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According to Volkswagen, the shutdown was a protection mechanism to protect the engine from breakdowns, but the ECJ advocate general rejected their defence (Photo: Volkswagen AG)

VW emissions software was illegal, top EU lawyer says

Volkswagen used software to alter emissions illegally, the European advocate-general, Athanasios Rantos, said in a legal opinion on Thursday (23 September).

The lawyer analysed three computer programs used by the German automobile giant. Following earlier cases at the Austrian Supreme Court, he found that these devices could detect when the car would be subjected to testing.

The device would distort parameters like outside temperatures to show a lower amount of pollutants, espec...

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Author Bio

Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent.

According to Volkswagen, the shutdown was a protection mechanism to protect the engine from breakdowns, but the ECJ advocate general rejected their defence (Photo: Volkswagen AG)

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Author Bio

Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent.

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