Today the European Parliament voted on two key files for air quality – on the new Type Approval rules for motor vehicles and on the recommendations from the Special Committee of Enquiry into the emissions scandal. In the aftermath of the dieselgate revelations, the European Commission made new legislative proposals to ensure car manufacturers comply with all EU safety, environmental and production requirements. This major overhaul of the so-called “EU type approval framework” updates rules that are more than a decade old, which should address the shortcomings in the current legislation and ensure better enforcement across the single market.
Speaking from Strasbourg today, Julie Girling MEP said, “Today’s vote is a step in the right direction. Manufacturers and regulators knew for some time before the VW story broke about some of the discrepancies between approval and testing. “Compliance and enforcement are key to the good functioning of the single market. Working together with colleagues from across the European Parliament, I supported calls for better EU oversight via an EU agency on market surveillance and I am disappointed that this didn’t get the required support. “With the UK vote to leave the EU it is imperative that we have a forum within which the UK has a voice and can contribute to a strong single market. Poor air quality costs the UK economy billions per year.
“Good environmental standards and a strong economy are not mutually exclusive and we must continue to work together with our European neighbours to tackle this key issue.”
