Andrzej Adamczyk made the statement in an interview published on Tuesday by Polish state news agency PAP.
Adamczyk was speaking in Strasbourg, France, where he met with the transport ministers of the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy a day earlier, while counterparts from Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Portugal participated via video link.
The proposed Euro 7 standards are designed to significantly tighten emission limits for all motor vehicles, to improve air quality, according to officials.
EU member states are due to begin negotiations on the measure later this year.
Euro 7 standards 'are not aligned with reality’
Adamczyk told the PAP news agency: “We are concerned by the proposed new Euro 7 standards. They are a product of very high ambitions of EU officials and groups in the European Parliament, who are pushing for measures that are not aligned with reality.”
The Polish infrastructure minister added: “This has been confirmed at the meeting in Strasbourg. We will not approve the proposed Euro 7 standards. We expect the proposed measure to be brought into alignment with reality. The currently proposed deadlines are unworkable.”
Adamczyk said the adoption of the Euro 7 standards would force manufacturers “to satisfy new technological requirements,” while at the same time “putting a break on research into zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).”
He told PAP: “Adopting Euro 7 would cause an enormous rise in the costs of producing cars and lorries.”
He argued that “by 2050 or 2060, EU roads will feature only zero-emission vehicles, so there’s no point in spending huge sums on the Euro 7 standards, the costs of which would be eventually shifted onto consumers.”
New rules would hit 'automotive and transport industries'
Adamczyk said that he agreed with the Czech, German and Italian transport ministers that “we would all bear the impact of the actions of the European Commission” and “the automotive and transport industries would be very adversely affected by Euro 7 standards.”
He added that Poland also opposed a Brussels plan to require all new cars and vans to be zero-emission from 2035, which he said would "spell the end for the internal-combustion engine."
Adamczyk said this would cause “transport exclusion” of a large section of the Polish public, who “won’t be able to afford the very expensive electric cars.”
The Strasbourg meeting concluded that “the proposed Euro 7 standards go much too far,” as they “endanger the competitiveness of EU member state economies” and could “result in a significant increase in passenger car prices,” the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl, ec.europa.eu
