The EU wants change. These are electric cars. In Germany, 84,000 charging points, in Poland 3840

On Tuesday (July 11), MEPs approved new EU regulations extending the location of charging and refueling stations, the so-called alternative fuels (apart from electricity, they also include hydrogen and ammonia) cars, trucks and buses. This is not only to help reduce emissions in the transport sector, according to the European Environment Agency around 1/4 of the EU’s total CO2 emissions come from the transport sector, of which 71.7% is from road transport – but also to make it easier for owners of electric and alternative fuel cars to travel around the EU. The more so that from 2035 the EU will ban the registration of new cars with internal combustion engines.

– Mobility is extremely important for citizens, it is also crucial for the economy. Unfortunately, transport also has a negative impact on the environment, which is why we want to change this sector so that it is less dependent on fossil fuels. However, the fact that we can finally move without polluting the environment also depends on the availability of infrastructure, such as charging stations

– said Bulgarian MEP Petyr Vitanov (S&D), rapporteur on behalf of the EP, during the debate preceding the vote.

Still not enough charging stations. “The least in Central and Eastern Europe”

Because although the number of electric cars in the EU is growing and in 2021 it was estimated at almost 2 million (Germany has the largest number of electric cars, as many as 618,000, then France and the Netherlands), it is still there is no infrastructure for charging this type of vehicles. Two years ago, European controllers warned that there are too few electric car charging stations in the EU, and they are unevenly distributed, which makes it difficult for drivers to travel freely in e-vehicles in Europe.

Little has changed to this day. According to an analysis carried out in April by the daily “Die Welt”, as much as 61 percent of all electric vehicle charging stations in Europe are located in three countries: the Netherlands, France and Germany. The remaining 39 percent stations are in the other 24 countries of the Community, with the fewest in Central and Eastern Europe.

For comparison: v Germany has over 84,000 charging points, and in neighboring Poland only 3,840 stations. This makes drivers afraid to embark on a longer journey, especially since the range of electric vehicles is smaller than that of internal combustion cars and they need to be charged more often.

“If we want to ban internal combustion engines, we have to give people something in return”

Meanwhile, according to EU politicians, no EU resident should be cut off from the possibility of free travel.

Alternative fuels must be available throughout the EU, whether we are talking about the center of Europe or its periphery

– said German MEP Niklas Nienass from the Greens in Strasbourg.

If we want to ban internal combustion engines, we have to give people something in return. People need to be able to refuel their cars

– admitted the Czech MEP Alexandr Vondra (ECR), although he pointed out that the right wing is against giving up fuel engines. – The new EU regulations on charging stations will certainly be beneficial for drivers. Good coverage of charging stations across Europe should help electric car drivers overcome any travel fears, Laurens Rutten of EU consumer organization BEUC told DW.

Refueling every 60 km

According to the new regulations, until 2026. charging stations for passenger electric cars with a capacity of at least 400 kW are to be located at least every 60 km along the main routes and in each direction of travel. Over the next two years, their output power is to increase to 600 kW, which means that vehicles will be refueled faster and queues at the points will be reduced. Charging stations for trucks and buses are to be located every 120 km and installed on half of the main European roads by 2028; depending on the route, their power is to range from 1,400 kW to 2,800 kW.

Member States are also to invest in hydrogen refueling stations, which by 2031 should be located at least every 200 km. Service at stations will also be simplified, mainly in terms of payments.

Drivers will be able to easily pay at charging points using payment cards or contactless (e.g. blik). Today it is not so obvious, because many stations require customers to buy a subscription and only allow payments via the application and via the QR code. The way of displaying the prices of alternative fuels, which are to be presented similarly to the prices at traditional petrol stations, is also to be changed. This means that prices will have to be displayed in the form of per kWh or per minute/session, just as the prices of e.g. petrol are quoted per liter.

EU politicians agree that this system is already well known to consumers, so it will be clear to them. EU consumer organizations have been calling for this for a long time.

We have repeatedly said that consumers must benefit from transparent prices and convenient payment methods. We have therefore called for tariffs on a price per kilowatt hour (kWh), which reflects the price logic per liter that consumers are already familiar with. Secondly, we wanted all charging points to accept widely available payment methods, such as debit or credit cards

says DW Laurens Rutten of BEUC. According to the organization, for slow chargers (below 50kW), the rules are unfortunately a bit less ambitious – they will still be able to accept QR code payments, they will also have more flexibility when it comes to how the price is displayed.

– In short: this is a good step forward, but BEUC would like all charging points to follow the same rules. We will watch the development of the market and see if the new rules need to be supplemented, says Rutten.

Information about prices and queues

By 2027, the EC is also to create a kind of EU database of alternative fuels, which will contain information on the availability of various charging stations, waiting times for charging or prices applicable at a given point. The rules now need to be formally approved by the Council.

This, say EU politicians, should be just a formality, especially since the EP and the Council reached a preliminary agreement on this matter in March this year. The regulations will come into force six months after their entry into force. The regulations are part of the Ready for 55 package, i.e. the EU strategy, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. compared to 1990 levels.