Compromise on new fuel infrastructure within reach

After tense talks, an agreement on requiring the improvement of national infrastructure for alternative fuels is in sight.

After several months of negotiations, member states and MEPs look close to reaching a deal on establishing minimum investment in alternative fuel infrastructure when they meet in a final round of negotiations next week.

Member states have been resisting any specific targets for installing new charging stations for electric cars and fuelling stations for hydrogen and natural gas. They want the legislation to only require an “appropriate number of recharging points accessible to the public”.

MEPs have insisted that the legislation contain firm targets. The stand-off has threatened to derail the proposal, put forward by the European Commission last year. MEPs have been particularly furious with Germany’s resistance to establishing targets for electric vehicle charging stations, after the country refused to back new car CO2 limits last year unless ‘supercredits’ were added to the legislation to spur development of electric vehicles.

“On the one hand national governments have put in place incentives to promote electric vehicles, but on the other they are delaying and weakening the roll-out of vital electric charging infrastructure,” said Cecile Toubeau of green group T&E. “Without sufficient charging points, drivers will be very reluctant to accept electric vehicles.”

The Commission’s proposal included national and EU-level targets for electric, hydrogen and natural gas charging points for road vehicles and ships to be installed by 2020 and 2025.

A compromise has been developed in which no specific targets would be set now but the Commission would in 2015 adopt an action plan for new EU-wide targets for public charging points by 2025. These must be placed at least on the TEN-T Core Network, in urban/suburban agglomerations and other densely populated areas.

In the final round of negotiations MEPs are hoping to strengthen the compromise by requiring that the “appropriate number” be specified at ‘one publicly accessible charging point per every 10 electric cars”.

If no deal can be reached next Thursday (20 March), the issue will be shelved until the next Parliament.