EU emissions rules yet to hit US-style top gear

Mitsuba

15/06/2016 15:38

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions 
expressed are his own.) 
    By Olaf Storbeck 
    LONDON, June 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Brussels is 
tightening standards on cars' CO2 output. It's the second time 
European authorities have redrawn industry standards since the 
VW scandal broke. But to decisively bin its image as a relative 
soft touch, EU rules on "defeat devices" need to match those of 
the US. 
             
    Full view will be published shortly. 
     
    CONTEXT NEWS 
    - EU regulators on June 14 proposed stricter tests on car 
fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from late next 
year to plug loopholes highlighted by the Volkswagen emissions 
scandal. 
    - The draft EU executive proposal, which will go before the 
European Parliament and EU leaders, would phase in tougher 
testing procedures for new cars by 2018. The legislation is part 
of the EU's response to Volkswagen's revelation last September 
that it used software to cheat tests on pollution limits in the 
United States. 
    - "This is a crucial step to restore credibility," the 
European Commissioner for Climate Action Miguel Arias Cañete 
said. 
    - The Commission is also expected to review CO2 and fuel 
consumption standards for the period after 2020 later this year 
or early the next.  
    - Reuters: EU proposes stricter tests on car emissions from 
2017 in wake of VW scandal  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1972AJ 
     
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    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can 
click on  STORBECK/  
 
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 (On Twitter https://twitter.com/OlafStorbeck Editing by George 
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Keywords: EU AUTOS/BREAKINGVIEWS