European Union to take ITALY to court as tensions reach new high
THE European Union is about to take Italy to court over the false car emissions test saga.
The Italian government has not handed over information relating to supposedly dodgy "defeat devices" used by Fiat Chrysler to get around emissions regulations in the wake of the Volkswagen dieselgate scandal.
As a result, EU regulators in Italy are far from convinced that no wrongdoing took place and are on the brink of waging a legal war.
The effect of the noxious NOx gas can cause respiratory problems and even death.
Volkswagen deployed this programming in about eleven million cars worldwide and was ordered to pay around £2.2billion by an American judge by way of a fine.
An EU source told Politico: "The Italian authorities still need to provide additional information that would convince us that the devices used in Fiat models are justified and can therefore be considered legal."
So-called defeat devices became illegal in 2007, but Volkswagen admitted using software to reduce the amount of emissions their vehicles pump out, prompting scrutiny of other car firms' outputs.
The European Commission believes Italy's Fiat Chrysler may have been using illegal devices to scale back emission controls around 22 minutes into the test.
Italy rejected the allegations of hidden software on the Fiat 500X, Fiat Doblo and Jeep Renegade models, but the German government stepped in and asked Brussels to take a look.
Now the EU is taking direct legal action in a bid to get to the bottom of the emissions scandal once and for all.
Express.co.uk has contacted Fiat Chrysler for comment and is awaiting reply.