FRANKFURT, Dec 12 (Reuters) - European carmakers could be fined billions of euros in penalties a year for failing to meet EU pollution limits, German newspapers reported, citing draft proposals by the European Commission.
Brussels may charge 95 euros per gram and per car for excess carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) and Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) said in summaries of articles to be published on Thursday.
The FAZ said the level was seen as very likely in Brussels where the European Union executive is due to adopt regulations on Dec. 19 on how to enforce an average limit of 120 grams of CO2 per km by 2012 — part of the bloc’s ambitious strategy to combat climate change.
The decision will affect Europe’s biggest carmakers such as Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat.
By JOHN M. BRODER and MICHELINE MAYNARD, The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 — Congressional negotiators reached a deal late Friday on energy legislation that would force American automakers to improve the fuel efficiency of their cars and light trucks by 40 percent by 2020.
The proposal, which would require automakers to achieve 35 miles per gallon on average, is similar to a measure that was passed in the summer by the Senate but was bitterly opposed by the auto companies, who argued they did not have the technology or the financial resources to reach that goal.
The auto companies gave up their long-held opposition to fuel- economy increases not long before the Senate version was passed, but proposed a much weaker alternative. In recent weeks, the chief executives of General Motors, the Ford Motor Company and Chrysler visited Capitol Hill in an effort to fend off a stronger measure, but the compromise announced Friday showed those efforts had little effect.
The compromise emerged after days of difficult negotiations between House and Senate members and their staffs. The final deal was hammered out by the two main antagonists, the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and Representative John D. Dingell, the Michigan Democrat who is the auto industry’s most effective advocate on Capitol Hill.
