- Avant le vote:

  Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, I will read the official statement of the Commission, but firstly let me underline that the Commission and Parliament have a very common interest. We were able, during the last week, to present a very robust and stronger type of approval system in Europe. The Commission will get supervisory powers, and we will make sure that Member States enforce the rules. So there will be no new Volkswagen cases in the future. Now let me go onto the official Commission statement.

COMMISSION STATEMENT

The Commission is fully committed to putting very robust emission-testing procedures in place, as of September 2017, to measure real driving emissions (RDE). The Commission counts on the European Parliament’s support in this respect.

On 28 October 2015, the Technical Committee for Motor Vehicles (TCMV) voted on a draft Commission Regulation introducing RDE limits for light duty vehicles.

The Commission is aware that the final result of the vote at the TCMV raised criticism from the European Parliament as to the level of conformity factors. The Commission considers the review mechanism of the draft regulations to be a very appropriate tool to address this criticism.

The annual review of the second conformity factor is explicitly included in the enacting terms of the draft Commission regulation. The objectives of this revision clause are to bring the conformity factor to 1, as soon as possible and at the latest by 2023. The Commission is committed to making use of this revision clause to reduce the second conformity factor by 2017 already, and on an annual basis. Due to this revision clause and the technical improvements which can be expected, manufacturers will, as of today, have to design vehicles that will comply with a conformity factor of 1.

The Commission welcomes the report on the reduction of pollutant emissions from road vehicles (DESS report) and agrees with the European Parliament on the need to ensure that the Commission is empowered to adopt measures and requirements on RDE test procedures, including conformity factors, through delegated acts following the revision of the Euro 5/6 legislation.

The Commission is committed to working closely with the European Parliament and with the Council to reach a compromise to this end without delay. The Commission will, in any case, ensure that the European Parliament is duly and closely involved in the setting-out of the RDE conformity factors.

The Commission believes that the joint work by both co-legislators will allow the establishment of a new, efficient and reliable approval framework for motor vehicle products.

  Giovanni La Via, chair of the ENVI committee. – Madam President, I would like to thank Commissioner Bieńkowska for her presence today in the Plenary, and also Vice-President Šefčovič, for their important work. This statement is proof of positive interinstitutional cooperation and represents a clear commitment for the future. I would like to invite all Members of the European Parliament to take this commitment into account during the vote – important for our European citizens.