Nearly a dozen major European cities, including Paris, Rome and Brussels, submitted a petition to the European Parliament on Monday calling for stricter standards “on air quality and vehicle exhaust,” AFP reported.

The petition, seen by AFP, comes as 27 member states have voted in favor of a new regulation on car exhaust emissions, which will be discussed with the European Parliament, which has yet to decide its position.

Member states, including France and Italy, have ruled out tightening existing rules, saying it could slow manufacturers’ investment in electric vehicles.

They therefore opted for a less stringent approach than the proposal put forward by the European Commission in November 2022, which aimed to significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and fine particulate matter from vehicles.

The mayors who signed the “complaint” initiated by the city authorities of Paris believe that the proposal, adopted by the EU member states at the end of September, “is a step back and a failure in terms of the integration of WHO standards on air quality and vehicle emissions. “.

Rome, Brussels, Zagreb and Križevci (Croatia), as well as Bordeaux, Montpellier, Besançon and the metropolitan area of ​​Lyon in France signed the petition initiated by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.

“We, the representatives of the big European cities, where 75% of the population of Europe live, cannot accept such a denial of democracy and such a scandal,” they say in the petition, demanding “an ambitious standard that meets those set by the WHO.”

This text of Euro 7, the European emission standard aimed at reducing pollution caused by transport, is due to apply from 2025, replacing Euro 6, and will classify all cars and heavy goods vehicles, regardless of engine type, according to the level of pollutant emissions.

“Instead of forcing these (car) manufacturers to comply with ambitious standards, Europe is preparing to comply with their demands and interests,” the signatory mayors say, predicting that “if we don’t tighten standards now, we will doom ourselves.” that we suffer from the emissions of these vehicles by 2050.”

“If adopted, the Euro-7 standard would allow pollution and, therefore, killing due to non-compliance with WHO standards, and this would be a new scandal in the field of health care on a European scale,” they say.