Italy postpones Po Valley Euro 5 diesel vehicle ban by one year to October 2027

Cabinet decision and regional scope

The Italian Council of Ministers approved a decree-law on 24 September 2026 postponing the ban on Euro 5 diesel vehicles across the Po Valley. The restrictions were scheduled to take effect on 1 October 2026 across four northern regions: Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna. Under the newly approved legislation, which was signed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, the enforcement date shifts by one full year to 1 October 2027. The measure primarily affects eighteen large urban centers with populations exceeding 100,000 residents across the four regional territories. The delayed restrictions apply to both private passenger automobiles and commercial transport vehicles in the N1, N2, and N3 categories manufactured between 2011 and 2015.

Vehicle counts and economic justification

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport justified the urgent legislative intervention by citing vehicle registration figures across northern Italy. Across the entire country, approximately 3.5 million passenger cars and 600,000 commercial vehicles rely on Euro 5 diesel powertrains. Within the Po Valley basin, over 1.2 million passenger cars and 200,000 commercial vehicles remain in active operation. The technical report accompanying the decree emphasized the necessity of preventing severe disruptions to citizen mobility, public freight continuity, and regional industrial supply chains. The new legislation directly modifies a previous decree-law enacted on 12 September 2023, granting regional administrations additional latitude in structuring their local air quality strategies.

Ministerial response and European regulations

Matteo Salvini presented the decree as an intervention designed to protect households and commercial operations from abrupt vehicle bans. He stated that more than 500,000 workers in Lombardy alone will retain the ability to commute freely without facing immediate vehicle replacement mandates. Salvini referenced European regulatory frameworks from 2007, contending that drivers retain Euro 5 vehicles due to financial constraints rather than preference. The minister stated that the national government responded with common sense to European Union mandates to prioritize domestic economic interests.

It is an important result that meets the concrete needs of families, workers, and the production system, avoiding a generalized blockade that would have had significant consequences on mobility and economic activities.

Regional plans and environmental compliance

Prior to the national postponement, the four northern regional administrations had designed distinct timetables and enforcement mechanisms to meet environmental targets. Lombardy intended to enforce the vehicle ban year-round on weekdays from 07:30 to 19:30, excluding only motorists enrolled in its paid Move-In mileage-monitoring program. Veneto had outlined seasonal restrictions running annually from October to April, matching Piedmont's planned prohibitions from October through 30 April. Emilia-Romagna scheduled its structural diesel limitations to operate from October through 31 March each year. The national postponement allows regional authorities to implement alternative compensatory measures while diesel fuel prices across the European Union reached 2.23 euros per litre, up from 2.16 euros the previous week. European Commission data showed diesel prices establishing records in nineteen member states during the same period.