The European Commission (EC) has accused the German automotive group Volkswagen AG (VW) in violation of the legislation in 20 EU countries in connection with the diesel scandal, which was about the manipulation of emissions data, writes the German newspaper Die Welt, referring to the European Commission member responsible for Justice, Vera Jourova. According to her, Brussels considers it necessary to intervene in what is happening at European level.
According to "Deutsche Welle", Jourova and the EC member on industry Elżbieta Bieńkowska already demanded several months ago that the company compensate the affected customers - just as it does in the United States. The carmaker refuses to do so, referring to the European laws. The Euro Commission press service noted that consumers should seek compensation through the courts in each EU country separately.
According to the newspaper, the Commission insists on the fact that Volkswagen has violated at least two of the laws in force in all the EU countries. The first EU directive talks about the sale of consumer goods and guarantees to them, and the second is about unfair commercial activities. The latter one prohibits companies to focus on sustainability in advertising, if the consumer it may select the product based on this criterion.
In Germany, VW begins to recall cars of different brands in order to remove the software allowing drivers to manipulate the data. The Federal Office of Road Transport has given the green light to recall 10 500 Porsche Macan cars.
In general, the agency ordered to recheck diesel cars of all German brands. As a result, it turned out that emissions data was manipulated in Volkswagen cars, as well as Audi, Porsche, Opel and Mercedes. In total, there will be re-equipped 630 000 vehicles in Germany.
Despite the problems that VW is facing in Europe, the German automaker could announce the acquisition of 19.9 % stake in US manufacturer Navistar International Corp., a company that produces trucks, writes The Wall Street Journal referring to informed sources.