Combustion engine dispute: Why is the federal government delaying the EU ban from 2035?

The first regular EU summit of the year threatens to be overshadowed by the dispute over Germany's blockade of the planned ban on new cars with internal combustion engines. In recent days, a number of EU partners have already expressed their incomprehension and annoyance behind the scenes that the German government had prevented the final decision at the beginning of March. In fact, negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU member states had agreed in October that only zero-emission new cars would be allowed to be registered in the EU from 2035. However, the German government made additional demands at the beginning of March. The German Free Democratic Party (FDP) in particular is pressing for new cars with internal combustion engines that run on climate-neutral e-fuels to be allowed to be registered after 2035.