Italy and Germany call for pragmatic industrial transition in joint letter to Commission on automotive policy

Italy and Germany have urged the European Commission to recalibrate its approach to the automotive transition, advocating for a more pragmatic and economically balanced industrial strategy. In a joint letter sent on 6 October by the Italian Ministry for Business and Made in Italy (MIMIT) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), Ministers Adolfo Urso and Katherina Reiche called for an “immediate change of course” in EU automotive policy.

The letter follows bilateral coordination launched in June, focusing on decarbonisation of corporate fleets and the future of Europe’s car industry. It reflects the two countries’ shared position ahead of the EU Strategic Dialogue on the Automotive Industry, which Italy initiated with a non-paper presented last year.

Minister Urso described the initiative as marking “a new phase for European industry,” emphasising the need for “responsibility, pragmatism and vision” in steering the green transition. He argued that the EU must “move beyond the ideological cages of the Green Deal” and prioritise measures that safeguard industrial competitiveness, employment and investment.

The ministers’ statement signals growing alignment between Rome and Berlin on the need to balance environmental goals with economic resilience. Their intervention comes as the Commission prepares new proposals under its Automotive Action Plan and as several Member States push for greater flexibility in fleet decarbonisation targets and regulatory timelines.

Separately, Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to do everything possible to ensure there is no hard cut-off for carbon dioxide-emitting cars from 2035 in the European Union after meeting in Berlin with executives from top German automakers on Thursday.

“If I have my way, and I will do everything I can to achieve this, there will be no such hard cut in 2035,” Merz told a press conference following the meeting.

The path to electric mobility would continue and would likely be the central technology of the next few years, Merz said in Berlin, but he emphasised that the industry needed time to discover paths forward with alternative energy sources.

“The Automotive Summit sends a strong message by clarifying the need for another regulatory pathway and opening the door to additional solutions,” said Ralf Diemer, CEO of the eFuel Alliance. “What we need now is a legislative initiative that formally recognises eFuels as a solution for new vehicles—complete with a CO₂ correction factor and a dedicated vehicle category.”

Further reading: ACEA Leak Reveals Mounting Pressure on Brussels to Ease 2035 Zero Emission Target

EU transport accounts for 4.8% of EU GDP and 5.4% of employment, new Commission data shows

The European Commission’s 2025 EU Transport in Figures pocketbook provides an updated statistical overview of the sector’s economic, social and mobility performance across the EU.

The report estimates that transport and storage services generated around EUR 750 billion in gross value added (GVA) in 2023, accounting for 4.8% of total EU GDP. The sector employed roughly 10.7 million people — 5.4% of the EU workforce — with land transport making up over half of that total. Women accounted for 22.7% of transport employment.

Household spending data shows that EU private consumers spent EUR 1,147 billion in 2023 (12.8% of total consumption) on transport-related items. Of that, 27% was spent on vehicle purchases, 56% on operating costs (fuel, maintenance), and the remainder on transport services like public transit and mobility services.

Freight figures show 3,433 billion tonne-kilometres of transport activity, dominated by road at 52.6%, maritime at 29.7%, rail at 11.5%, inland waterways at 3.4%, and pipelines at 2.6%. Passenger transport tallied 5,932 billion passenger-kilometres, with cars responsible for 72%, followed by rail (7.4%), buses/coaches (7.2%), air (9.8%) and urban modes (tram/metro 1.2%).

On growth trends, between 1995 and 2023 freight transport expanded by ~1.3% annually, passenger transport by ~1.0%. In 2023 specifically, passenger activity rose 5.4%, while freight fell 1.4%, reflecting a rebound in mobility and greater strain in goods logistics.

Full publication here.

Biofuels emit more CO₂ than fossil fuels they replace, T&E warns

Global biofuels emit 16% more carbon dioxide than the fossil fuels they replace, according to a new study by Cerulogy for Transport & Environment (T&E). The report finds that land used for biofuel crops could feed 1.3 billion people, while covering just 3% of it with solar panels would generate the same amount of energy.

The analysis shows that current biofuel production uses 32 million hectares of land, equivalent to the size of Italy, to meet only 4% of global transport energy demand. By 2030, this is projected to grow to 52 million hectares, equivalent to the size of France, producing 70 MtCO₂e more emissions than fossil fuels.

T&E highlights the inefficiency and environmental cost of first-generation biofuels, which still account for 90% of global output and rely on food crops such as corn, sugarcane and vegetable oil. The study estimates that around 100 million bottles of vegetable oil are burned in cars every day, representing one fifth of global supply.

The organisation notes that biofuel production consumes vast quantities of water, around 3,000 litres to drive 100 kilometres on crop-based fuels, compared to twenty litres for an electric vehicle powered by solar energy.

Cian Delaney, biofuels campaigner at T&E, described biofuels as “a terrible climate solution and a staggering waste of land, food and millions in subsidies,” adding that “using just 3% of the land currently used for biofuels for solar panels would produce the same amount of energy while freeing land for food and nature restoration.”

The report warns that rising demand, expected to increase by 40% by 2030, will intensify deforestation, especially in major producing countries such as Brazil, which has recently lifted its soy moratorium, and in Canada and India, where expansion plans are under way.

With world leaders set to meet at COP30 in Brazil, T&E calls for governments to prioritise renewable electricity, efficiency and truly sustainable alternatives over crop-based biofuels, warning that continued expansion “risks doing more harm than good.”