European Parliament sets up inquiry committee for Volkswagen scandal

The European Parliament on Thursday voted to set up an inquiry committee to investigate Volkswagen's emissions scandal, or the so called "dieselgate scandal".

"Parliament decided to set up a 45 member inquiry committee to investigate breaches of EU rules on car emission tests and alleged failures by EU member states and the European Commission to enforce EU standards," it said in a statement.

The EU probe will look into whether the regulatory authorities in its members states or institutions that monitors the car industry were too negligent as it allegedly ignored suspicious pollution testing of diesel cars.

Meanwhile, the inquiry will also examine the evidence of the use of "defeat mechanisms" before the scandal emerged on Sept. 18, 2015.

The statement said the probe could last for a year to conclude a final report, but the committee would present an interim report within six months.

The wide-ranging probe into the Volkswagen emissions scandal follows the discovery in the United States that the Volkswagen group used software to drive down NoX emissions cosmetically during tests.

The German automaker had admitted in September that it rigged emissions tests by equipping diesel vehicles with a cheating software.

The European Parliament had voted a resolution in October calling for a thorough investigation into the role and responsibility of the EU Commission and member states and urging them to disclose what they knew of these breaches and what actions had been taken. Endit