ROME (ITALPRESS) – “Italy is leading the reform front in Europe to put European automobiles back on the right track.” This is what Enterprise and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso said at the opening of the automotive table being held at Palazzo Piacentini, according to reports.
“We moved first, already six months ago. With our non-paper on the automotive sector, we forced the EU Commission to include in the Automotive Action Plan two preconditions that were absolutely necessary, but still not sufficient: the postponement of the sanctions scheduled for 2025, which would have led to the collapse of the European industry, and the bringing forward to the second half of this year of the review of the light vehicle regulation, initially scheduled for the end of 2026. Many believed it would be impossible, and we succeeded. But it is not enough.”
“There are still too many contradictions. It is essential that, in order to achieve the transition goals, we open up all available technologies, starting with biofuels and hydrogen. We then need to review the method of calculating emissions. We also need adequate resources at the European level,” Urso recalled, “to incentivize Made in Europe production and ensure strategic autonomy on electric batteries. The battle is still long but we are not giving up. We know that Sistema Italia, companies and unions, are with us.”
“The green deal has only accelerated the deindustrialization of the continent. We must immediately change course, while maintaining the same goals of full decarbonization,” the minister stressed. “We are at a decisive turning point for the survival of the automotive sector in Europe, squeezed between insane rules that undermine its competitiveness and increasingly aggressive global competition, to which we must add the new critical issues arising from possible U.S. duties and Chinese overproduction that could flood the European market. The auto crisis is also overwhelming European battery manufacturers. The Swedish company Northvolt, what was to be Europe’s largest gigafactory, has declared bankruptcy. Other new gigafactory projects have also been suspended, such as ACC’s in Germany and Italy, or even cancelled. We need quick and effective action, a concrete and immediate gigafactory plan, with adequate resources to recover competitiveness and ensure the strategic autonomy of the continent,” Urso added.
– IPA Agency Photos –
(ITALPRESS).
