MEP Dalli prepares for an emissions showdown

Labour MEP Miriam Dalli has vowed to forge ahead with her ambitious proposal to cut carbon dioxide emissions for cars and vans by at least 40 per cent by 2030, despite the European Commission’s attempt at backpedalling. The proposal goes to the vote next week but in a clear attempt to water it down, the European Commission on Tuesday issued what it called a “non-paper”, containing a series of tables and percentages but void of any workings. A non-paper is an informal document which is used as a basis for discussions. Sources in Brussels have questioned the timing of such a document, issued 10 months after the commission published its proposal for the regulation and just one week before the vote. “It is clear that the so-called ‘non-paper’ which the commission is trying to present as part of its impact assessment seven days before the final vote in the European Parliament is a serious attempt at shooting down any ambition and attempting to come up with calculations to try and keep CO2 reductions down,” Dr Dalli told Times of Malta.  “The Commission should have been clear on what and how it based its calculations.” Dr Dalli had been appointed in February to lead the Parliament’s...