The EU states will not make a final decision next Tuesday, as originally planned, on the blanket ban on new cars with internal combustion engines from 2035. This was announced by a spokesman for the responsible Swedish EU Presidency on Friday in Brussels.

The postponement of the talks is very likely to gain more time for a compromise with the German government on synthetic fuels.

In Brussels, there is reportedly concern that the plans agreed in the middle of last year for the de facto ban on new cars with combustion engines will fail at the last second due to Berlin's resistance – and thus a cornerstone of the EU's climate strategy.

The German government wants vehicles with combustion engines to remain registered after 2035. Germany wants to "remain open to technology," Transport Minister Volker Wissing declared this week, referring to hydrogen fuel cells and e-fuels as climate-neutral alternatives.

Germany has threatened to abstain and Italy has announced that it will reject the CO2 regulations agreed last year. Resistance from Poland and Hungary is also certain. Without a qualified majority among the member states, the regulation cannot enter into force.

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