BERLIN, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Helge Braun (CDU), the new chancellery minister in the federal government, became the latest senior German politician to oppose diesel driving bans on Thursday.
Appearing on the public broadcaster "ZDF", Braun emphasized the need to prevent diesel owners from experiencing any "depreciation in the value" of their vehicles.
He also voiced worries about the proposal for a "blue placard" system, which is currently being discussed in Germany, saying it would effectively ban vehicles with high nitrogen oxide emission levels from densely-populated areas and is hence expected to harm the demand for diesel motors.
Calls for driving bans have recently gained renewed momentum in Germany after a landmark ruling by the Federal Administrative Court in the ongoing "dieselgate" scandal empowered municipal governments to adopt such measures unilaterally.
Earlier, Berlin had admitted that at least 20 German cities would fail to comply with European Union (EU) urban air quality regulations by 2020.
According to the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), diesel cars are responsible for more than 50 percent of harmful nitrogen oxide emissions. The EU has threatened to sue Germany before the European Court of Justice (CFEU) unless the situation is addressed swiftly.
Braun consequently urged the German automotive industry to cooperate in finding a different, less radical solution, which did not require the removal of diesel vehicles from urban roads.
"If trust is restored that (diesel owners) will still be able to drive in cities, the problem of value depreciation will solve itself," the chancellery minister said.
"There is no doubt that we will need the automotive industry's assistance to achieve this objective," the CDU politician added.
Having recently participated in the first session of Chancellor Angela Merkel's (CDU) fourth ruling cabinet, Braun voiced confidence that the coalition partners in the new government would work together constructively.
Echoing a sentiment expressed by the new transport minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU), the chancellery minister said that he did not expect driving bans to be implemented.
