Strasbourg, France - The European Parliament decided Thursday to launch an inquiry into car emissions testing across the European Union, in the wake of revelations that Volkswagen had manipulated laboratory tests.
The German carmaker's reputation has been dented by a worldwide scandal which kicked off in September when US authorities accused it of installing software in its diesel cars to circumvent air pollution standards.
The so-called defeat devices are designed to switch on during lab testing, causing a vehicle to produce lower emissions than it would under real driving conditions.
Lawmakers voted by 354 votes to 229 for the establishment of a committee that will investigate alleged failings by the European Commission and member states in their oversight of car emissions testing.
The panel will investigate whether the commission had failed to keep emissions testing under review and to introduce real-world driving tests.
The EU's executive has “serious questions to answer over revelations that it failed to act on evidence it received that car manufacturers were using manipulation to avoid complying with EU car pollution rules,” said EU lawmaker Bas Eickhout of the Greens.
It will also look into whether both the commission and member states failed to enforce a ban on defeat devices and set effective penalties for infringements, and whether they had evidence that manufacturers were using defeat mechanisms before the Volkswagen scandal broke.
The 45-member inquiry committee will have 12 months to complete its work, with an interim report due after the first six months of investigations.
The inquiry is not specifically related to practices at Volkswagen, but will look at the industry in general.
On Wednesday, prosecutors in Stuttgart said that German auto parts supplier Bosch may have played a role in the Volkswagen scandal.
The company, which makes a diesel engine management programme used by several carmakers including Volkswagen, is being investigated over allegations that it knew about or participated in efforts to circumvent emissions tests.
DPA