The European Commission is acting against seven Member States on the grounds they have failed to fulfil their obligations under EU vehicle type approval legislation.
The Commission is taking action against them for failing to set up penalties systems to deter car manufacturers from violating car emissions legislation, or not applying such sanctions where a breach of law has occurred.
The European Commission decided today to act against the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Spain and the United Kingdom on the grounds that they have disregarded EU vehicle type approval rules.
Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said,”Abiding by the law is first and foremost the duty of car manufacturers. But national authorities across the EU must ensure that car manufacturers actually comply with the law.
“For the future, the Commission has tabled proposals to introduce greater European oversight and to make the type approval system more robust. We expect the European Parliament and Council to reach an agreement swiftly.”
In accordance with Article 46 of Directive 2007/46 and more specifically Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 715/2007, which is directly applicable, Member States must have effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties systems in place to deter car manufacturers from breaking the law. Where such a breach of law takes place, for example by using defeat devices to reduce the effectiveness of emission control systems, these penalties must be applied.
The Commission is addressing letters of formal notice to the Czech Republic, Greece and Lithuania because they have failed to introduce such penalties systems into their national law. The Commission is also opening infringements against Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and the United Kingdom – the Member States that issued type approvals for Volkswagen Group in the EU – for not applying their national provisions on penalties despite the company’s use of illegal defeat device software.
Additionally, the Commission takes the view that Germany and the United Kingdom broke the law by refusing to disclose, when requested by the Commission, all the technical information gathered in their national investigations regarding potential nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions irregularities in cars by Volkswagen Group and other car manufacturers on their territories.
A letter of formal notice is a first step in an infringement procedure and constitutes an official request for information. The Member States now have two months to respond to the arguments put forward by the Commission; otherwise, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.
Reacting to the announcement, Greg Archer, clean vehicles director at Transport & Environment, said, “The Commission has bared teeth and told member states it’s time to act against the dishonest carmakers that have been manipulating tests and poisoning the air by turning off exhaust treatment systems.
“Toothless paper-tiger regulators must now do their job and put the health of citizens above that of engines. Dirty diesels must be recalled and fixed and national regulators must stop protecting their friends and clients in the automotive industry.”
The UK and other Governments could potentially be fined billions of Euros for inaction although the formalities are a long process and countries may comply by penalizing carmakers.
In October, the British Government told VW it wanted compensation for British buyers which has so far been refused by the car maker.
Yesterday’s announcement is the “Letter of Formal Notice”. If still no compliance, it can end up in the European Court of Justice, which can make a finding against the member state. After that if there is still no compliance, Court can penalise financially based on: A lump sum depending on the time elapsed since the original Court ruling and a daily penalty payment for each day after a second Court ruling until the infringement ends.
T&E’s calculations also show that today 29 million diesel cars and vans are driving on Europe’s roads that we classify as ‘dirty’, meaning that, for Euro 5 cars, they are at least 3 times over the relevant NOx limit.
Only one in four diesel vehicles registered since 2011 achieve these modest thresholds. These vehicles were approved for sale by national type approval authorities, mainly in Germany, France, the UK, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The largest number of ‘dirty’ diesels is found on French roads (5. 5 million), followed by Germany (5,3 million), the UK (4,3 million), Italy (3,1 million), Spain (1,9 million) and Belgium (1,4 million).
