45 Amendments of José BLANCO LÓPEZ related to 2016/2908(RSP)
Amendment 9 #
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission to report back to the Parliament no later than one year after adoption of the final report of the Committee of Inquiry on the follow-up actions taken by the Commission and Member States on the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry;
Amendment 12 #
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. To this end, calls on the Commission to change its internal structure and amend its division of responsibilities so that all legislative responsibilities currently held by DG GROW in the area of vehicle emissions are transferred to the responsibility of DG ENV.
Amendment 16 #
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to ensure that there are adequate human resources and, technical expertise and the appropriate level of autonomy in the JRC, including measures to keep relevant experience with vehicle and emissions technology and vehicle testing in the organisation; notes that the JRC may have additional verification responsibilities for requirements in the context of the proposal for a new market surveillance and type approval regulation;
Amendment 19 #
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for the swift adoption, implementation and application of the 3rd and 4th real driving emissions (RDE) packages to complete the regulatory framework for the new type-approval procedure; recalls that, in order for RDE tests to be effective in reducing the discrepancies between the NOx emissions measured in the laboratory and on the road, the specifications of the test and evaluation procedures should be set out very carefully and should cover athe widest possible range of driving conditions, including temperature, engine load, vehicle speed, altitude, type of road and other parameters commonlythat can be found when driving in the whole Union;
Amendment 22 #
Paragraph 9
9. Urges the Commission to reviewse downwards in 2017 the conformity factor for RDE tests of NOx emissions, as provided for by the 2nd RDE package, so that it no longer exceeds the error margin of the PEMS equipment; calls on the Commission to use subsequent annual revisions to reduce the conformity factor further - in line with the technical progress and improvement of the accuracy of the PEMS equipment while taking into account the possibility to introduce an EU system for the approval of PEMS guaranteeing minimum levels of performance - to bring it as close to 1 as soon as possible and by 2021 at the latest;
Amendment 34 #
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to continue its work on improving Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) measurements for particulate matter with a viewperformance in order to improvinge their accuracy and the technological abilityreduce their error margin; considers that for particulate matter PEMS technology should be able to account for particles whose size is smaller than 23 nanometres and that are the most dangerous to public health;
Amendment 38 #
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Member States to ensure more transparency in access to documents of the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) meetings for their national parliaments;and all technical meetings that are linked to its work for their national parliaments; to this end, calls on the Commission and Member States to publish and make public, without exception, all minutes and positions submitted to and discussed in the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV).
Amendment 41 #
Paragraph 14
14. Considers that although the RDE procedure will minimise the risk of defeat device use, it will not completely prevent recourse to illegal practices; recommends therefore that, in line with the approach of the US authorities, a degree of unpredictability is built into the type- approval testing and random tests are conducted on cars in-use and on the road in order to prevent any outstanding loopholes from being exploited; and to ensure compliance throughout the lifecycle of a vehicle; to this end recommends the performance of tests with variations in parameters such as inter alia ambient temperatures, speed patterns, vehicle load and duration of the test in order to detect irrational emission behaviour and allow type approval authorities and testing services to conduct random off-cycle additional tests as they see necessary;
Amendment 46 #
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Notes with concern that the official testing of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of vehicles will still be limited to a laboratory test procedure (WLTP), which means that the illegal use of defeat devices remains possible and can stay undetected; urges the Commission and the Member States to establish remote fleet monitoring schemes - making use of roadside remote sensing equipment and/or on-board sensors - to screen the environmental performance of the in- service fleet and to detect possible illegal practices that might lead to continued discrepancies between the performance on paper and in the real world;
Amendment 48 #
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to analyse why the JRC’'s research findings and concerns discussed among the Commission’'s services with regard to possible illegal practices by manufacturers never reached the higher levels of the hierarchy; calls on the Commission to report its conclusions to Parliament;
Amendment 49 #
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission to mandate the JRC to further investigate, together with the national authorities and independent research institutes, the suspicious emission behaviour observed on several cars in August 2016;
Amendment 60 #
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to strictly monitor the enforcement by Member States of the exemptions to the use of defeat devices and to issue interpretative guidelines; demands such guidelines to apply retroactively to cars already in use; calls on the Commission to launch infringements procedures if it deems them necessary;
Amendment 61 #
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Considers that the results of the OLAF investigation and of any further internal investigation of the EIB on whether EU money was used to support RDI investments affected by the defeat devices that were installed on certain Volkswagen diesel engines shall be made publicly available; calls on OLAF and the EIB to share and make public such results with the Commission and the Parliament; asks the Commission, the EU Agencies and the EIB in particular, in case of a proven misuse of public funds, to suspend any upcoming disbursement and to recover the entire amount that was granted for the implementation of the projects; believes that the recovered amount should be used to compensate EU consumers affected by the Volkswagen scandal.
Amendment 62 #
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Considers that a permanent exchange space for the Commission and Member States should be set up in order to facilitate coordinated action in applying and accepting exemptions regarding the use of defeat devices; calls on the Commission to assess whether any exemption may be granted by the Commission or by approval from the TCMV, rather than directly by a Member State;
Amendment 64 #
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for the swift adoption of the proposal for a Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers (2016/0014(COD)), to enter into force no later than 2020, replacing the current framework directive on type-approval; considers the preservation of the level of ambition of the original Commission proposal, in particular as regards the introduction of EU oversight of the system, to bestrongly deplores all efforts to weaken the draft Commission proposal and to delay the process in the Council; considers the requirements foreseen in the original Commission proposal as the bare minimum objecti; believes to be achieved durihat these requirements should be preserved and possibly streng the interinstitutional negotiationsned while all attempts to dilute them should be rejected, in particular as regards the introduction of EU oversight onf the dossiersystem;
Amendment 67 #
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls for the creation of a European Agency for Market Surveillance of Road Transport, that would be in charge of market surveillance activities, coordinate the work of national market surveillance authorities, and have the final say in case of disagreements between them; suggests that the Agency should have the power to organise European-wide recall programs and to withdraw type-approval when appropriate; additionally, that the Agency should initiate a test or inspection following a submission of third party test verification results that show evidence of suspicious emission behaviour and that besides market surveillance, it should perform audits on national type approval authorities;
Amendment 76 #
Paragraph 21
21. Believes that the new framework for EU type-approval should empower the new Agency, or other EU body created for that purpose, or failing that, the Commission to verify type approvals by retesting vehicles, using a wide range of tests, and to initiate corrective measures where necessary including mandatory recalls and fines; believes that the new Regulation must foresee that such corrective measures might include compensation to consumers if the original vehicles' performance was altered following any remedial action taken, as well as financial compensation for any negative external impacts (such as on air quality, public health, etc.);
Amendment 78 #
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Believes that there should be a clear legal and administrative separation of responsibilities and tasks between type approval authorities, testing services and manufacturers: the type-approval authorities should not perform any activities that technical services perform and there should be a strict separation between them in terms of financing, organisation and human resources in order to avoid any possible conflict of interest; additionally believes that the type-approval authorities and national market surveillance authorities should not provide consultancy services on a commercial or competitive basis.;
Amendment 84 #
Paragraph 22
22. BCalls for the establishment of a fee structure to ensure proper and independent financing of type approval, market surveillance and activities of technical services; believes that type- approval authorities should be made responsible for checking the financialcommercial and economic relations existing between car manufacturers and technical servicessuppliers on the one hand and technical services on the other hand in order to prevent conflicts of interest between the two;
Amendment 91 #
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Calls on the Commission to assess whether it is legally possible to set uniform rates for all Member States for each of the administrative processes in type approval;
Amendment 93 #
Paragraph 24
24. Points out the need for systematic enforcement of conformity of production and in-use conformity of vehicles by the national authorities responsible, further coordinated and supervised at EU level; believes that the conformity of production and in-use conformity testing should be done by a technical service different from the one responsible for the type-approval of the car in question and that in-house technical services should be excluded from performing the emissions test for type approval purposes; urges the Member States to clarify once and for all which authority is in charge of market surveillance in their territory, to ensure this authority is aware of its responsibilities, and to notify the Commission accordingly;
Amendment 96 #
Paragraph 25
25. Calls onfor the Commission and the co-legislators to consider also introducing testing withswift adoption, implementation and application of the 4th RDE package, regulating the use of PEMS for in-service conformity checks, at least as a screening device, and and for third party testing; calls on the Commission and the co-legislators to introduce a mandate for the JRCAgency to conduct in-service conformity checks with PEMS in the context of the new type- approval framework;
Amendment 98 #
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the co-legislators to establish in the upcoming Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles, an EU-wide remote sensing network to monitor the real world emissions of the car fleet and to identify excessively polluting vehicles in order to target in-service conformity checks and to trace cars that might be illegally modified with hardware (e.g. EGR switch-off plates, DPF or SCR removal) or software (illegal chip tuning) modifications;
Amendment 99 #
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Calls on the Commission to make use of its delegated powers foreseen in Article 17 of Directive 2014/45/EU on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers, to update the test methods for the periodic technical inspection of cars in order to measure the NOx emissions of cars, at least for these cars identified as highly polluting by remote sensing schemes;
Amendment 106 #
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to assess the US practice of random off- production-line and in-service testing and to draw the necessary conclusions with regard to improving their market surveillance activities;
Amendment 110 #
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Calls on the Commission to look into the possibility of making it mandatory for manufacturers to notify the Commission of their choice of technical service, so as to ensure that the Commission is fully aware of the situation;
Amendment 114 #
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Calls on the Commission to analyse the risks of authorising technical services which do not have testing equipment (category B technical services) and may only supervise tests performed in the manufacturer’s facilities;
Amendment 116 #
Paragraph 27 c (new)
27c. Calls on the Commission to introduce an IT system through which all manufacturers are able and compelled to submit their type approvals at the time of approval, with the entire type-approval file being entered in the database, in order to create a European database, updated in real time, that contains all the information needed to carry out harmonised studies;
Amendment 118 #
Paragraph 27 d (new)
27d. Suggests that with the aim of fully harmonising criteria, the Commission should assess whether type approvals could be granted on a harmonised basis, not by Member States but by a prospective European vehicle safety agency;
Amendment 120 #
Paragraph 28
28. Calls for stricter and more effective enforcement of vehicle emission measurement rules in the EU; considers that only stronger oversight at EU level can ensure that the EU law on emissions is properly enforced; proposes that the governance structure on car emissions be reformed without delay and brought into line with the other transport sectors by establishing the Agency; notes that the Agency could benefit from the experience gained in the railway sector, regarding conformity checks and coordination of national authorities;
Amendment 125 #
Paragraph 30
30. Urges the Commission to launch infringement procedures against Member States that have not put in place effective market surveillance and national system of penalties for infringements of EU law as required by the existing legislation;
Amendment 128 #
Paragraph 31
31. Suggests that the Commission should be empowered to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative fines and to command remedial and corrective actions where non-compliance of vehicles is established; considers that the possible sanctions should include type-approval withdrawal and the establishment of EU-wide recall programmes;
Amendment 131 #
Paragraph 31
31. Suggests that the Commission should be empowered to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative fines where non-compliance of vehicles is established, particularly on vehicle manufacturers;
Amendment 134 #
Paragraph 33
33. Calls on the Member States to apply more vigorous measures in the wake of the emissions cheating scandal; calls on the Member States to apply the available sanctions, where relevantand their type approval authorities to examine the information on base and auxiliary emission control strategies - to be disclosed by the car manufactures - for already type-approved Euro 5 and Euro 6 cars displaying irrational emissions behaviour observed in testing programs, and to check their conformity with the Commission's interpretation guidelines on the defeat device provisions; calls on the Member States to apply the available sanctions in case of non-conformity, including mandatory recall programmes and the withdrawal of type-approvals; calls on the Commission to ensure a coordinated approach on recall programmes across the EU;
Amendment 143 #
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Amendment 146 #
Paragraph 36 b (new)
36b. Calls on the European Commission to verify and oversee the impact of the recall programmes, already in place in many Member states, and to ensure that the recalled cars conform to the legal requirements set out in the EU legislation.
Amendment 149 #
Paragraph 36 c (new)
36c. Calls on the Commission to review the existing rules on consumer protection in order to create consistent standards across the Union and the possibility for class action against fraudulent companies; urges the European Commission to review all relevant EU legislation in order to support the establishment of a common compensation scheme and proper rules to compensate European consumers;
Amendment 150 #
Paragraph 36 d (new)
36d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to assess the effectiveness of current Low Emission Zones in cities - taking into account the failure of Euro standards for light duty vehicles to reflect real world emissions, and to examine the benefit of introducing a label or standard for Ultra Low Emission Vehicles that meet the emission limit values in real driving conditions;
Amendment 152 #
Paragraph 36 e (new)
36e. Calls on the Commission and the co-legislators to follow a more integrated approach in their policies to improve the environmental performance of cars, in order to ensure progress on both the decarbonisation and air quality objectives, such as by fostering the electrification or transition to alternative motorisations of the car fleet;
Amendment 153 #
Paragraph 36 f (new)
36 f. Calls on the Commission, to that end, to review the Clean Power for Transport Directive and to come forward with a Draft Regulation on CO2 standards for the car fleets coming onto the market from 2025 onwards, with the inclusion of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) and Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) mandates that impose a stepwise increasing share of zero and ultra-low emission vehicles in the total fleet with the aim to phase out new CO2-emitting cars by 2035;
Amendment 154 #
Paragraph 36 g (new)
36g. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to foster green public procurement policies, purchasing ZEVs and ULEVs by public authorities for their own fleets or for (semi-)public car sharing programs;
Amendment 155 #
Paragraph 36 h (new)
36 h. Calls on the Commission to review the emissions limits set out in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 with a view to improving air quality in the Union and to achieving the Union ambient air quality limits as well as the WHO recommended levels, and come forward by 2025 at the latest with proposals, as appropriate, for new technology-neutral Euro 7 emission limits applicable for all M1 and N1 vehicles placed on the Union market;
Amendment 156 #
Paragraph 36 i (new)
36i. Asks the Commission to consider the review of the Environmental Liability Directive (2004/35/EC) to include environmental damage caused by air pollution by car manufactures that are violating the EU's car emissions legislation; believes that if car manufactures could be held financially liable for remedying the environmental damage they caused, an increased level of prevention and precaution might be expected;
Amendment 157 #
Paragraph 36 j (new)
36 j. Calls on the Commission to work with the Member States to ensure that no worker from the automotive sector should suffer from the emissions scandal; to this end, Member States and car manufacturers should coordinate and promote vocational training plans to guarantee that workers, whose employment situation has been negatively affected by the emission scandal, remain in employment in the future, for example in the field of alternative motorisations;
Amendment 164 #
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38a. Considers that the final results and recommendations of the committee of inquiry could have been better aligned with the legislative work and timetable of the current proposal for a Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers (2016/0014 (COD)) - which will replace and update the current directive on type- approval - in order to guarantee an effective sharing and full knowledge of the inquiry committee's findings and to be sure that the final conclusions and recommendations can be taken into account in the work of the legislative dossier, also at the initial stage of the internal negotiations in the Parliament;