Verbatim report of proceedings

Monday, 25 March 2019 - Strasbourg

Recent developments on the Dieselgate scandal (debate)

  Miguel Arias Cañete, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, three and a half years have passed since Dieselgate broke out. In this time, we learned that European vehicle manufacturers have violated the EU rules on vehicle pollutant emissions. This has been detrimental in many respects. It has affected the air quality and the health of EU citizens, it has affected the trust of EU consumers in EU industry, and it has affected confidence in the whole EU regulatory framework on vehicles.

Together with the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission has spared no efforts to put an end to this scandal, to restore confidence and to avoid any repetition in the future. A lot has already been achieved. In May 2018, we put in place a more efficient regulatory framework that guarantees greater independence and transparency of vehicle type-approval. This will inter alia allow for EU fines, EU—wide recalls and EU testing of vehicles. We have also introduced more accurate testing for NOx emissions with the Real—Driving Emissions (RDE) test procedure. This procedure gives a more realistic picture of actual pollutant emissions on the road, and it also contributes to the effective reduction of these emissions. Let me give a simple example. Thanks to RDE, diesel cars now emit on average 40 mg of NOx per km. Before RDE, these emissions were on average 700 to 800 mg per km in real driving conditions. We now have one of the most effective emission regulatory systems anywhere in the world.

The procedure to measure CO2 emissions more accurately has also been modernised, with the adoption of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). This allows EU consumers to obtain realistic information on the fuel consumption of vehicles. Both RDE and WLTP are new tests that will be constantly reviewed and adapted where necessary.

The Commission has also launched eight infringement procedures against Member States for a violation of the EU type—approval rules since December 2016. Six are still ongoing. They have already resulted in legislative changes and enforcement action in the Member States concerned. In February 2018, the Commission set up a platform in which Member States share the information on recalls of vehicles affected by Dieselgate. Based on this information, the Commission publishes regular updates on the state of play of recalls. So far, the Commission has no legal power to impose mandatory recalls. This still remains the responsibility of the Member States, which are bound to supervise the manufacturers and ensure that recall measures are effectively implemented.

As of 1 September 2020, the new Type-Approval Framework Regulation will allow for EU fines, EU-wide recalls and EU testing. For the time being, there is no comprehensive information on the effects of recalls on air quality. What is certain is that there are still about two million cars on European roads that require updating, and many of these cars are being sold to Central and Eastern Europe. We are moving our air quality problems from West to East.

Some of the new rules put in place by the Commission have been challenged before the General Court. This is notably the case of one of the Commission regulations setting up the RDE procedures, and in particular, the so-called conformity factors used in this procedure. These conformity factors are necessary to reflect the statistical uncertainty linked with the new test procedure, as well as the margin of error of the portable measuring equipment.

Last December, the General Court ruled that the Commission went beyond its powers when adopting these conformity factors. I want to inform you that the Commission has appealed that judgment. Germany and Hungary also appealed. The Commission is convinced that it did not go beyond its powers. These conformity factors are mere technical requirements that have no bearing on the emissions limits set by the co—legislators. Of course, at the same time I cannot guarantee what will be the outcome of this appeal.

This is why the Commission is preparing a proposal, scheduled for adoption in April. The Commission will propose to the co-legislators the adoption of those conformity factors. They should also empower the Commission to lower the second factor as soon as technical progress allows. We have already done that once. So Parliament will now have the opportunity to set the conformity factors together with the Council. This is good news for you.

To sum up, as acknowledged by the European Court of Auditors in its recent briefing paper on the EU’s response to the Dieselgate scandal: ‘The emissions scandal has accelerated many legislative changes to the EU system of vehicle emissions checks’. The European Court of Auditors also underlined that more could be done, and that it would take some time before the legislative changes have an impact on air quality.

Because deeds are better than words, together with the help of Member States, the Commission has prepared a ‘Roadmap towards clean vehicles’. It sets out benchmarks and tools for making sure that we will never have to go through a similar story again. The Commission presented the Roadmap on Monday, 18 March 2019, at the Automotive Industry Forum in Craiova. It demonstrates what the Commission is committed to. The Commission will ensure that the commitments made in the Roadmap are fulfilled, and it expects nothing less from the industry and the Member States.

Let me also finish on a more positive note. We need to look at the future, and we spare no effort in this respect. We already have ambitious targets for CO2 reduction. We are about to adopt a major initiative to increase road safety and save lives, the General Safety Regulation, and we have to prepare for the revolution of connected and automated vehicles.