Socialists and Democrats call for transparency in the pollution tests of Volkswagen cars and any other car-maker which could potentially be using devices to manipulate emission levels.
S&D vice-president Kathleen Van Brempt said:
"Now is the time for honesty. There must be full transparency not only about the impact of this defeating software detected in the United States, but also about any similar fraud in Europe.
"European authorities should fully cooperate with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Commission should also start an investigation on EU soil.
"This software not only jeopardises citizens’ health, but it also cheats consumers who pay for cars theoretically polluting under a certain level when the real emissions deviate significantly from the marketed levels.
"We know that even the tests currently in place to check the driving emissions are not accurate because they create unrealistic laboratory setting, far from the real driving conditions*. The Volkswagen scandal sheds light onto the overdue need for reform of the tests: We urge the Commission and the member states to come forward with a Real-world Driving Emissions (RDE) test.
"A new RDE test has to ensure that emissions in reality reflects the standards on paper so that new cars on the market finally meet the Euro 6 limits agreed almost 10 years ago".
S&D spokesperson on the environment, Matthias Groote MEP, said:
"We need full transparency, a thorough investigation and total clarification as to the scope of this scandal.
"As the Socialists and Democrats have been saying for years, we need more realistic and reliable test cycles."
* Real emissions of nitrogen oxides are 3 to 22 times higher than the legal limit achieved in the official laboratory test, according to Transport and Environment
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