EU Ponders Multinational Court Action Against VW on Diesels

The EU’s justice commissioner plans to meet with European consumer protection agencies today to consider initiating a “joint enforcement action” against Volkswagen AG for promoting its emission-cheating diesels as “green.”

The ploy by Commissioner Vera Jourova would involve national consumer protection agencies coordinating fine against VW for misleading customers about 8.5 million diesels it sold in Europe that had been rigged to evade emission standards, the Financial Times says.

The newspaper notes that some of the agencies have power to levy fines equal to as much as 10% of sales revenue without recourse to the courts.

Jourova contends that VW should offer affected owners in Europe some sort of compensation, just as it has agreed to do in the U.S. The company has steadfastly insisted that the two markets are fundamentally different, mainly because European diesel standards are not as stringent as those in the U.S.

VW argues that its European customers suffered no loss because their vehicles haven’t lost market value and can be brought into regulatory compliance with no adverse effect on performance.

Jourova opines that VW broke the EU’s “sales and guarantees directive.” The rule says goods must be “in conformity with the sales contract” for at least two years after the sale. She says VW violated that law by telling consumers its rigged diesels were environmentally friendly.