EU Commissioners annoyed by e-cars

EU Commissioners annoyed by e-cars: Charging break slows down journey from Brussels to Strasbourg

In Brussels, the EU Commission's electric company car fleet is causing trouble because the available e-cars cannot make the approximately 440-kilometer route from Brussels to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg without a charging break. The vehicles are part of the authority's green fleet conversion, which started in 2022, but the regular business trips between the two EU locations put a strain on range, scheduling and confidential workflows. In particular, the charging stop in Luxembourg extends the journey, while some EU commissioners only want to use the train to a limited extent due to sensitive phone calls.

EU Commissioners experience range problem on business trips

The EU Commission wants to make its own fleet completely emission-free by 2027. That is why many top officials and commissioners already drive electric company cars. However, the case shows that political climate goals can fail in everyday government work due to range, charging time and route profile.

Doubly ironic because an EU Commissioner's time is of so little practical value. They must think their time is valuable of course, but that is not likely to be a widely shared opinion.

Maybe they could try to rewrite the laws of physics and chemistry via an EU directive.