On Monday 5 September the spokesperson for the Internal Market and Industry, Lucia Caudet, stated that the European Commission will respond to Germany's request and assist the Italian and German authorities in shedding light on the possible use of defeat devices employed by the Italian Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles manufacturer to reduce nitric oxide emissions (NOx).
On 2 September the Commission received a request from the German minister to consult the Italian authorities with regard to Fiat’s respect of European type-approval legislation. According to the German Transport Department, the German monitoring authority for the automobile sector (‘Kraftfahrt Bundesamt’ - KBA) has detected a device in some of the Italian manufacturer's models (Fiat 500X, Fiat Doblo and Jeep Renegade) that would enable the exhaust treatment system to be disconnected after a number of cleaning cycles. The Italian authorities, however, have asserted that they have not identified any abnormalities.
Caudet stated that according to the European directive currently in force (Article 30§6 of Directive 2007/46/EC ), the European Commission can only play a mediation role and not one of arbitration. "If the member state that granted EC type-approval disputes the failure to conform notified to it, the member states concerned shall endeavour to settle the dispute " the law states. It also stipulates that "the Commission shall be kept informed and, where necessary, shall hold appropriate consultations with a view to reaching a settlement ". This procedure has thus far never been used.
Very controlled media leak. It should be pointed out that the letter was leaked in the German and international press on Wednesday 31 August. Some commentators interpret this as evidence of the German government's determination to put pressure on the European Commission and extract the national Volkswagen group from the media spotlight because it has been seriously affected by the defeat device scandal.
France also under suspicion. It should be recalled that following the scandal, the European Commission called on member states to carry out an investigation (see EUROPE 11396). So far, only Germany, France and the United Kingdom have submitted results to the Commission, but suspicions have already been raised regarding the French investigation (see EUROPE 11610). Italy is expected to submit its results towards the end of the year. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)