Is the EU fleet regulation unlawful?

The EU's fleet regulation for CO2 emissions is unlawful and detrimental to effective environmental protection. This is the conclusion of a legal opinion by Prof. Dr. Martin Kment, Managing Director of the Institute for Environmental Law at the University of Augsburg and holder of the Chair of Public Law and European Law, Environmental Law and Planning Law. The expert opinion was commissioned by UNITI, the "Bundesverband EnergieMittelstand", which represents around 90 percent of the medium-sized energy trade in Germany.

At the heart of the report is the measurement method, the so-called tailpipe approach, according to which exhaust gases are only measured at the end of the exhaust pipe. According to Kment, the outdated test method also entails violations of European primary law. The expert opinion considers the principles of entrepreneurial freedom, equality before the law and the principle of environmental protection to have been violated. The expert concludes that the outdated tailpipe method must be replaced by a modern measurement method that balances CO2 emissions over the entire life cycle.

The report shows that not only manufacturers of cars with combustion engines, but also producers of alternative fuels are disadvantaged by the tailpipe approach. In a press statement today, UNITI Managing Director Elmar Kühn called for "all unlawful regulatory content to be changed". The truck fleet regulation, which is not due for review until 2027, should also be reviewed promptly for unlawful elements.

The EU's CO2 regulations oblige vehicle manufacturers to pay penalties if the EU fleet targets for the average CO2 emissions of all models are not below the limit value. The report also assumes that the EU Commission is not responsible for levying and collecting fines or the excess emissions premium. "Transferring the revenue to the EU's general budget is contrary to the treaty," says Prof. Dr. Kment. There is therefore no legal basis for fines imposed on vehicle manufacturers for exceeding the specified fleet targets.

The association believes that this calls into question the existing system of EU fleet regulation. Kühn: "The use of the tailpipe approach, which is contrary to EU law, directly results in a one-sided regulatory preference for battery-electric mobility to the detriment of other ecologically sensible solutions such as renewable fuels." According to the association, the revision of fleet regulation announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen must above all introduce a balancing of CO2 emissions over the entire life cycle of a vehicle and the drive energy used. Other European regulations - such as the new EU Battery Regulation - already take this approach. (aum)