EMIS hearing 20 June 2016
Representatives of the European Commission “No investigation was set up as there was no evidence”
The first hearing of the Committee of inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector (EMIS) with representatives of the European Commission was held on 21st of June with representatives of the Technical Committee of Motor Vehicles (TCMV) and the Type-Approval Authorities Expert Group (TAAEG), who coordinate the work on RDE-LDV expert group on real driving emissions and light-duty vehicles). Overall it was a very disappointing hearing, with no clear answers given on any of the essential questions. Having a hearing without first receiving most of the requested documents is rather ridiculous to begin with, this view being shared among several of the political groups. The line of the European Commissions' representatives was the following: We were aware of the risk of defeat devices since it appeared for the first time in the US in 1998. We however chose different priorities (e.g. real driving emissions, RDE) as there was no evidence available. The question of several MEPs as to why this was not investigated if the risk was there and well-known, and asked for e.g. the Directorate-General Environment (DG ENV) on multiple occasions, remained unanswered. The only answer given “No investigation was set up as there was no evidence”, seems ridiculous as the core of an investigation is looking for evidence based on suspicion. Several responses provided in writing contradict several e-mail exchanges between Directorate-General Environment, Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTR) and JRC. No explanation could be given to this. Greens/EFA MEPs are clear that a new hearing is needed once all the requested information has been provided and studied.
