Brussels, 9th February – European Conservatives and Reformists Group MEP Daniel Dalton will be overseeing a revision of laws governing how cars are approved, in the wake of the emissions scandal.

Mr Dalton, who represents the West Midlands region of the UK, has been appointed as the 'rapporteur' (lead MEP) on the so-called type approval proposals, which set out the technical and safety requirements a car must meet before it can be sold in the EU. The European Commission has proposed tightening the law following the allegations that emissions tests were rigged by 'defeat devices' installed in the cars.

The commission proposals published at the end of January included measures to strengthen the independence and peer review of testing centres for new cars, a forum for exchange of best practice between national type approval and market surveillance authorities and new powers to the commission to conduct spot-checks of cars on the road, to remove substandard vehicles from the market and withdraw permission for testing centres if they are not up to scratch. The proposals must now be agreed by both the European Parliament and the EU's 28 governments before they become law.

Speaking after his appointment as the person drafting the European Parliament's report to scrutinise and amend the commission proposals, Mr Dalton said:

"A lot of people have asked me how the emissions scandal happened in the EU, and why the US authorities had to do our job for us in uncovering the problem.

"We need to have a more robust system in place to make sure the testing centres that approve new cars are trusted and seen as independent by consumers. After a house, a car is usually the second biggest purchase a person can make, yet so many people were let down - both by companies, and by the system.  

"I believe that, with the right law and testing in place the effectiveness of national bodies can be increased and the level of cooperation between them can be stepped up. My priority will be restoring trust and confidence to those people who were so badly let down in the past, and I believe that can be achieved without excessive centralisation towards the European Commission."

ENDS 

Contact: Daniel.Dalton@europarl.Europa.eu or +32 228 47897

ECR Press Office, James Holtum on +32 473 861762; james.holtum@europarl.europa.eu

The ECR was created to take the EU in a new direction, according to the principles of our founding Prague Declaration.

For more information on the ECR, watch our promotional video at http://youtu.be/F5syQt1JuQI or visit our website: www.ecrgroup.eu