International

The European Parliament voted today on the proposal for new legislation aimed at improving type approval in cars. The proposals were prompted by the Dieselgate scandal. SP-Euro-MP Dennis de Jong is far from pleased with the outcome, as he explains: “Dieselgate showed that we need better monitoring. The shady software in diesel-powered cars could and should have been exposed a great deal sooner. However, I’m opposed to the idea that we now need European inspectors in order to improve on national supervision. Instead, member states should be monitoring each other. European inspectors belong in a federal state and so we don’t need them.”

De Jong is also unable to understand why the EP has so much faith in the Commission. “Its failure to discover the cheating software was not only the fault of the member states. The EP’s own committee of inquiry established that former Commissioners such as the German Gunther Verheugen and the Italian Antonio Tajani were also at fault. So the Commission must take its share of the blame.”

Previous to this, De Jong had proposed alternatives. “It’s a pity that my fellow MEPs did not support my proposal for peer review,” he says. “In such a system member states which have no direct interest in the auto industry would keep an eye on those which do. This would ensure that in the future monitoring would be carried out properly. We would achieve the same ends without handing over more powers to Brussels. Let’s not forget that enforcement has always been a national competence. If you are looking to encourage the far right then what you want are European inspectors in blue peaked caps with gold stars on them. All that will do is fire up popular resistance.”