>> Illustrative photo – Regular meeting of the Chamber of Deputies, February 21, 2023, Prague. President of the ANO club Alena Schillerová speaking.
Prague – Today, the opposition failed to push for an extraordinary meeting in the House of Representatives even on the upcoming Euro 7 emission standard. The majority of the House did not support the approval of the program, and the meeting was therefore not held. Only speakers with priority rights could speak. This is the fourth of the extraordinary meetings that were supposed to take place this afternoon in the House of Representatives at the instigation of the ANO opposition movement. The opposition ANO wanted to debate today about food prices, about its proposal to increase the parental allowance or about the situation at Czech Post. Opposition speakers warned of the impact of the standard on the availability of cars, for example, or on the auto industry and related jobs. Transport Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) has repeatedly emphasized that even the Czech government does not agree with the standard.
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After the vote, the president of the ANO club Alena Schillerová accused the government coalition of not being interested in the mentioned problems. “You just don't care,” she declared. She added that already on Friday, ANO will try to get these topics on the agenda of the regular meeting.
SPD chairman Tomio Okamura said, among other things, that the Euro 7 standard is not justified in any way. He talked about the liquidation of the automobile industry, the consequence of which will be the further increase in the price of automobiles and the threat of their availability. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Karel Havlíček (ANO), was also critical of Brussels' intention to ban internal combustion engines, including hybrid cars. He also talked about the increase in the price of emission allowances and blamed the government for supporting the limitation of their number. “We are flying with our heads against the green wall,” he said, among other things.
Minister Kupka recalled that the Czech government was one of the first governments in the EU to oppose the norm. “I identify with the fact that the norm is not realistic that it would harm not only the European car industry, but that it would betray the original intention to reduce CO2 emissions,” he said.
If the rules are approved by member states and the European Parliament, the Euro 7 standard should apply to new passenger cars from the middle of 2025, two years later for trucks. However, Minister Kupka hopes that the standard as presented will not be approved.
Today's meeting of the Chamber ended with the rejection of the proposal for the program of the extraordinary meeting on the Euro 7 standard. on Thursday, the deputies and senators will meet for the inauguration of the new president Petr Pavel. The proceedings of the Chamber will continue on Friday.
