- Thread starter Robotstar5
- Start date
- Status
Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
- Messages
- 18,010
- Location
- East Yorkshire
You say the eu are annoyed, why? Or do you mean other countries within the eu, what are they doing about it?
Why does it fall on the UK to act
pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
- Messages
- 13,107
- Location
- CX near Chesterfield
Exactly, why should the UK have to act against VW ? The last I knew VW was a German firm so surely Merkel should be the first to act, in fact she should punish VW on behalf of the EU and make sure VW pays compensation to the rest of the EU for the cheating that VW was doing.
Countries like Germany are happy for VW to exist when they pay taxes and provide employment, but they should also shoulder some of the responsibilities to make sure these companies aren’t breaking the law.
norlander
Member
- Messages
- 3,389
- Location
- Europe, mocycling paradise
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-38716498 wonder what happens if you eat burnt toast before going to catch the bus?
I can remember the London smog being in the news when I was a kid, and the black buildings and the sulphur smell at St Pancras (the station not the bloke himself, I'm not that old).
I can remember the London smog being in the news when I was a kid, and the black buildings and the sulphur smell at St Pancras (the station not the bloke himself, I'm not that old).
The EU can not be thought of like a country or a federal organisation, it is a union which has been given specific competencies (the name given to the areas in which it has powers) and only those competencies so for example they can not rule on what a UK prison term should be or what is an offence within the UK (beyond it must not discriminate against EU nationals v the local populous).
The EU has not been given the competence to hold manufacturers to account for breaching certain rules, even in some cases, rules laid down by the EU. The emissions cheating is one such area. As such the EU itself can take no action against VW and is reliant upon the member states to do this themselves. The UK along with other member states have refused to take action against VW. You may note in the EUs public complaint about the lack of action of a number of states, they do identify a link between those states that produce a lot of cars and those states refusing to take any action regarding the emissions scandal.
I know there can be a temptation to see such issues as political, but in reality it boils down to big corporations cheating and impacting upon the health of our citizens and the UK refusing to take action to punish such behaviour or to enforce the European standards that the UK wanted and pushed for in the first place. A cynic may suggest this is due to the power of the automotive industry in the UK (and other member states) being more important than te health of its citizens. What is the point in setting targets and requirements if they are not enforced.
It cannot work like that, the member states in terms of criminal law are (almost) still sovereign and the member states have chosen not to give the EU powers of its own to act in matters like this. There are some ares where the EU can and does take enforcement action such as competition law, but again only where its effect is on the EU and not just on a member state.
The EU would love to take action, it is screaming and pushing for people to act, but all of the member states with a big automotive industry are refusing to do so.
- Messages
- 23,274
- Location
- Birmingham
Seems to have run it's course 
- Status
