EU Parliament delays vote on car pollution limits

[January 14, 2016]  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament delayed on Thursday a vote to block new car pollution testing rules for being too lax, as the biggest political group argued rejection could further postpone the introduction of stricter rules.

With political momentum supporting tougher restrictions after the Volkswagen emissions scandal, parliament was due to vote next week on whether to reject a compromise agreed by EU country experts in October. The compromise would allow cars to carry on spewing more than twice official limits on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

Members of the center-right European People's Party and of the Socialists and Democrats supported pushing back the vote until next month after the proposed rules were rejected by the assembly's environment committee last month.

If parliament rejects the EU's emissions testing deal then it could mean a delay of up to two years while the EU executive drafts a new proposal to bridge the gap between real driving conditions and tests conducted under artificial ones.

Meanwhile, some politicians voiced worries that old limits would still apply and the automotive industry would lack certainty to invest in cleaner technology and prepare for new regulations.

The European Commission could now amend the proposal to avoid parliament killing the existing deal, politicians said.

"We are in favor of a postponement of the decision to have time for a compromise package," said German Socialist Matthias Groote. "We are negotiating informally with the Commission and we want something substantial in our hands at the end of the day, if we vote against the objection."

Green politicians criticized the delay, calling it a ploy to derail a push for a toughening up of the watered-down rules after many of the 28 member states demanded leeway to protect their car industries.

Revelations by Volkswagen in September that it had installed software in diesel vehicles to deceive U.S. regulators over toxic emissions blamed for premature death created a political firestorm in Europe where roughly half of vehicles are diesel.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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