Protecting the rights of consumers and producers and workers at automotive companies producing vehicles with combustion engines

28.7.2017

Question for written answer E-005116-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Adam Szejnfeld (PPE)

Air quality rarely forms an important part of environmental policies. I am therefore pleased that vehicle manufacturers are developing increasingly advanced technologies to limit the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, there has recently been an increase in initiatives which are of concern to European consumers who possess or plan to purchase cars equipped with diesel or petrol engines. One example is the announcement by the authorities in a number of European cities that they will introduce radical restrictions or even an outright ban on diesel or even petrol-driven vehicles, to encourage the use, for example, of electric vehicles.

This is in spite of the fact that it is not certain whether, as a result of future technological developments, a completely different vehicle-powering system will emerge (using, for example, zero-emission hydrogen, which is described as the fuel of the future).

If action is taken with insufficient forethought or implemented too radically, it will jeopardise the interests of Europe’s consumers, including those investing large sums in the purchase of cars which may well suffer a dramatic fall in value from one day to the next.

This is also a considerable risk for Europe’s automotive industry and the hundreds of thousands of people employed in the sector.

I would like to ask how the Commission intends to protect consumers and producers from the negative impact of any such bans and whether these are in compliance with EC law.