Overview
- Industry and Transport committees in the European Parliament approved the Mitte‑Plattform draft, recording 49–27–5 in Industry and 27–18–1 in Transport on Thursday, October 22.
- The draft lets manufacturers offset 7.5 percentage points of required CO2 cuts by using low‑carbon European steel and applies supercredits that weight certain small and social‑leasing EVs more heavily.
- Taken together the measures would reduce the effective 2035 new‑car fleet target from a full zero to about 87.5 percent compared with 2021 if manufacturers use the green‑steel offset.
- The text now goes to the Environment Committee in early November, then the Parliament plenary likely in December, and finally to the EU Council where a qualified majority of member states can still change or reject it.
- Support from the centre groups (EVP, S&D, Renew) and a reported Germany‑France position reflect industry pressure and slower EV uptake, while Greens, the Left and some right‑wing blocs oppose the loosening and critics warn the offsets and supercredits may weaken climate outcomes.