EC Granted Power to Order Auto Recalls, Levy Larger Fines

The European Commission has gained authority to order regional s vehicle recalls and fine companies as much as €30,000 ($37,000) per defective car, Bloomberg News reports.

The new powers are a direct result of Volkswagen AG’s diesel emission cheating scandal. The episode showed that regulatory enforcement, until now handled at the national level, sometimes shielded local manufacturers.

The EC had been calling for more powers to equalize enforcement procedures and put more pressure on carmakers to comply with regulations. Its expanded authority, which will be approved by the European Parliament next month, replaces regulations that took effect in 2007.

The new measures stem from a list of recommendations made by the EC more than two years ago. The approved updates also allow:

• national regulators to order safety or emission recalls for vehicles even if they were previously certified by other European countries
• the EC to re-test vehicle approved at the national level
• require carmakers to disclose details about their emission control software

One proposed change that wasn’t approved was to stop the practice of carmakers paying for their own emission certification tests, Bloomberg notes. The EC had suggested that carmakers contribute to a common fund used to cover testing costs, thereby removing potential favoritism.