Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has described the EU’s ban on the sale of new fossil fuel-powered car engines after 2035 as a “self-destructive” policy and vowed to put pressure on Brussels to “correct these decisions”.

Speaking at the Italian industry association Confindustria on Wednesday, the prime minister argued that the ‘forced conversion’ of the entire EU market for new light vehicles to electric within ten years was ‘very unwise as a strategy’.

The green transition cannot mean the destruction of thousands of jobs or the elimination of entire industries that generate wealth and jobs,” Meloni said, criticising the “disastrous effects” of Europe’s Green Deal and its “ideological approach”.

Meloni argued that the EU should follow the principle of technological neutrality, allowing each member state to define its own tactics to reduce CO₂ emissions, rather than mandating a wholesale switch to electric vehicles.

Italian leader warns about raw materials and supply chain

“We want to defend Europe’s industrial capacity,” said Meloni, arguing that when it comes to electric vehicles, the EU does not own the raw materials and does not control the value chain.

“I promise to continue to work vigorously to correct these decisions. We want to follow the path of reducing emissions … with common sense … using all available technologies … saving tens of thousands of jobs,” he said.

Those who are friends of Europe must have the courage to show what does not work,’ Meloni said, reiterating his government’s commitment to ‘fix’ these policies.

“Europe’s ambitious environmental goals must be backed by adequate investment and resources, together with a coherent plan to achieve them,” Meloni said, referring to the recent report on Europe’s competitiveness by former Italian prime minister and former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.

He was sharply critical after Italy, Germany, and some eastern European countries such as the car parts-producing Czech Republic stepped up calls for an early and urgent review of EU car emissions rules, which would mean a ban on the sale of new internal combustion engines by 2035.

German minister: Europe loses credibility

The rules, agreed for 2023, are among the most controversial parts of the bloc’s ambitious Green Deal climate policy, with carmakers and governments of car-producing countries calling for a delay to the ban or more flexibility in the rules, including allowing the use of carbon-neutral e-fuels.

“Europe is losing credibility because it is setting targets that even it cannot meet,” German Transport Minister Volker Wissing, a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), told a transport trade fair this week.

“While recognising that it is necessary to set targets, they must be realistic and ‘feasible in practice’,” Wissing said.

Brussels has the right to review the legislation in 2026, prompting conservative MEPs, including members of Ursula von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP), to call on Brussels to use this opportunity to reconsider the ban.

Italy is even pushing for the review to be postponed until next year, as its own car industry faces a deepening crisis with falling production due to falling consumer demand for electric vehicles.

Sharp drop in car production in Italy

According to the National Automobile Industry Supply Chain Association, which represents Italy’s car and parts manufacturers, only 225,000 passenger cars were produced in Italy in the first seven months of 2024, down 35.5 per cent on the same period last year.

Speaking at a recent business forum, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said: “The Green Deal as it was conceived has failed. The European car industry is collapsing. Decisions have to be taken; we cannot wait two years,” he said.

Stellantis, Italy’s largest carmaker and the international group that owns the Fiat brand, announced last week that it was suspending production of electric Fiat 500s at its historic Turin plant for four weeks, citing weak demand.

Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV in the Netherlands, has announced his government’s formal request to the European Commission to withdraw from the EU’s migration policy.

Geert Wilders, leader of the PVV, which came first in the recent national elections, spoke about the Dutch request during a debate in the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

“It will probably take a very long time [to be finalised]. But nevertheless it is a sign that a new wind is blowing in the Netherlands,” Wilders said, referring to Brexit and describing the move as ‘a kind of mini-Nexit’.

Wilders’ PVV party dropped calls for a “Nexit” (the Netherlands leaving the EU) in its EU election manifesto, as it did in 2019. In its manifesto for the 2023 national elections, the PVV said it wanted a binding referendum for the Dutch to decide whether to leave the European Union.

On Wednesday, Dutch Minister of Asylum and Immigration Marjolein Faber of the PVV sent an official letter to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson outlining her government’s intentions.

We must once again be responsible for our own asylum policy,’ the minister wrote on X after sending the letter.

The Dutch withdrawal request had been expected since the new four-party government, led by independent Dick Schoof and including Wilders’ PVV, adopted the toughest migration programme in the country’s history.

“The exit clause from the European asylum and migration policy will be submitted to the European Commission as soon as possible,” the political agreement signed in July states.

The political coalition agreement aims to reduce migration flows, which are seen as putting pressure on the country’s health, education and housing sectors, among others.

However, the announcement of the Dutch withdrawal request surprised Brussels, which was less convinced of its feasibility.

We have of course taken note of the letter,’ a Commission spokesman told the press on Wednesday.

He added that the letter itself ‘recognises that withdrawal is only possible in the context of treaty change’.

But the Commission spokesman added that existing laws ‘remain binding on the Netherlands’ as no immediate changes to EU asylum and migration rules are expected.

This means that the Netherlands will have to work to implement the recently adopted EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, a system of ‘obligatory solidarity’ that member states must comply with within two years.

“We welcome the minister’s statement that he will continue to prioritise the implementation of the (migration) pact, which is clearly a priority for the Commission,” the Commission spokesperson added.

By the end of the year, member states will have to submit implementation plans detailing how they intend to implement the law.

According to the migration pact, EU countries can choose one of three options for asylum seekers: pay 20,000 euros for each rejected asylum seeker, house them or fund operational support.

Earlier this year, the Netherlands announced that it would pay instead of taking in more asylum seekers.

Serbian President Alexandar Vucic has signed a decree to reintroduce mandatory military service, marking the return of conscription after its abolition in 2011. The new measure mandates 75 days of military service for men, while women will have the option to serve voluntarily.

“We will not attack anyone, but we want to deter those who pose a threat to us,” Vucic stated, without specifying any particular source of threat. He emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong military force for the nation’s defense.

For the decree to take effect, it must be ratified by the Serbian government and parliament, where Vucic’s ruling party holds a substantial majority.

The move comes as military tensions rise across Europe, with several nations reconsidering or reinstating conscription. Croatia, a neighboring country, announced in August that it would bring back compulsory military service, set to begin on January 1, 2025, after discontinuing it in 2008. Croatia’s Defence Minister, Ivan Anusic, stated that the decision aligns with modernization plans and commitments to NATO. The Croatian conscription will require two months of service.

Across Europe, other countries are following similar paths. Latvia reinstated conscription in 2023 in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Norway, where military service is already mandatory, revealed plans to recruit an additional 20,000 personnel. In the United Kingdom, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged in May to bring back conscription due to the “growing threat from authoritarian regimes” such as Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea. Germany is also debating various options for reinstating military service, while Lithuania has introduced a nine-month conscription period for young men finishing school.

The return of conscription in Serbia reflects broader regional and global security concerns, particularly considering Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and the subsequent military build-up in the Balkans.