Brussels, 30/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - During the first day of the Competitiveness Council on Monday 30 November, the Commissioner for Industry, Elzbieta Bienkowska, informed the member states that she had reminded Matthias Müller, the new president of the Volkswagen Board of Directors, that European consumers should be treated the same as those in the US and should receive compensation from the manufacturer.
In response to the decision of the group not to compensate European citizens, the Commissioner said, “obviously, the legal context is different in the US and Europe but the fraud is clearly the same on both sides of the Atlantic and consumers must be compensated in the same way”.
Last week, the German group indicated that European consumers had been less affected than those in the US, for several different reasons. Firstly, diesel car owners in the US had invested in these engines not to make savings but to invest in niche technology. Secondly, European diesel vehicle owners benefited from tax breaks that did not exist in the US.
On the same day, the Commissioner provided an update on the situation to the 28 Ministers of Industry regarding the RDC package and the trial procedures measuring emissions in real driving conditions. This package was recently adopted in committee procedures, without any major controversy (see EUROPE 11421). The first chapter of the package is expected to be adopted at the end of the year, on the condition that neither the European Parliament nor the Council express any opposition in the three months that have been granted under committee procedures. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)