Volkswagen latest: European Parliament to investigate regulators’ failure in the diesel emissions scandal and VW chief executive Matthias Muller announces a management change
The European Parliament will set up a committee to investigate whether the European Commission and member states could have done more to prevent Volkswagen cheating emissions tests.
The 45 member committee will investigate alleged failures by the Commission and individual states to enforce the explicit ban on ‘defeat devices,' and the lack of “effective” testing, oversight and preventative action. It will also examine whether the Commission, or any governments, knew VW had installed defeat devices to cheat tests before it became widely-known in September.
The inquiry will present an interim report within 6 months, and a final report within a year.
European Commission spokesperson Lucia Caudet told City A.M.: “The Commission is more than ready to work with the European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry. Defeat devices are banned in EU law. Member States have a standing obligation to enforce this ban. The policing in the area is the responsibility of the appropriate national enforcement authorities.
“For our part, we have taken determined action to introduce the most robust emissions testing procedures in the world. And early next year, we will present proposals to improve the overall system that allows cars to be placed on the market.”
It comes as VW announced a management shake-up to “speed up [the] internal decision-making process” and “become more streamlined.” The number of managers reporting directly to chief executive Matthias Muller will almost halve, and five new managers will be hired in the first quarter of 2016.
Dr Ulrich Eichhorn will be the new leader of group research and development, there will be a new head of group sales, Fred Kappler, a new head of design for the VW group, Michael Mauer; Wolfram Thomas will take charge of group production, and Ralf-Gerhard Willner will lead group product and toolkit strategy.