Diesel Gate: European Parliament decides not to veto

A move to veto a plan to temporarily raise NOx emission limits for diesel cars was rejected by MEPs on Wednesday, after the European Commission promised a review clause and tabled a long-term legislative proposal to revamp the European Union car approval regime.

"We now have clear commitments from the European Commission for a review clause with a precise timeframe, in order to bring down the maximum emission values to the levels which were agreed upon by co-legislators. A proposal for a long-term reform of the EU approval regime for cars is also on the table, as requested by Parliament," declared the president of the chair of the Environmental Committee Giovanni La Via.

Last week, the European Commission proposed measures which would have permitted it not only to freeze automobile test protocols, but also to oversee and if necessary inflict penalties on national approval agencies for new cars.

These announcements were strongly welcomed by the majority of Members of European Parliament (MEPs), in particular as an investigative committee has been put in place to look into the Volkswagen scandal. The investigation could last months and might permit to see more clearly the extent to which the auto manufacturer lobbying has spread its influence in Brussels, perhaps to reveal some responsibility within the European Commission.

According to the Commission, the transitional relaxation of the threshold levels is justified. It is necessary to take into account the technical uncertainties linked to the implementation of the most recent mechanism for portable emissions measurement systems, as well as the technical limits to the short term improvements of real world performance in terms of emissions for diesel cars currently being made, affirmed Brussels.

The MEPs decided, by 323 votes in favor, with 317 against and 61 abstentions, to align itself with the European Commission. Those against the decision have denounced "the absence of a calendar and the lack of coherence" in the compromise that has been found. Some haven't hesitated to speak of "amnesty for the automobile" sector.

The European Parliament, during the first plenary session of 2016, has already voted on the composition of the committee responsible for the investigation of the violations of EU automobile emissions rules in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal.

Was the European Commission aware of the fraudulent practices that the United States has accused Volkswagen of using to rig the motors of 11 million vehicles in order to give false results in antipollution tests due to software manipulation? That is the central and explosive question to which the investigative committee, made up of 45 MEPs chosen from all political groups, must respond. Endit