European environmental groups have strongly criticised France and Germany after the two agreed on a joint plan to ease European Union regulations on carbon emissions from cars. They warned the shift to electric vehicles could slow and reliance on Chinese-made batteries could rise, weakening the competitiveness of Europe’s auto industry.

CleanTechnica recently reported that the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) called the agreement a "historic mistake". France and Germany proposed easing standards for car carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and requirements under the Industrial Acceleration Act (IAA) for recognising EU-made products.

A key issue is that cars assembled in the EU using Chinese-made batteries could be recognised as EU-made. T&E warned that "such measures could undermine the competitiveness of European battery manufacturers and threaten efforts to build supply chains within the region".

T&E also said the pace of the EV transition is likely to slow. Its analysis showed electric vehicles could account for 57 percent of new car supply in 2030 if the current target is maintained, but could fall to 43 percent if the agreement is applied.

Battery sourcing standards are also contentious. The agreement set the share of battery cells sourced from Europe at 10 percent in 2028 to 2029 and 20 percent in 2030 to 2031. More than half of the battery cells used in EVs sold in the EU in 2025 were already produced in Europe.

T&E estimated that low sourcing thresholds could curb investment and demand for European battery plants, putting 164 GWh of capacity in 2027 and 254 GWh in 2030 at risk.

Anna Krajinska (안나 크라진스카), a senior director at T&E, criticised the plan, saying, "Policies that slow the EV transition in the name of protecting jobs could instead lead to the decline of Europe’s auto industry."

The French and German governments, however, say the plan is a compromise that considers climate targets, industrial competitiveness and jobs together. The agreement is a joint proposal by the two countries and would require consent from other EU member states and the European Parliament to take effect.