EU not buckling to pressure over car CO2 rules, climate chief says

The European Commission is not considering changing Europe's policies to cut CO2 emissions from cars, despite a push from the EU's biggest political group to weaken the laws, the bloc's climate policy chief told Reuters on Thursday.

The center-right European People's Party - the European Parliament's biggest lawmaker group - launched a campaign this week to weaken the climate rules, adding to pressure on Brussels from automakers and national governments to urgently help Europe's ailing autos sector.

Asked whether he was now considering changing the car CO2 rules, European Union climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said he was not.

"No. The answer is no," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event in Brussels.

Hoekstra, like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is part of the EPP political group.

Europe's car sector is in...