EPP and Nationalist Party MEP Peter Agius has renewed his criticism of the EU’s drive to shift European spending away from Chinese products and towards domestically produced European goods.
After campaigning against the €3 customs charge on small parcels imported from outside the EU, which mainly affects the enormous volume of e-commerce imports from China, Peter Agius is now raising concerns over the EU’s legislative drive to restrict public support for electric vehicles that do not meet European-origin requirements.
Malta currently subsidises all the purchase of new electric vehicles including Chinese brands, with grants of up to €8,000 for new electric cars costing up to €40,000. Peter Agius said the proposed European rules could therefore have consequences for Maltese consumers and asked his followers on social media whether they agreed with the EU’s newly proposed restrictions.
The new EU proposal forms part of the Industrial Accelerator Act, presented by the European Commission in March as part of its attempt to rebuild Europe’s industrial base and reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing. The legislation introduces so-called “Made in EU” requirements for strategic industries whenever European or national public money is being used.
For electric vehicles covered by the proposal, the vehicle would have to be assembled inside the European Union, while at least 70% of the value of its non-battery components would have to originate in the EU. The legislation also establishes European-origin requirements for battery cells and other battery components, with additional requirements for electric powertrains and electronic systems being phased in later.
The measures would apply to electric vehicles purchased through public procurement and to certain public financial-support schemes. This means that a Chinese-branded vehicle manufactured largely in Europe could potentially qualify, while a European-branded vehicle manufactured predominantly outside the Union could fail the origin test.
Its current text particularly targets publicly procured vehicles and support schemes for corporate vehicles, and the legislation still has to pass through the European Parliament and Council.
In the beginning, Peter Agius seemed to be a very promising and pro-European politician. However, he has ended up as a Chinese asset campaigning against EU rules in relation to Chinese products, supposedly to protect Maltese consumers. His kind of buffoonery on social media, riling up his followers against the EU on such an existential issue for our European industries, would have been expected from Labour’s MEPs, but Peter Agius seems to want to compete with his fellow Labour politicians through their own populist methods and beliefs.
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