EU Vows to Sanction Member States on Emission Rules

Elzbieta Bienkowska, the European Union’s industry commissioner, tells Reuters she aims to sanction EU member states that have failed to enforce the region’s emission standards.

The threat stems from earlier investigations into Volkswagen AG’s diesel emission cheating scandal. They show that several diesel-powered models made by other carmakers also significantly surpass allowable levels of nitrogen oxides in real-world use.

The probe underscored the elastic nature of the EU’s approved certification rules. Current standards allow manufacturers to configure their diesel emission controls to switch off under vaguely described instances to protect the engine. Proposed changes in the rules for 2019 would narrow the gap between results obtained in the lab and on the road.

Bienkowska says the legal infringement process she envisions against member states won’t begin until the EU collects the evidence it needs, a process that could take “a few months.” She did not identify the countries being targeted but tells Reuters the group consists of more than one EU member, but not all.

She also reiterates her call for VW to pay compensation to the 8.5 million of its European customers who own one of the company’s cheater diesels. Simply replacing cheater software with an update “is not enough,” she declares.