Fico: Ban on Cars with Combustion Engines Harmful for Slovakia

Bratislava, 1 December (TASR) - The ban on the production and sale of cars with combustion engines after 2035 is harmful for Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Monday, reacting to the European Commission's (EC) plan to ban combustion engines after 2035 as part of its climate protection efforts. "There's a huge number of Slovak companies, suppliers and contractors linked to car manufacturing. This significant concentration is seen across the whole of Slovak industry," stated Fico, adding that the ban could damage Slovakia's economy. For this reason, he welcomes the fact that Germany has called on the EC to reconsider the ban and to allow, after 2035, cars with highly efficient engines, such as hybrid ones, in addition to electric vehicles. "I can't imagine what would happen to Slovakia's economy if our automotive industry collapsed. Needless to say that its concentration is increasing: car production is to be launched near Kosice soon, I'm talking about Volvo, and there are also other and quite real plans among foreign carmakers to build plants in Slovakia for passenger car production," stated Fico. Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) argued that steps that would reduce the EU's competitiveness within the automotive industry shouldn't be taken. According to Blanar, another issue which needs to be discussed involves emission allowances within the ETS2 system. Fico added that prices of energy, gas and fuels could rise under this system. Initially, said Fico, the prices of allowances were expected to be around €7 to €8 per tonne, but the EC had to submit a proposal for capping prices in case they exceeded €45 per tonne. "The European Commission has submitted this proposal, and there's also one to postpone this system by one year. This proposal was essentially approved, but with great concerns shared by all us that this system might pose a major burden on people. But still, we are now talking about the year 2028, as it was postponed from 1 January 2027 to 2028," added Fico. jrg/df