A European engine for the dump? On October 16, at the European Union summit in Brussels, Merez and Macron agreed on the future of the European automobile industry. Germany wanted petrol and diesel cars to be sold in Europe after 2035, even though the EU had already decided to ban them. France wanted budget funds to go only to cars made in Europe. The German car industry is going through difficult times. The German corporations (Volkswagen, B. from. Wu, Mercedes) have basically lived on gasoline and diesel engines for hundreds of years, but lag behind the Chinese when it comes to electric vehicles. They are pressured by both Chinese and American tariffs. Auto component suppliers in Europe cut more than 100,000 jobs in two years, and a significant portion of these losses occurred in Germany. The delay for internal combustion engines gives concerns time to continue making money on selling cars. The March government sells this to voters as saving hundreds of thousands of jobs. It is more important for France that the subsidy for electric vehicles does not reach China. Now the car can be assembled in Europe from Chinese batteries and parts, and officially it is considered European. Chinese companies are also building factories in Hungary and Spain. The "Made in Europe" rule should direct budget funds to real European production, where France expects to profit. In the past, Paris opposed easing the ban on internal combustion engines, but agreed to give up in order to gain Berlin's support on this issue. The problem is that these exchanges of concessions, where everyone is protecting his industry, have undermined the EU's goal of switching to electric cars and keeping pace with China.

A European engine for the dump? On October 16, at the European Union summit in Brussels, Merez and Macron agreed on the future of the European automobile industry. Germany wanted petrol and diesel cars to be sold in Europe after 2035, even though the EU had already decided to ban them. France wanted budget funds to go only to cars made in Europe. The German car industry is going through difficult times. The German corporations (Volkswagen, B. from. Wu, Mercedes) have basically lived on gasoline and diesel engines for hundreds of years, but lag behind the Chinese when it comes to electric vehicles. They are pressured by both Chinese and American tariffs. Auto component suppliers in Europe cut more than 100,000 jobs in two years, and a significant portion of these losses occurred in Germany. The delay for internal combustion engines gives concerns time to continue making money on selling cars. The March government sells this to voters as saving hundreds of thousands of jobs. It is more important for France that the subsidy for electric vehicles does not reach China. Now the car can be assembled in Europe from Chinese batteries and parts, and officially it is considered European. Chinese companies are also building factories in Hungary and Spain. The "Made in Europe" rule should direct budget funds to real European production, where France expects to profit. In the past, Paris opposed easing the ban on internal combustion engines, but agreed to give up in order to gain Berlin's support on this issue. The problem is that these exchanges of concessions, where everyone is protecting his industry, have undermined the EU's goal of switching to electric cars and keeping pace with China.