EU Launches Legal Case Against 7 Countries over Volkswagen Scandal -- Update
December 08 2016 - 7:06AM
Dow Jones News
By Viktoria Dendrinou
BRUSSELS--The European Commission started legal action Thursday
against seven countries, including the U.K. and Germany, for
failing to catch--or punish--car manufacturers cheating in
emissions tests.
The commission, the European Union's executive arm, took action
against the U.K., Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Greece, Lithuania
and Luxembourg, for failing to establish penalties systems to deter
car manufacturers from violating emissions legislation, or for not
applying sanctions when the law was breached.
The move, which was widely anticipated, came after the
commission said manufacturers were understating their cars'
emissions.
"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," said Elzbieta
Bienkowska, the EU's internal market and industry commissioner.
Volkswagen AG admitted in 2015 that it rigged diesel engines on
11 million cars to cheat on checks for harmful nitrogen oxide
emissions.
Subsequent investigations in Germany and other EU countries
showed that several manufacturers were using loopholes in an EU ban
on so-called defeat devices to understate their vehicles'
emissions.
The commission said the Czech Republic, Greece and Lithuania had
failed to introduce sanctions for emissions violation into their
national law. It said Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and the
U.K.--countries that issued type approvals for Volkswagen--hadn't
applied penalties against the car maker, "despite the company's use
of illegal defeat device software."
The commission also said that Germany and the U.K. broke the law
by refusing to disclose information on potential emissions
irregularities in Volkswagen and other cars.
A German investigation of manufacturers that included
Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, GM Opel, Ford, Fiat and Renault, found
that only Volkswagen actively used software to recognize when its
diesel-powered cars were being tested for emissions in order to
cheat on the tests. Germany's KBA motor vehicle association, which
conducted the tests, determined that Volkswagen's software could be
considered an illegal defeat device under European law. The German
government did not press charges against Volkswagen.
While the German study singled out Volkswagen for use of a
defeat device, it also found that nearly all manufacturers used a
loophole in regulations that allowed them to greatly reduce
emissions controls if the outside temperature was too cold, in
order to protect the engine. The study found that this so-called
thermal window was so broadly defined that most manufacturers were
able to legally produce higher noxious tailpipe emissions than
generally allowed.
BMW, Daimler, GM, Ford, Fiat and Renault have denied using
defeat devices. Volkswagen has repeatedly said that its software
wasn't a defeat device as defined by European law.
Thursday's action is the first step of the commission's
procedure for national infringements. Governments have two months
to respond, after which Brussels can decide to refer them to the
EU's top court, the European Court of Justice, in a process that
can eventually lead to sanctions.
--William Boston contributed to this article.
Write to Viktoria Dendrinou at viktoria.dendrinou@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 08, 2016 07:51 ET (12:51 GMT)
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