EU countries agree on Spanish presidency proposal for new Euro 7 car emissions standards

The Council's position strikes the right balance between stringent vehicle emission requirements and additional efforts for industry, at a time when European car manufacturers are in the midst of a transition towards the production of zero-emission cars.

The general approach maintains the existing emission limits and test conditions for light-duty vehicles, reducing the emission limits for heavy-duty vehicles. Entry into force is delayed to 2027 for light-duty vehicles and 2029 for heavy-duty vehicles.

For the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, "the Spanish presidency has been sensitive to the different demands and requests of the countries and we believe that, with this proposal, we have achieved broad support". He also underlined that "we achieve a balance in the investment costs of the manufacturing brands and improve the environmental benefits derived from regulation".

The minister stressed that "Europe has a world record in the production of low-emission, high-quality cars. We want to continue to pursue the goal of improving air quality. Our position is to continue on the path of leading the mobility of the future and to adopt realistic emission levels for vehicles in the next decade while helping our industry to make the final leap to clean cars by 2035.

In addition, the position also contains a special provision on city buses to ensure consistency with the recently proposed 2030 zero CO2 emissions target for these vehicles.

As truly novel aspects of the Council's general approach, the following should be highlighted:

• Limits for non-exhaust emissions, such as brake particulate emissions and tyre abrasion rate.
• Minimum performance requirements for battery durability in electric cars and it imposes stricter requirements on the useful life of vehicles.
• Use of advanced technologies and emission monitoring tools.

Once adopted at today's ministerial meeting, it is now up for discussion in the European Parliament and the European Commission.

It should be recalled that the EU has progressively tightened emission limits for road vehicles since the first set of standards, known as Euro 1, in 1992. The sale of new cars emitting CO2 is scheduled to be banned in the EU by 2035.

Industrial Property

Today's Competitiveness Council also endorsed its General Guidelines on the revision of EU design protection legislation, the first update of the rules in more than 20 years.

This legislative package, which is still in the European Parliament, will make regulation fit for the digital and ecological transitions and aims to make design protection more accessible and efficient in the EU, a sector that accounts for almost 16% of GDP and 14% of jobs in the Union.

Registered and protected industrial design makes a decisive contribution to the business strategy, competitiveness and internationalisation of companies. Therefore, the decision taken under the Spanish presidency will benefit businesses, especially SMEs and consumers.

Non official translation