The EU consumer authorities and the European Commission (EC) sent a
joint letter to the CEO of Volkswagen urging the group to swiftly repair
all cars affected by the "dieselgate" scandal, the EC announced on
Thursday.
"This is part of a coordinated action by EU consumer
authorities to make sure that the Volkswagen group respects consumer law
in the aftermath of the scandal and is proactive towards the consumers
concerned," the EC highlighted.
It added that consumer authorities
across the EU continue to receive indications that many of the cars
affected have not been repaired yet.
Reminding Volkswagen's
commitment to repair all affected cars by autumn 2017, EC said that EU
consumer authorities, under the leadership of the Netherlands Authority
for Consumers and Markets (ACM), are urging Volkswagen to confirm,
within one month, that this plan will be upheld.
The authorities
demand full transparency in this process, including a detailed account
on what has been achieved and what remains to be done, EC noted adding
that it has requested that all affected Volkswagen cars should be
brought into full conformity with type approval rules.
"Therefore Volkswagen should guarantee to resolve any potential problem arising after the repairs," the statement read.
"More
than 8 million consumers in different Member States have been affected
by the VW case," Commissioner Vera Jourova quoted as saying.
"With
today's joint position, EU consumers can be sure that both consumer
authorities in Member States and the European Commission are on their
side and that any half measures will not be accepted," she continued.
The
EC concluded that it will be up to each Member State to decide the next
course of action if Volkswagen does not react to this common position
or an agreement cannot be reached.
"Authorities may take action appropriate to their local circumstances including enforcement action where necessary," it ended.
(Anadolu Agency)