The Meloni government presented its most frontal opposition to the ban on naphtha and diesel vehicles planned for 2035.
The Minister of Industry warned about the dangerous dependence on China for the next decades.
The European Parliament’s announcements have once again aroused strong unease among the economies most dependent on industrial activity.
Giorgia Meloni’s government publicly opposed the ban on new gasoline and diesel vehicles planned for 2035.
The project approved by the European Union establishes a first deadline set for July 2025, after which the restrictions for the gradual dismantling of the production of most private vehicles and vans will come into force.
In 2027, public transport will be supplied by these means, and the process will be completed by mid-2035.
A new project to plan the “redistribution and relocation” of green industries throughout the region, emulating a program of heavy domestic subsidies similar to the “Inflation Reduction Act” passed in the United States by Joe Biden’s administration, was also approved.
Meloni is seeking the support of European industrial economies to end the project or at least make the targets more flexible and include review clauses for later years.
In particular, the three economies most affected by the measures will be Italy, France, and Germany.
However, unlike Italy, France and Germany are governed by governments that are enthusiastic about the green agenda.
It is worth noting that the Italian industry has not been able to recover from the shock caused by the 2008 crisis.
Industrial production has fallen by 21.5% since then, and the restrictions on the automotive industry further dampen the outlook for the coming years.
The Minister for Enterprise and “Made in Italy”, Adolfo Urso, announced that the Government is seeking to delay the approval of emission targets until after the European elections in 2024.
In addition, there will be a formal review of the projects scheduled for 2026, an amount of great strategic importance since, by this year, the European Commission plans to review the progress of the restrictions on the automotive industry.
Urso expressed the Italian position clearly.
The Government considers that the ban will do no more than give a “gift” to the Chinese manufacturing industry, which does not attach itself to any climate objectives if it means sacrificing the growth targets proposed by the dictatorship.
Although the stated objective of the measures is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the fact is that they would simply lead to a relocation of production.
China would be able to attract export markets for vehicles that are currently held back by Europe.
Urso denounced that the measures will deepen dependence on China, especially in technology and ecological raw materials. He also described the ban as “suicide” for industrial production after years of losing its long-term growth trend.
With information from Derecha Diario