, which urged policymakers to introduce export fees on the material.

However, the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling, which represents 37 national recycling federations, described the idea of an EU export ban or any trade restriction on aluminium scrap as “neither necessary nor effective”.

“The EU already generates more aluminium scrap than can be absorbed domestically,” the BIR said in its feedback to the EU’s public consultation on the matter, which was open until the end of January.

Available data “does not demonstrate structural ‘scrap leakage’ that would justify intervention”, it said. Scrap leakage refers to the loss of recyclable materials – a valuable and much lower-carbon resource than primary metal – to foreign markets.

Restricting exports would create oversupply in the EU, lower scrap prices and leave recyclers in an unsustainable economic position, the BIR said.

“This would ultimately reduce collection and recycling rates, increase the risk of unmanaged waste streams, and undermine the circular economy,” it added.

The Commission has said it will propose targeted measures for aluminium scrap by the second quarter of this year.

Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Jan Harvey