(Bloomberg) -- Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said his country will demand major changes to the European Union’s plan to cut carbon emissions because the current proposal would damage the country’s key automotive industry.

Speaking in an online debate with opposition leaders before October elections, Babis said he considers a proposed ban on combustion engines by 2035 “nonsense” and that he expects leaders of member states to have a difficult debate about the climate package. 

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“I’m convinced that it needs to be significantly changed,” Babis said. “It’s destroying car producers, and we are against this proposal. The next government will have to deal with it because we can’t dictate to people what kind of cars they should buy.”

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