EU on track to phase out combustion engines – German Minister

BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) – German Transport Minister Volker Wissing has expressed optimism that a dispute with the European Union over a ban on new cars with internal combustion engines will be resolved.

“We are on the right track,” said Volker Wissing on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in Meseberg, near Berlin, in the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday.

Von der Leyen is pushing for a quick agreement on the issue, and she and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed on Sunday that they were holding “constructive talks”, without giving further details.

The transport minister said on Monday that he agreed with von der Leyen that EU climate targets had to be met and that the question now was how to integrate openness to technology into the Commission proposals.

Wissing wants the use of synthetic fuels to remain possible after the 2035 deadline and said the Commission’s promised proposal on how to achieve this was still missing.

EU countries were due to hold the final vote on the law on Friday, a step that is usually a formality and passes law without change.

But this vote was canceled and, Monday morning, had not been postponed.

Wissing said it was not a matter that should be decided in a week, alluding to the postponed vote.

The European Commission and Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, are holding consultations with the countries to try to reach an agreement on the law.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Kate Abnett; Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Jason Neely, Editing in Spanish by José Muñoz)