EU is widely expected to announce Euro 7 regulations today

The European Union is expected to announce the regulations for Euro 7 vehicle emission standards today, according to Bloomberg News. The new framework will tighten limits for pollutants, including carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides from 2025 in the European Union.

The regulations, which are part of the European “Green Deal,” will develop stricter vehicle emission standards for all petrol and diesel cars, vans, lorries and buses. Its announcement has been delayed numerous times and rumored that it might even be scrapped altogether. The regulations would be a requirement for all cars sold in the EU from around 2025-2026.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has argued that the proposed vehicle emission standards were irrelevant, given the speed of adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) as manufacturers prepared for the 2035 end date for selling new ICE cars in both the EU and the UK. 

“Transition towards zero-emission cars/vans fleet will be spread across at least two decades, not least given the average lifetime of cars/vans of more than 11 years,” the draft said, according to Bloomberg News. “Meanwhile, in order to achieve the above policy objectives, the internal combustion-engine vehicles which will continue to be placed on the market need to be as clean as possible.”

The expected announcement comes after the European Union reached a landmark deal on October 27 to effectively ban new internal combustion engine vehicles starting in 2035. The EU’s three key institutions—its executive arm, the parliament and member states —agreed to require automakers to reach a zero-emission target by 2035. The decision means that new gasoline and diesel cars will not be registered for use on the region’s roads after 2035.  The deal also included a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions for new cars sold from 2030 versus 2021 levels, much higher than the existing target of a 37.5% reduction by then.