2024-08-04 14:26:41
Transport Minister Volker Wissing warned against an EU ban on diesel vehicles. A response is now coming from Brussels.
The EU Commission has contradicted statements by the German Transport Minister Volker Wissing, who fears an end to diesel vehicles. The EU does not want to retrospectively change regulations on compliance with pollutant limits for cars and thereby potentially lead to the decommissioning of millions of diesel vehicles, it was now said from Brussels.
The authority has no intention of making retroactive changes and burdening car manufacturers with additional administrative burdens, wrote EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing. The Commission also does not want to take any further measures “that would in any way disadvantage citizens who have bought cars in good faith.” The letter has been made available to the German Press Agency.
The FDP politician Wissing had previously warned the EU Commission against shutting down millions of diesel vehicles and demanded clarification in an open letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The background to the debate is a case before the ECJ on a so-called request for a preliminary ruling from the Duisburg Regional Court. This also concerns compliance with pollutant limits for Euro 5 diesel vehicles. Euro 5 is an emissions standard.
According to EU law, the pollutant values must be complied with under certain conditions (so-called NEDC test). This happens in test centers. As a result of the diesel scandal, emissions tests under real driving conditions were also developed. Such a procedure now also applies to the approval of new vehicle types from the “Euro 6d temp” standard. According to the Commission, the ECJ already ruled in an earlier ruling that emissions tests can no longer be limited to laboratory tests.
According to Wissing, in the court proceedings the EU Commission took the view that the pollutant limits apply to every driving situation. This would mean that the limits would also have to be complied with when driving uphill at full load – for example when a fully loaded car drives uphill and emits comparatively more pollutants. According to Wissing, this is not feasible given the current state of technology. All Euro 5 approvals would be called into question. Consequences for vehicles that meet the Euro 6 emissions standard have not been ruled out either. “Millions of vehicles are therefore at risk of being taken out of service,” said Wissing in his letter.
In the reply letter he was asked to provide by Commission President von der Leyen, Breton called Wissing’s assumption “misleading.” The Commission had merely stated “that the car emission limits must be complied with under normal conditions of use,” a spokesman added. This does not mean every driving situation. Nor has the authority ever changed its position on this issue. Breton wrote: “Without prejudging the outcome of the pending legal proceedings, the Commission will continue to promote solutions that promote clean and healthy air and promote a predictable and implementable regulatory framework.”