Trust is not the major problem. Unemployment can be the real disaster for Europe
by Emanuele Bonini
Volkswagen was not only responsible for illegal diesel engines. Also fuel engines are against the European standards, according to the same car maker. In the US more models, Volkswagen have been accused of having illegal levels of diesel NOx emissions but the scandal size is growing more and more. There are those who believes we just see the tip of the iceberg, and those who believe this scandal pose a serious problem of confidence and credibility (that's what has been said by a spokeperson of the European Commission, Lucia Caudet) but what is untold is the real cost of all this. The financial consequence for Volkswagen will affect both workers and employees, as usually happens in such a case. Apart from resignations, managers have nothing to lose. On the contrary, in front of simple workers there are worse scenarios. In the worst one, they will be fired. In other words, unemployment is going to be the collateral effect of the Volkswagen case. The social dimension of this scandal is something Europe can't deal with in time of mild recovery. Now that the general situation seemed to be on a better track, having a new wave of unemployment would be a problem. That's basically the reason why the European Commission is taking its time to take a decision. According to the EU regulation on reduction in CO2 emissions of new passenger cars, the European Commission has the authority and the power to impose fines on manufacturer’s cars. More in detail, if the average CO2 emission from a manufacturer’s number of cars exceeds the 130g/km emission limit, then a large fine will be enforced. For each car, the manufacturer must pay €5 for the first g/km over the limit, €15 for the second, €25 for the third and €95 for every g/km after that. From 2019, every g/km over the limit will be charged at €95. What Volkswagen is risking is a super-fine, whose repayment will be imposed on staff. The European Commission recalled the EU legislation and the power of intervention, but nobody still has taken into account the possibility of use what law foresees. Applying rules now would be a disaster, not applying even worst. Thus, Europe can't win this challenge.
Volkswagen was not only responsible for illegal diesel engines. Also fuel engines are against the European standards, according to the same car maker. In the US more models, Volkswagen have been accused of having illegal levels of diesel NOx emissions but the scandal size is growing more and more. There are those who believes we just see the tip of the iceberg, and those who believe this scandal pose a serious problem of confidence and credibility (that's what has been said by a spokeperson of the European Commission, Lucia Caudet) but what is untold is the real cost of all this. The financial consequence for Volkswagen will affect both workers and employees, as usually happens in such a case. Apart from resignations, managers have nothing to lose. On the contrary, in front of simple workers there are worse scenarios. In the worst one, they will be fired. In other words, unemployment is going to be the collateral effect of the Volkswagen case. The social dimension of this scandal is something Europe can't deal with in time of mild recovery. Now that the general situation seemed to be on a better track, having a new wave of unemployment would be a problem. That's basically the reason why the European Commission is taking its time to take a decision. According to the EU regulation on reduction in CO2 emissions of new passenger cars, the European Commission has the authority and the power to impose fines on manufacturer’s cars. More in detail, if the average CO2 emission from a manufacturer’s number of cars exceeds the 130g/km emission limit, then a large fine will be enforced. For each car, the manufacturer must pay €5 for the first g/km over the limit, €15 for the second, €25 for the third and €95 for every g/km after that. From 2019, every g/km over the limit will be charged at €95. What Volkswagen is risking is a super-fine, whose repayment will be imposed on staff. The European Commission recalled the EU legislation and the power of intervention, but nobody still has taken into account the possibility of use what law foresees. Applying rules now would be a disaster, not applying even worst. Thus, Europe can't win this challenge.
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