Illustration photo – Minister of Transport Martin Kupka.
Brussels – The European Commission is aware of the Czech Republic's comments on the new Euro 7 automobile emission standard, the form of which it proposed in November. Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka told journalists in Brussels today that he discussed the planned tightening of limits on nitrogen oxides and solid particles from car traffic with Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. Kupka intends to talk about the proposal with ministers from other EU countries in the near future and find out their positions.
Advertisement'; }
Among other things, Euro 7 is supposed to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emitted into the air, thereby preventing a number of related premature deaths, according to the commission. The aim is also to harmonize the limits for petrol and diesel cars. Vehicles will have to comply with it for twice as long as the current standards, and in addition to exhausts, it will also apply to brakes and tires. In addition, the cars should have sensors that will allow emissions to be checked at any time.
However, there is criticism from car manufacturers and the governments of some countries about the rules, which are likely to increase production costs at a time when automakers have begun to develop electric cars on a large scale due to the planned ban on cars with classic combustion engines. The commission estimates that the standard will affect the price of new cars in the order of thousands of crowns, manufacturers are talking about tens of thousands. environment instead of jeopardizing technological development, instead of jeopardizing jobs,” Kupka said today after a meeting at the Brussels headquarters of the EU executive.
According to the minister, Commissioner Breton “hears the reservations of the member states” and made it clear that in the coming months he will together with them to look for solutions to the problems that they believe are in the proposal.
If the rules are approved by member states and the European Parliament, they should apply to new passenger cars from mid-2025, two years later for trucks. According to Kupka, the draft should be modified in such a way as to give individual manufacturers enough time to acquire the necessary technologies that are not yet available. These include, for example, low-emission brakes or sensors monitoring the amount of emissions while driving.
