'Stop millions of diesels'. German minister's appeal to von der Leyen
German Transport Minister Wissing fears a case at the Court of Justice but Commissioner Breton rules out new rules or retroactive effects
4' min read
4' min read
Millions of Europeans stranded to stop harmful emissions from their cars? The German Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing , fears that a reinterpretation of compliance with pollution limits in the European Union could lead to a stop for eight million diesel vehicles in Germany alone. Plus probably tens of millions more in the rest of the Union. This was reported on Thursday 1 August by the German news agency Dpa. Proceedings are currently underway at the European Court of Justice, and Wissing has requested clarification from the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen , as the Commission has taken a clear position in the proceedings that the limit values apply for every driving situation. In his letter to von der Leyen, Wissing refers to a request for interpretation of EU law by theRegional Court of Duisburg.
Wissing was answered by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, by the same Dpa. The Commission is therefore not planning to change the rules on compliance with car emission limits. Above all, Breton ruled out any decisions with retroactive effect. The Commission also does not want to create conditions that will harm citizens 'who have bought in good faith'.
The case concerns compliance with emission limits for Euro 5 diesel vehicles. According to EU regulations, pollutant values must be met at test centres under so-called Nedc (New European Driving Cycle) test conditions. For the type approval of new vehicles starting with the Euro 6d-Temp standard (valid from September 2017 and followed by the definitive Euro 6d standard, in force from January 2020 and for all new registrations from January 2021, ed.) the so-called Rde (Real-Driving Emissions) procedure is in force, which can be used to map certain real conditions in addition to the test cycle. The Rde procedure is a test that measures the pollutant emissions of vehicles during real driving on the road, rather than just under laboratory conditions.
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This test was introduced in the European Union as part of the vehicle type-approval process to ensure that the emissions measured in the laboratory are consistent with those produced during daily driving. It was introduced in four packages between 2015 and 2018. Each package introduced new elements and requirements, such as conformity factors for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particle number (PN), as well as the inclusion of cold weather emissions.
The Rde test uses portable emission measurement systems (Pems) that collect data during a test trip. A valid test trip must include a variety of driving conditions, such as urban, rural and motorway routes, with specific duration, speed and altitude ranges. For example, a valid trip must last between 90 and 120 minutes and cover at least 16 km on each type of route (urban, rural and motorway).
