the EU postpones the vote on the stop to combustion engines from 2035- Corriere.it

The committee of permanent representatives to the EU (Coreper) on Friday morning, a few minutes after meeting in session, decided to postpone again the vote on the regulation on emissions of cars and vans, which also provides for the stop to the registration of cars and vans with combustion engines, diesel and petrol, starting from 2035. For now, the point has been postponed to a later date, diplomatic sources specify. After the approval by the EU ambassadors, the text of the compromise reached at the end of October by Parliament and the Council would have ended up on the table of the ministers of education, youth, culture and sport, who should have met on Tuesday 7 March for the formal go-ahead . But the point on cars was also removed from the agenda of the ministerial meeting. For the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, the postponement is a great signal that also came thanks to the League. Commenting on the news arriving from Brussels, Salvini wrote on Instagram: the voice of millions of Italians has been heard, and our government has shown that it offers common sense arguments on international tables, in defense of our history and our work. The road is still long but we will not sell out to China. The League is there.

The EU procedure and the qualified majority

With only the votes against by Italy and Poland and the abstention of Bulgaria, the agreement would in any case have obtained the green light with qualified majority voting, which is reached when 55% of the member states vote in favor (basically, 15 countries out of 27) and when the Member States supporting the proposal represent at least 65% of the total EU population. With the abstention or opposition of Germany (which represents about 18% of the European population) a blocking minority would be created within the EU Council.