European type approval debate rages while deadline nears

Europe remains far from united in the move towards new vehicle type approval legislation. The Volkswagen defeat device scandal sparked efforts to update current policy, with amendments aimed at tightening up loopholes exploited by VW and likely others.

"This is the only real legislation where Parliament gets the chance to react to the VW crisis," commented UK MEP Daniel Dalton, the man who is steering new legislation through Parliament. "The Commission's proposal is a good beginning," he told fellow MEPs at a recent meeting of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. "The existing legislation is from 2007 and doesn't have any detailed provisions on market surveillance. Even before VW it was clear it was time to bring the law up to date."

Dalton has come up with a series of 196 different amendments to the draft regulation from the Commission. However, they have met with a very mixed response.