European Parliament joins calls for Volkswagen consumers to be compensated- Clune

Fine Gael Ireland South MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Commission of Inquiry into the Volkswagen Emissions scandal, Deirdre Clune, has welcomed the Committee’s final report on the use of defeat devices which was adopted in the European Parliament, Strasbourg. The report called for compensation for European consumers, as well as highlighting the ways in which car testing and the supervisory process must be improved to prevent the use of defeat devices in the future.

Speaking after the vote, Clune described Volkswagen’s refusal so far to fully engage as an affront to its European and Irish customers.

“Volkswagen’s reluctance to compensate its European customers in the same way as its US based customers is costing Europe unnecessary legal bills and is ultimately wasting time. This week the European Parliament voted on the Commission of Inquiry’s report which calls for European consumers affected by the Dieselgate scandal to be adequately compensated. This is in addition to the infringement action which the European Commission is coordinating with national consumer agencies.

“The report of the Commission of Inquiry has been quite clear in its findings that car manufacturers used defeat devices to deliberately cheat emissions testing. It also pointed to a lack of supervisory action. Thousands of people will die early across Europe because of excessive air pollution from the Volkswagen cars that were fitted with illegal devices to cheat emissions tests, according to a recent study by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. An estimated 110,000 cars were affected by the scandal in Ireland.

“Following Parliament’s vote, I am calling on Volkswagen to immediately engage with its European customers on a compensation scheme, similar to what they have done in the US. Volkswagen’s offer thus far has fallen short of what is expected from a responsible manufacturer. Their inaction in Europe is not good enough and the company should now step up and do right by their customers.