Brussels  - Environmental groups on Wednesday reacted with outrage to a French proposal weakening planned European Union laws on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) cars should be allowed to emit.

The French government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, "is giving up any pretence of trying to limit the climate impact of cars," pressure group Greenpeace said in a statement.

The proposal, presented to diplomats on Tuesday, "totally ignores" a vote in the European Parliament and shows that France is "totally out of touch with the needs of citizens who are desperate to reduce their fuel bills," a spokesman for Brussels-based group Transport and Environment (T&E) told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

On Thursday the parliament's environment committee voted through a version of a law originally proposed by the EU's executive, the European Commission, demanding that car makers selling their vehicles in the EU ensure that the average CO2 emissions of the cars they sell are no more than 120 grams per kilometre (g/km) in 2012.

Penalties for non-compliance should rise by 2015 to 95 euros (135.8 dollars) per g/km per car sold over the limit, and the EU should bring in a target of at least 95 g/km by
2020, they said.

The vote was greeted with dismay by industry groups, especially in the EU's two largest states, France and Germany.

The French government's counter-proposal, issued to diplomats on Tuesday, calls for a fine of no more than 80 euros per g/km over the limit and a long-range target "in the range 95-110 g/km."

Moreover, it declares that the law should only apply to the most efficient 60 per cent of Europe's new auto fleet when it comes into force in 2012, with the least efficient cars only coming into the system in 2015.

This should be done "in order to give the industry the appropriate planning security to bring forward the necessary investments in new technologies," the proposal says.

The proposal, which would need the backing of the EU's member states and the European Parliament, is now likely to set up a heated political battle as lobbyists on both sides push for a deal before the parliament's next plenary session on October 20-23. (dpa)