VERONA, Italy -- Italy's transport minister said on Tuesday that Italy and its allies in the European Union can block the Euro 7 regulation which tightens vehicle emission limits for pollutants including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide from 2025.
EU countries and lawmakers are due this year to negotiate on the proposed legislation, designed to apply to cars and vans from July 2025 and to buses and trucks two years later.
The proposed Euro 7 regulation is "clearly wrong" and not even helpful from an environmental point of view, said Italy's Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League coalition party in Italy's right-wing government.
Italy, together with France, the Czech Republic, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary, has the numbers to block this move, Salvini said during an automotive dealer conference in Verona.
"We are now a blocking minority, we want to become a majority," he added.
European automakers have been fighting back against the proposed emission regulations they argue are too costly, rushed and unnecessary.
The European Commission says Euro 7 rules are needed to cut harmful emissions and prevent a repeat of Volkswagen Group’s diesel scandal.
