EU Parliament on emissions scandal

A European Parliament committee unanimously adopted a draft report on Tuesday that looked at the shortcomings within European law and law enforcement that made it possible for the Volkswagen diesel scandal to happen.

The 41-0 vote came a day after members of the "Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurement in the Automotive Sector" heard testimony from EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska late Monday on what her office was doing to take Volkswagen to task and find out whether any other auto companies in Europe had used so-called "defeat devices" in their cars.

In prepared remarks, Bienkowska said she had called upon EU member states to investigate how defeat devices were used on their soil and asked them to report back to her. Only four states - Denmark, Britain, France and Italy - have done so thus far, to which the commissioner said she was "disappointed with where things stand."

"The data submitted by member states is incomplete and there are still many outstanding questions for which additional technical information is needed," Bienkowska continued.

The lack of urgency shown by national authorities was reflective, she said, of a "reluctance, I would say even the resistance to necessary changes." National governments had failed to enforce existing EU legislation that controls the requirements and test cycles used to measure vehicles' emissions, she added.

Bienkowska has announced that any country that is found to have turned a blind eye to emission violations would be investigated themselves for breaches of EU law and could possibly face fines.

"If they do not honor these rules, there must be consequences," the commissioner said.

Last week, German media cited anonymous sources saying the European Commission had found that Volkswagen broke consumer laws in 20 EU countries by cheating on emissions tests.

cjc/tko (AFP, dpa, Reuters)