16 December 2025 – Just before Christmas, the Commission intends to present two important draft regulations: the alleged end of the ban on the combustion engine and the extension of the CBAM CO2 tax to downstream products. And also which spirit still seems to be drifting through the corridors of Brussels.
EU: Is the “End of the Ban on the Combustion Engine” Really Coming Today?
One can still clearly sense the spirit of former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans drifting through the corridors of Brussels. This has become particularly evident in the so-called simplification of the EU CO2 tax CBAM, and also in the more than 1,300-page draft of the CO2 default values, whose levels were deliberately adjusted upwards.
The Media Fairy Tale of the “End of the Ban on the Combustion Engine”
Something similar can be expected with the media-effective fairy tale of the “end of the ban on the combustion engine.” De facto, based on the current state of knowledge, this is not a genuine repeal, but rather yet another placebo. Some media outlets are even suggesting that this move was a gift from EPP Chairman Manfred Weber to CSU party leader Markus Söder, intended to support Söder’s recent re-election as party chairman.
Green Steel as a Compensation Mechanism?
Ahead of the publication, media reports are already circulating that the Commission might stick to its previous target of a 100% emissions reduction. However, instead of abandoning that target, the Commission could offer other compensation mechanisms-for example, the use of so-called green steel in new vehicles.
Where is the automotive industry to get 27 million tonnes of green steel from?
Green steel is available in the EU only in homeopathic quantities, and the vast majority of domestic steel producers have either abandoned their decarbonisation plans or postponed them indefinitely. By contrast, demand from the automotive industry alone amounts to more than 27 million tonnes of steel per year. As a result, green steel remains nothing more than a carrot for the EU-believing and EU-steelworks-believing rabbit to chase.
How fitting that today the Commission is also expected to announce the extension of the CBAM CO2 tax to downstream products. Together, these two proposals (CBAM and the end of the ban on the combustion engine) are likely to create such time pressure that, once again, no one will look closely-or be able to look closely-at the legislative drafts tainted by the spirit of Timmermans.
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