Handelsblatt, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported Chancellor Merz and President Macron have agreed that France will concede on the combustion-vehicle phase-out in return for Germany softening 'buy European' procurement demands. Current EU law requires a 100% reduction in average CO2 emissions for newly registered vehicles by 2035 versus 2021—effectively a sales ban on combustion-engine cars. Under pressure from Germany, the European Commission proposed in Dec 2025 to relax the

Handelsblatt, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported Chancellor Merz and President Macron have agreed that France will concede on the combustion-vehicle phase-out in return for Germany softening 'buy European' procurement demands. Current EU law requires a 100% reduction in average CO2 emissions for newly registered vehicles by 2035 versus 2021—effectively a sales ban on combustion-engine cars. Under pressure from Germany, the European Commission proposed in Dec 2025 to relax the target to a 90% cut by 2035, with the remaining 10% offsettable via low-carbon European steel, e-fuels and biofuels. The Merz-Macron plan would go further than the Commission proposal; EU diplomats say a broad framework is agreed but substantive details are still being negotiated.